Navistar Classic - Epilogue

Since her win at the 2008 Canadian Open, Katherine Hull hasn't been one of the upper echelon players on Tour but she has been only a rung or two behind that group.  She has consistently been in the 20s in my rankings, placing as high as #15 in May 2009.  Katherine fell out of the Top 30 quickly after that but recovered to finish at #30 in my final 2009 list.  Ranking at #21 in my most recent calculations, Hull could be threatening the Top 10 the next time around.

Cristie Kerr started having trouble with losing shots to the right late Saturday afternoon and that trouble ultimately cost her the tournament and the Rolex #1 spot.  After playing the first 50 holes of the week at -20, Cristie played the final 22 in +3.  A heart-breaking development but if anybody can rebound from that, I'm sure Kerr can.

Na Yeon Choi could have stepped up and been the recipient of Kerr's generosity but her short game let her down in a couple of big spots.  At 12 she missed the green slightly long but a poor chip and putt resulted in bogey.  At 15 a birdie putt of less than eight feet stayed on the high side.  NYC did birdie 18 to claim a share of third place but playing the back nine in 36 this day wasn't nearly good enough.

Can't forget about Brittany Lincicome, can I?  She came on strong yesterday and held the lead as late as the 17^th tee but Hull had enough holes remaining to overtake her.  Brittany has kinda been under the radar this year but her ranking in my Top 20 is justified - two runner-up finishes now with two other Top 10s and eight total Top 20s.

This week's Big Surprise goes to a player who wouldn't have been eligible for it a year ago.  Lindsey Wright fired a 63 on Sunday to finish tied for fifth, her first Top 10 of this season and her first since the 2009 Jamie Farr.  Times had gotten rather tough for Lindsey as she had dropped to #64 in my September rankings - no Top 10s and four missed cuts can do that to you.  No clear cut Big Disappointment this week so I'll pass on applying that label this time around.

As I mentioned Saturday morning, 32 players in one or more of the money list races made the cut.  I'll have a Quest For The Card update within the next day or so.

Until recently, it hasn't been the 2010 that Kristy McPherson had hoped for.  She turned it around in a big way with Top 5 finishes in Canada and Arkansas but that unfortunately didn't mean the problems had disappeared.  Beth Daniel reported that McPherson will play CVS this week and then undergo surgery for a torn muscle in her back.  Here's hoping Kristy's surgery and rehab go well and that we'll see her return to form in 2011.