Kraft Nabisco Championship Preview

Event Number Four on the 2010 LPGA schedule is Major Number One, the Kraft Nabisco Championship.  As has been the case for the previous 38 years, the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage is the place.  Brittany Lincicome won last year's KNC with a most memorable eagle on the final hole, edging Cristie Kerr and Kristy McPherson by a single shot.  I just re-read Part 2 of my live-blog of that final round and you might want to as well - it was quite a show.

As you can see from the average scoring numbers above, Mission Hills is one tough test.  Only once in the last six years (2005) has the KNC average been less than one stroke per round higher than the seasonal average, and most years it has been greater than 1.5 strokes.  The combination of thick rough and challenging greens has prevented all but one player over the last nine years (Annika Sorenstam in 2005) from registering a four-round score better than -11.  Only three other players during that span even cracked double-digits.  A round under par here is very good and one in the 60s is outstanding - much like the results we saw at last week's Kia Classic.

This is one of the handful of events which will not be broadcast by Golf Channel.  ESPN still has rights to three of the majors.  Once again the final round will be aired live by CBS, with the dulcet tones of Verne Lundquist calling the action in his annual warm-up for Hole 16 duties at Augusta.  Sure, he'll need all the help that Judy Rankin and company can give him to get half of the names right but that's a small price to pay.  Just hearing him call the pond jump is enough to warrant his inclusion.

Two weeks ago, I detailed the criteria that admits players into the field.  The Top 10 finishers at the Kia Classic already had their spots at Mission Hills booked so there were no last-minute invitees.  Seven amateurs are here, including 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur champion Jennifer Song, #1 national junior Alexis Thompson (now 15 years old and in her third year of playing in major championships) and 2006 U.S. Amateur champ Kimberly Kim (playing her third KNC).  Don't shrug these players off - at least one amateur has finished in the Top 30 (and usually in the Top 20) here the last ten years running.

For the third straight event, Paula Creamer is the only member of my Top 40 not in the field.  For the record - if she hasn't recovered enough to return to action by the Sybase Match Play event in late May, I predict Paula will have season-ending thumb surgery sometime that month.  My prediction that she will win her first major championship this year is looking doubtful indeed.  Hopefully my KNC predictions will be more accurate.