Bell Micro LPGA Classic - Epilogue

Se Ri Pak's playoff victory was the sixth of her career against no defeats, the best playoff record in LPGA history.  Michelle McGann is also undefeated in four playoff attempts.  This was Pak's second victory since gaining official entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame (qualified at the 2007 LPGA Championship, won a month later at the Jamie Farr).  The last official Hall of Famer to win an LPGA tournament was Karrie Webb at last year's J Golf Phoenix.  This last item surprised me.  Ten of Se Ri's 25 career victories have come on only three golf courses - five at Highland Meadows (1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2007 Jamie Farr), three at Magnolia Grove (2001 and 2002 TOC plus yesterday) and two at DuPont Country Club (1998 and 2002 LPGA Championships).

Often I have complained when LPGA events get shortened or partial rounds get wiped out but not this time.  During the playoff, the 18^th hole was clearly saturated and as Sue Witters pointed out, 18 is on higher ground than most of the course.  Trying to finish on Monday would have been problematic - more rain was forecast for Sunday night and some players needed to head out quickly to make it to the first round of U.S. Open qualifying, which begins this morning.  They were fortunate to even get the playoff in.  It was a good call.

The average score in Mobile was 72.57, the second-best through six events in 2010 and by far the best of the three full-field events.  It was also over a stroke lower than the average at the first Bell Micro event, making it very comparable with the limited-field TOC events held at Magnolia Grove.

Song-Hee Kim is on quite the roll.  She has finished in the Top 10 in all six events so far this year and is now riding a streak of eight straight, dating back to the Ochoa Invitational in November.  Her worst finish over her last ten events is a T12 at the Mizuno Classic.

As expected, Karen Stupples made this week's Sybase field by being the highest-ranked player on the current money list.  Joining her on Thursday will be Karine Icher, Na On Min and Grace Park!  Now that's a pleasant Monday morning surprise!  Grace beat out Heather Bowie Young by just over $4000 to earn the final spot.

The Big Surprise goes to rookie Azahara Munoz, who finished tied for fourth to collect the first Top 10 of her LPGA career.  I have to give a shoutout to Sarah Jane Smith, who finished as part of a ten-way tie for 16^th.  The nearly $15,000 she earned will go a long way towards elevating her Priority in a few weeks.  The Big Disappointment was a really big one - In-Kyung Kim missed the cut by four shots.