ShopRite LPGA Classic Preview

The LPGA returns to Atlantic City after a three-year hiatus for the ShopRite LPGA Classic.  Dolce Seaview Resort (which was owned and named for Marriott the last time we were here) will host the event on its Bay Course for the tenth time since 1998.  Seon Hwa Lee secured her first career victory at the '06 tournament, winning by three strokes over Annika Sorenstam, Sherri Steinhauer and Jeong Jang.

ShopRite's return as a primary tournament sponsor is purely a result of the change at the top of the LPGA hierarchy.  Late in 2006, Commissioner Carolyn Bivens inked an agreement with Ginn Resorts to sponsor a second high-dollar-purse event in late May 2007 - the very week that ShopRite had occupied for the previous two years.  The sponsor and tournament organizers refused to be moved to another slot on the schedule and so the ShopRite Classic was no more.  Because it returned to the 2010 schedule last November, I think we all owe Interim Commissioner Marsha Evans a big thank-you for patching up what could have been a permanent separation.

One of the shorter courses on Tour, the Bay Course figures to favor the precision players over the bombers and past results seem to bear that out.  Scoring is usually on the low side, even with par being at 71.  The last nine winners here have been double-digits under par despite playing only 54 holes.

Despite the absence of Jiyai Shin and In-Kyung Kim, the field is another strong one containing 36 of my Top 40 players.  Along with their loss, we have two gains - Paula Creamer makes her return from thumb surgery this week and Alexis Thompson makes her professional debut at age 15.  For the second straight week, 150 players tee it up but this time the cutoff point comes after Position 165 as nearly everyone is tuning up for the LPGA Championship.

Finally!  I broke into the Top 10 for the first time this year in last week's PakPicker, finishing in fifth place.  Maybe there's hope for this cursed even-numbered season yet.