The 2010 LPGA Elevator

I promised in my August Top 70 post that I would profile a few players who have moved up or slid down in the rankings in recent months and try to explain what is responsible for the change.  I'll cover the ones who are Moving Down in a day or two but let's get started with the ones who are happier these days:

MOVING UP

Inbee Park

A well-documented victim of the U.S. Women's Open Curse, Inbee actually began her return to form late last year when she finished in the Top 10 in her last two events.  She was #59 in my final 2009 rankings.  This year she's collected eight Top 10s in 13 starts with no missed cuts and is tenth on the money list, moving her up to #16.  Park's improvement has been all tee-to-green. She's currently 28^th in GIR after ranking 138^th in 2009 and most of that comes from better driving (#36 in Total Driving up from #123 last year).

Amy Yang

A third-year LPGA member, Amy is in her second season of playing a full schedule.  Given her advance notices (youngest-ever winner of an LET event as an amateur in 2005, fourth on the LET money list in 2008), her steady climb to #17 shouldn't be a huge surprise.  Yang has four Top 10s and no missed cuts this year after only two Top 10s and four MCs last year.  Although she's driving better in 2010 (#24 up from #54), Amy is hitting GIR about the same.  The putter seems to be the big difference in her game as she's up from #48 to #12 in Total Putting.

Jee Young Lee

One of my faves, Jelly had fallen to #35 in my rankings by the end of 2009.  Currently #22, Lee is hitting the green a lot more often (19^th after ranking #75 last year) and putting a little better too.  The result has been five Top 10s, although in the last two months she's backslid with two missed cuts and three other finishes of T59 or worse. 

Stacy Lewis

Stacy is quietly having a Top 30 season thus far after topping out short of the Top 40 as a rookie in 2009.  She has only one Top 10 but it was a good one - second place at Tres Marias - and she's also finished in the teens five times after managing only four Top 20s all of last year.  Still misses the cut too often - three times already after seven times a year ago - to take the next step.  Lewis is driving well and is among the Top 10 in GIR but the putter is holding her back (#58 in Total Putting).

M.J. Hur

Thanks primarily to her victory at the 2009 Safeway Classic, M.J. finished the year ranked #40.  The rest of her numbers - one other Top 10, ten missed cuts - were not indicative of a Top 40 player.  As for 2010 - second verse, different from the first.  Two Top 10s (one a second at ShopRite) and only two MCs in 14 starts.  If Hur could get any improvement out of her tee-to-green game (130^th in Total Driving, 101^st in GIR), she could threaten the Top 20.

Shanshan Feng

China's lone LPGA wolf couldn't carry her late-2008 success into 2009, missing nine cuts and finishing no better than T20.  Ending the year outside of my Top 70, Jenny (as she likes to be called) got out of the gate well in 2010 with three Top 10s in her first six starts.  She's missed only one cut so far but hasn't collected a Top 50 finish in her last four outings so Feng's progress has stalled just outside the Top 30.  Virtually all of her improvement over last year has been with the putter (#3 in Total Putting, up from #119).

Jeong Jang

Finally getting back in form after her wrist surgery during the '08-'09 off-season, JJ collected her first post-surgery Top 10 at Evian last month.  She's been very steady in her rise to #34, not missing a cut since her first start at the Kia Classic.  Jang is driving about the same as she did in 2008 (when she ranked as HD #12) and hitting the greens about the same.  A ranking of 87^th in Total Putting tells me that's where she needs to improve to keep moving up to her accustomed level.