Player Profiles - Part 6

Apologies for the hiatus - real life has been taking up a larger share of my time than normal and probably will be for the next several weeks.  Where were we?  Oh yes...

26.  Shanshan Feng  (NR-NR-26)

Feng finished seventh at CVS and T12 in Malaysia to conclude her season on a high note and move into my Top 30 for the first time.  As a rookie in 2008, she played very well over the second half to wind up #55.  In 2009 she wasn't even among the Top 100 as she missed nine cuts and finished no better than T20 in any events.  Her third time around was the charm - four Top 10s including a T4 at State Farm, six total Top 20s and only two missed cuts.

Jenny putted a lot better in 2010, ranking 23^rd after coming in 119^th the year before.  She was also better at hitting the green (#19, up from #43) despite slipping ever-so-slightly in Total Driving (12^th down to 21^st).  Feng is still the only player from mainland China on Tour and may be for a few years yet, as none of the participants at Q-School were listed as hailing from that nation.

27.  Stacy Lewis  (46-NR-24)

Stacy made a nice move forward from her mostly disappointing 2009 rookie season.  She finished second at Tres Marias and third at Mizuno with four total Top 10 finishes and eight others in the teens.  If it weren't for the four cuts she missed, Lewis would have been a Top 20 player.  Her improvement was huge in two categories - Total Putting up from #103 to #32 and Total Driving up from #61 to #7.  Given the big jump in TD you would expect an improvement in GIR and she did go up to #16 from #38.  Stacy could post the same Big Three numbers in 2011 and easily come up with results good enough to make my Top 15.

28.  Azahara Munoz  (NR-NR-25)

You know you've been spoiled by the recent quality of LPGA rookies when you look at Munoz' ROY season and consider her lucky to have won the award.  Aza collected 69 points in my system, a total which would have placed her fourth in the 2009 rookie race and third in 2008.  At #28 in my rankings, she is my lowest ranked ROY since Patricia Meunier-Lebouc finished 28^th in 2001.  Her record of three Top 10s, eleven total Top 20s and four missed cuts looks downright puny sitting next to those of rookies like Shin, Nordqvist, Wie, Tseng and Choi.

Munoz struggled a bit down the stretch, with all four MCs and only one Top 10 in her last ten starts.  I expect she'll pace herself better in 2011 as most sophomores learn to do.  She didn't make the Top 25 in any of the Big Three stats but her worst number was 50^th in Total Driving.  All numbers aside, I must confess that I've become an Aza fan.  With her sunny disposition and Spanish accent, she fills the void created by the retirement of LaReina quite nicely.

29.  Meena Lee  (42-NR-29)

As a rookie in 2005, Meena was the 19^th best player on Tour and she followed that up with a #26 ranking in 2006.  Her third year was no charm - she failed to make my Top 50 and 2007 remains the only season of her career that she didn't finish in the money list Top 35.  The next two years left her hanging around #40 but 2010 saw Lee return to her early form.  She collected only two Top 10s but six total Top 20s and only two missed cuts were both sizable improvements over 2009.  Meena's iron play must have been clicking because she skyrocketed in GIR (from 83^rd to 18^th) without a sizable Total Driving jump (48^th up to only 37^th).

30.  Hee Kyung Seo  (NR-NR-22)

As a sponsor's invite, Seo won the Kia Classic in March which delivers an automatic berth in Category-7 for the following season.  The KLPGA's Supermodel of the Fairway elected to accept that berth and will play the LPGA full-time in 2011.  In her six LPGA starts, Hee Kyung collected one other Top 10 (T5 at the British Open), missed no cuts and earned $392,611 - good enough for 31^st on the money list had she been a member.

As a 24-year-old rookie with one non-member victory and 11 KLPGA victories over the last three years (none last year, oddly enough), Seo is my favorite to win Rolex Rookie of the Year in 2011.  Last year I posted how four of the last five non-member winners who played the LPGA regularly the following year had successful seasons.  In fact, two of those winners (Jiyai Shin and Shi Hyun Ahn) won Rookie of the Year.  Given that info plus the Supermodel's record in Korea, she's my ROY choice.