Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship Preview
by hound dog on Oct 18, 2011 3:00 PM PDT
Email
Print
|
Defending Champion - inaugural event Yang Mei, Taoyuan, Taiwan 72 holes, begins Thursday (Wed PM EDT) Par 72, 6390 yards Tournament Odds - from Oddschecker.com Last Player In - n/a First Players Out - n/a Scoring Averages - n/a 2011 Scoring Average to date - 73.07
U.S. TV coverage (all times EDT): Thu 730p-930p GC Fri 730p-930p GC Sat 730p-930p GC Sun 730p-930p GC |
Lorena Ochoa's popularity back home was such that by 2008 there were three LPGA events in Mexico. I think it's safe to say that similar circumstances have given birth to this event in Taiwan, just as Yani Tseng has secured her position as Most Dominant Player on Tour. It's no exhibition either - the purse of $2 million is second only to Evian as the largest among limited fields this year.
Given that sizeable purse, the field strength is disappointing. Four of my Top 10 players (Lincicome, Webb, Creamer and Stanford) waved it off and the Field Score is the third-lowest of the season behind the Founders Cup (61) and Navistar (74). To be fair to those missing Top 10ers, this is the first missed event of the year for three of them and only the second for Webb. Here's a stat that really shows you how sparse the LPGA schedule has been in 2011 - through last week's event in Malaysia, 21 players had teed it up in all 19 scheduled events.
One missing player really caught my eye - Shanshan Feng. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but does anybody else think it's strange that the Tour's only player from mainland China isn't participating in the inaugural Taiwan event? She's played well the last two weeks (T13 and T9) so I doubt it's a physical problem.
Returning to the Ochoa-Tseng parallel - my first inclination is against expecting Yani to win this week. The many distractions that the local superstar has to face (especially in her first home start) are sure to take something away from her usual preparations. Then I looked back at Lorena's record - three times she won in her home country, starting with the 2006 Corona Championship (all three of her wins in Mexico were Coronas) in just her third homeland start. So I'll try not to be surprised if Tseng collects her seventh win of 2011 on Sunday.
8 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Lorena's success may not necessarily translate to Yani....
The Mexican events were played in high altitudes. Lorena was better acclimatized to the thin air than 95% of her competitors. Lorena was a great champion and could win anywhere, but on home soil she was especially lethal.
Yani's home soil
Is anywhere grass grows.
What an amazing display of golf.
Yani GOGOGO!!!
by fanslaststand on Oct 23, 2011 9:13 AM PDT via iPhone app up reply actions
Creamer
always plays the Masters CG tournament in Japan, which is this week. My guess is that it is a paid appearance and a function for her Japanese company sponsors. Otherwise she probably would have played the LPGA tournament. Why the other players are not playing I have no idea.
The Hound Dog preview is much better than LPGA.com
The tournament preview at LPGA.com is laughably bad. The article incorrectly states that Lincicome and Creamer are in the field. But my favorite quote from the article is:
… the Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship already boasts an elite field that includes … 11 of the top-10 on the Rolex Rankings.I think they meant to say 10 of the top-11 (even if that’s actually wrong) or maybe they want to quote Spinal Tap because their tournament goes one better than all the others.
A month or so ago I had the opportunity to chat with three people who reside in mainland China. For some stupid reason I said the word Taiwan. It caused all three to take on an expressionless stare. I quickly changed the subject.
There is no way Shanshan Feng will ever play in Taiwan. If she did the Chinese government would take away her passport.
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
What an ignorant comment Diane. There are Chinese athletes competing in Taiwan for a myriad of different levels of events. Chinese players won both tournaments in Taiwan on the WTA/ITF tour in 2010, and the Chinese Tennis Association has a lot more control/say of where their players play then any Chinese golf association has on Shanshan.
Feng may have chosen not to play based on her own personal beliefs, but to say it was forced as you have implied, is simply wrong, and completely ignorant.
Jamie R. Belyea
jamie in the rough
natural gut is love.
@thejamierbelyea
jamierbelyea@gmail.com
by Jamie R. Belyea on Oct 24, 2011 1:53 AM PDT up reply actions
p.s.
I’d also like to point out that Chinese golfers competed in all three of the Taiwan stops on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour, just in case my tennis example didn’t prove your ignorance.
Jamie R. Belyea
jamie in the rough
natural gut is love.
@thejamierbelyea
jamierbelyea@gmail.com
by Jamie R. Belyea on Oct 24, 2011 1:58 AM PDT up reply actions
Late rally by Pat Hurst may influence final Top 48 toward Sybase
Somewhat obscure. Heck, she started on the back nine. But Hurst playing her final 4 holes in 4 under with an eagle and two birdies may play a key role in eventually boosting her into the Top 48 and Sybase Match Play next year. That short stretch was worth roughly $14,000 and also qualified her for the Titleholders.
Lorena Ochoa can also play a role, if she invites anyone into her event among Hurst, Paige McKenzie, Ryann O’Toole, Natalie Gulbis. They are bunched in the 45-50 range.
BTW, notice the latest Q School twist, with players advancing to final stage despite failing to reach the specified Top 70 and ties at second stage. Apparently the entry deadline passed on Friday with fewer than the maximum 144, allowing players who missed by one shot to get a late reprieve.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
