Mizuno Classic Preview
by hound dog on Nov 1, 2011 3:00 PM PDT
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Defending Champion - Jiyai Shin Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club Shima-shi, Mie, Japan 54 holes, begins Friday Par 72, 6506 yards Tournament Odds - from Oddschecker.com Last Player In - n/a First Players Out - n/a Scoring Averages - 70.79 (2010), 70.79 (2009), 71.90 (2008) 2011 Scoring Average to date - 73.10 no U.S. TV coverage |
The Asian Swing's final stop is also its oldest, as this year's Mizuno Classic marks the 39th consecutive year that the LPGA has visited Japan. For the sixth time, Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club is the venue. Expect the scores to be low as only one Mizuno event since 2004 has failed to average under par (2007). The average score for the winner of this 54-hole tournament over that stretch has been nearly -17. One oddity I found among the past results - no American has won Mizuno since Betsy King did it back-to-back in 1992 and '93. Annika Sorenstam's five straight wins here was the reason for a good part of that drought but the fact did surprise me.
Can you believe that Jiyai Shin's victory here last year is the last time she's won? At the time, she had just nosed out Paula Creamer for the lead in the category of Young Player Most Likely To Reach The Hall Of Fame. The Tseng Blitz of the last 12 months has relegated Jiyai and Paula to second and third chairs, I'd say.
If you dislike my tendency in previews to focus on players not in attendance, you'd probably better stop reading now. The Field Score of 43 is the lowest since last year's CVS. The two events have a lot in common. CVS was the weekend prior to the start of 2010's fall Asian Swing while Mizuno, being at the end of this year's Swing, is the weekend prior to the Ochoa Invitational. In both cases, many players passed to get a head start on the long travel. In Mizuno's case, it was even worse because last week's open date gave players even more reason to head home early. Hopefully the commonalities end there as the CVS did not survive to 2011. Only three of my Top 10 players are here (Stacy Lewis, Na Yeon Choi, Karrie Webb) and only eight of my Top 20. I was shocked to see that neither Creamer nor So Yeon Ryu is in the field. Really? Japan's favorite American player and the JLPGA's winner of the U.S. Open passed too?
You want to hear something really odd (boy, this preview is Jam-Packed with 'em!!)? Paula Creamer has NEVER played in the Mizuno Classic. My first search at Golfobserver.com returned no results so I looked it up manually - not a single appearance. She plays one JLPGA event every year (usually the one she shares a sponsor with) but has always steered clear of the one Japanese event co-sanctioned by the LPGA. I'm not sure which is more shocking - Creamer never having played Mizuno or that I've never noticed before. Do players still get fined for missing an event four or more years running?
The last four Mizuno winners have been JLPGA members (including Shin, twice) and I would be foolish to bet against that happening again. I'll defer to The Constructivist on the question of which of them should be expected to challenge. Even so, we can't ignore the possibility that the red-hot Na Yeon Choi could dominate this field and take her second win in three events.
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I just think its a difficult sell for many of the US based players. Its comes at the end of a 4 tournament in 5 weeks Asian swing. Most of the top players played the Korean, Malayasian and Taiwan events. There was an open week for the lpga where some players like Yani played in the LET event and than the Mizuno. Four weeks of gruelling overseas travel can wear you down and you won’t play very well. Remember, most of these girls don’t make PGA tour money with private jets and appearence fees.
So Yeon Ryu
I could not find So Yeon Ryu listed on the JLPGA money list. Isn’t she a KLPGA member?
I'm just curious but has Michelle Wie won a major in ladies golf yet?
Public Enemy #1 and enjoying every minute of it. Tapology.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 2, 2011 10:37 AM PDT reply actions
No, but she has won 2 tournaments
I’m not a big Wie fan, but I wouldn’t be very surprised to see her put it together any particular weekend and win any tournament, including a major. She’s still a top-20 player. She has finished 2nd twice this year and a Top-10 at the Kraft major. (Made the cut, but did not do well at the other 3 majors.)
And I would say this to anyone who has interest in Wie. Please by all means tune in the LPGA to watch her, but also notice her competitors. Wie can still bomb it, but so can Yani Tseng and the precocious Lexi Thompson can hit it past both of them. There are so many players to become fans of: Paula Creamer, Stacy Lewis, and others. If it’s because Wie is “easy on the eyes”, then you can follow Sandra Gal, I.K. Kim, or Azahara Munoz.
Come for the appetizer, stay for the meal!
by WooIsMe on Nov 2, 2011 9:57 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Could it be as simple as the manufacturer?
Perhaps it’s cynical to think that TaylorMade hints to Creamer that she shouldn’t play an event sponsored by Mizuno.
If Mizuno had more of a presence in LPGA bags no doubt we’d see them here. I would have bet anything that Stacy Lewis would be in the field, considering the prominent Mizuno cap.
The two-week gap no doubt played a major role in this year’s weak field. Are they supposed to linger? Some of the younger players trying to establish themselves like Joh, Piller, and O’Toole apparently returned to the United States before flying to Japan but veterans like Gulbis and Pat Hurst are skipping the event despite needing money list bump toward Sybase next year.
Apparently there is no TV, other than perhaps sites with the pirated feeds. That might be another residue of the week off. The same TV crew provided the delayed coverage of the three previous Asian events.
I'm more cynical - money
I think she plays in Japan when paid to play. If she plays the LPGA co-sponsored event she can not be paid to play. If she plays the co-sponsored event does that kill or reduced the incentive payment to play other tournaments in Japan. If that is the case I do not blame her for not playing. I think the fine for not playing a tournament does not extend to restricted field events.
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