Wednesday Preview - Kingsmill Championship

The LPGA returns from its one week hiatus for the Kingsmill Championship Presented by JTBC. This was the very tournament that got me obsessed with the LPGA, as a 15 year old me watched Grace Park out-dueled three of the best players in the game to walk away with her fourth victory.

Course: Kingsmill Resort, a 6,300 yard course in Virginia. It is a ball strikers paradise, as shots to the pin are encouraged. The winning score hasn't dipped below -8, with the lowest being a dominating -19 by Annika Sorenstam in 2008. 

Strength Of Field: B. Michelle Wie and Rolex Number One Inbee Park is missing, but almost everyone else is playing the event. 

Extra Tidbits: A victory by Stacy Lewis can jump her over Park for the Rolex Number One ranking. Lydia Ko can get within a couple of points with a victory, as well. Park has been number one for 57 weeks...Playoffs dominate this event. Two years ago was the epic nine hole playoff between Paula Creamer and JiYai Shin, and last year Cristie Kerr and Suzann Pettersen needed extra holes to decide the winner...Cristie Kerr has the most wins in this event, walking away with three trophies, including last years...LET Tour member Charley Hull was one of the players receiving a sponsors exemption this week.

Fantasy Four:

Stacy Lewis - Winner two weeks ago, and has a whooping 8 top 10's this season. There is no reason to ever leave Lewis out of my top 4, unless she starts to struggle. A victory gets her back to number one.

Lexi Thompson - Backed up her victory at the Kraft Nabisco with a top 10 two weeks ago. Consistency is my only concern about Lexi, who is unbeatable if she is playing at her best. 

Lydia Ko - Returning to action after her victory three weeks ago. Could get incredibly close to number one with a victory this week. Her victory came off the heels of three mediocre weeks, but has not missed a cut this season, and has three top 10's on top of her victory, so it's feast or famine for Ko this season.

Cristie Kerr - Won three events at Kingsmill, including last year. I would pick Kerr here if she wasn't playing well, but she's coming off of 6 straight top 10s, so she's hitting it well heading into what may be her favorite tournament.

(SLEEPER) Line Vedel - Would be in the lead for the Rookie Of The Year race, if Lydia Ko didn't join the Tour this year. T4 last week, and made the cut 5 out of the 7 events she has played this season. Sometimes flying under the radar is the most comfortable position to be in.