Course: Capitol Hill Golf Club. It's a wide open course that is far easier than what the players saw at the Evian, so expect a bunch of birdies. Several players, including Lexi Thompson and Stacy Lewis, have already commented on the course conditions, saying that they didn't want to grind for pars, and that this "should be a lot of fun". Expect winning score to be somewhere around -20.
Strength Of Field: D-. A strong majority of players didn't want to fly from France to Arkansas to play in this event. Most of the Asian players returned home to prepare for the Asian swing in a few weeks, while your top European and American pros stayed in Europe. Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson are the only real notable names in the field.
Extra Tidbits: Five former University of Alabama players and two former University of Auburn players are in the field this week. Northern Ireland's Stephanie Meadow attended the University of Alabama, and received a sponsor's exemption into this week's event. She finished third at the US Women's Open, and is looking to win enough money to stay inside the top 40 and earn an automatic 2015 LPGA card...Meadow and former Auburn player Karlin Beck are the two sponsor exemptions this week. Hannah Collier and Carmen Bandea are the Monday qualifiers.
Fantasy Four:
Mi Jung Hur - I am, perhaps, looking much more into her back to back top 10 finishes, which includes a third place finish at the Evian Championship. After all, she has had a horrible 2014 leading up to these tournaments, and this recent form seems to come out of nowhere. Weird things happen in events where the field strength may not be great, however. If Hur truly has returned to form, this could be a perfect spot for her to pick up her first victory since 2009.
Lexi Thompson - Past winner in Prattville, and while she hasn't been incredibly impressive since her victory at the Kraft-Nabisco, she likes it in Arkansas and is competing at a course that is perfect for her strengths. She is also coming off a top 10 in France, so it's not like she's playing poorly.
Stacy Lewis - Officially struggling. Gets the benefit of the doubt because she is the most recent champion in Prattville and is the top ranked player in the world, but her form is a far cry from where it was earlier in the season. She needs a huge performance here, because Inbee Park will be looking to overtake her when the Tour heads to Asia.
Brittany Lincicome - Three straight top 10 finishes, two of which were in majors. You can take these finishes two different ways - either she gets herself in a position to win and does not convert, or she's playing far better now than she was earlier in the season and is racking up top 10's with consistency. I choose the latter, and as is the case with Thompson, this is the kind of course that can be rewarding for Lincicome.
(SLEEPER) Ai Miyazato - Former world number one has fallen all the way to 74th in the Rolex Rankings and hasn't notched a single top 10 all season, so I have no basis for this other than my own belief that Miyazato will take advantage of the weak field and get something going before the Asian swing. Miyazato will either start turning it around soon, or we'll never hear from her again. Her game is too good for her to completely disappear, so I believe she will turn it around.
When I talked with Ai in Pittsford, she was thinking long-term and seeing her recent putting struggles as just part of being a golfer and something she'd work through. I didn't detect any frustration, much less panic. I agree she's one putting thought away from everything clicking back into place, but I'm no longer so confident it'll happen in 2014.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up. Glad to know her struggles aren't getting to her. I can't see a scenario where we don't see Ai in the winner's circle again, but her play lately has gotten me worried. She's too good to not have up there, though. Hopefully she gets it figured out soon.
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