- Players from the United States hadn't won an event on the LPGA Tour in 2015, so leave it to one of the veterans to end that streak. Cristie Kerr shot an almost flawless final round 65 to win the Kia Classic. Honestly, Kerr's win was kind of unexpected - she didn't finish in the top 25 in any event this season prior to Kia, but Kerr is a borderline Hall of Famer and one of the most veterans on Tour, so form means nothing to her, as she can win seemingly out of nowhere.
- Lydia Ko has now played her last 28 rounds under par, one short of Annika Sorenstam's record. She is certainly the favorite to win next week at the ANA Inspiration, but in all honesty, she should have won the Kia Classic. Ko left too many shots on the table, and her putter let her down towards the end. These are all small flaws, however, and I'm sure Lydia won't be thinking about the Kia Classic when she tees off on Thursday.
- If Mirim Lee can become just a little more consistent, she will be a major player on the LPGA Tour. Lee is only 24 years old and in her second season on the LPGA Tour, but she's already won twice, and has two runner up finishes already this season. She seems to pop up on the leaderboards when you least expect it, then go away the moment you start thinking she's going to go on a roll, but she's still a really good player who can become part of that next tier of elite players.
- File this under the category "same thing, different week", Inbee Park and Hyo Joo Kim both finished in the top 10. Honestly, Kim will likely be a bit disappointed when she looks back on this week as she was in perfect position to win the tournament until a third round 72 took the wind out of her sails. Still, these two will be near the top of everyone's list when they make their picks for next week.
- Lexi Thompson, once again, seems to be peaking at the perfect moment. After being relatively quiet since winning the Kraft-Nabisco last year, she now has two top 10 finishes this season with a T12 in Singapore. As proven last year, the Dinah Shore course sets up perfectly for Thompson's game, so don't be surprised if the defending champion finds herself in the mix on Sunday.
- The most surprising result from this weekend was likely Sakura Yokomine's top 10 finish. After failing to make a single cut in her rookie season on the LPGA Tour, Yokomine was in contention through three rounds, and though she stumbled on the final day, she was able to hang on for her first top 10 finish as an LPGA professional. I had high hopes for Yokomine entering this season, and up until now she has been rather disappointing. Hopefully this finish sparks something in her and she begins to ascend.
- Not surprisingly, Se Ri Pak was unable to follow up her sterling third round 64, but she still managed her first top 10 finish in a year. Pak has been hampered with injury issues for the past three seasons and her career looked to be close to over, but she found her game at the Kia Classic and seems to be improving every week. The ANA Inspiration is the only major remaining from her resume (besides the Evian, which...I mean, come on), and last year she found lightning in a bottle and finished in third place. Pak has been circling this tournament for years, and now that she seems healthy, she could finally pull this off. Whether she does or not, however, it was great seeing Pak give another run up the leaderboard.
- We get it. Jimmy Walker is great. He is going to win a ton of tournaments and be a mainstay for the United States President and Ryder Cup teams for the next several years. He will likely be leading the FedEx Cup standings for the next six years. To me, none of that matters anymore because Walker has already secured his spot on that second tier list of players in the world. In fact, he's at the top of that list. If he chooses to be considered one of the absolute elite players in the world, though, he needs to win a major. He will have an opportunity to do so, as both the US Open and the PGA Championship appear to be on courses that suit Walker's game.
- Another week, another blog post about how great Jordan Spieth is going to be over the next several years. Honestly, Spieth has become borderline boring. He shows up, performs great, and leaves. What else is there to really say? Talking about his age has been done to death, and it isn't about his age anymore anyway. He's one of the top 10 players in the world. He is on the short list of best American players currently. He will likely perform well at The Masters once again. We're spoiled with this kid right now.
- Zach Johnson has become unwatchable on the greens. He hits almost every fairway and his ball striking is fantastic, but he can't make a ten foot putt right now. I hope he turns that around quickly, because he could be a contender for every major if he can figure out his putter.
- Want another example of how form doesn't mean anything? Look no further than Richie Ramsey, who hadn't cashed in a check all season until his win in Morocco this week. When Ramsey won the US Amateur, he looked like he was going to be the next great golfer out of Scotland. His career has been a rollercoaster ride since then, but hopefully this win will get him to turn his game around and start becoming a big name player.
- Every year, there is an older past champion who finds his way near the top of The Masters leaderboard. This year, perhaps it is Jose Maria Olazabal's turn. Despite a recent loss in form and struggled with arthritis, Olazabal has not missed the cut in his previous two Masters trips, and this week, he briefly found himself tied for the lead in Morocco before finishing T9. Olazabal misses more cuts than he makes now in the twilight of his career, but perhaps he can put it together for one last sprint up the leaderboard.
- The Masters Field is set (with the exception of the winner of the Shell Houston Open), and Paul Casey has to be the luckiest man in the world right now. Sitting at 49th in the World Golf Rankings, Casey took this week off knowing that several players could jump him with strong finishes. In Morocco, the pressure was on Alexander Levy, who entered the tournament as the highest ranked player in the field. He surprisingly missed the cut. Then it was George Coetzee's chance, as a victory would have secured him a spot in the field. He gave it a run and finished T3, but he gave away way too many shots throughout the course of the week. In San Antonio, it was up to Harris English, who needed a top 10 finish to get in, but he never got comfortable and finished T30. Marc Warren could have played in Morocco to give himself a chance at making The Masters, but decided instead to play in Texas. That gamble didn't pay off, as he finished T35. The pressure of making The Masters can get to anyone, and this week, every player who had an opportunity to make the field failed to do so.
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