Course: Lake Merced Golf Club, a 6,400 yard layout. It is not overly challenging, but the length can be difficult to some of the short hitters, and winds off the Pacific Ocean can cause the scores to creep a little higher. Expect low teens under par to be the winning score.
Strength Of Field: B-. All the big names are back, but the field lacks depth. It is a limited field event, and several Taiwanese players received an exemption into the field. This meant several Q-School graduates got left out of the event.
Extra Tidbits: Swinging Skirts is an organization out of Taiwan that promotes the game of golf for women. They used to have their own event on the TLPGA Tour, but that was scrapped as this event became an official TLPGA event...Last year, Lydia Ko won her first event as an LPGA professional (her third LPGA victory overall)...Sakura Yokomine and Sue Kim are the Monday qualifiers this week...As this is an official TLPGA event, 17 players from the TLPGA Tour received invited into the event. Also receiving an invite are Haley Moore, the young amateur who made the cut at the ANA Inspiration, and Brooke Henderson, who recently turned professional...Friday will mark Lydia Ko's 18th birthday.
Fantasy Four:
Lydia Ko - The number one player returns as the defending champion, which is a huge advantage. Giving someone who already has all the confidence in the world an extra boost of confidence is a recipe for a great week. Hasn't played since the ANA Inspiration, where she played below expectations, but should be rested and ready to go.
Inbee Park - Top 10 machine. Will find a way to contend nearly every week, so she will find herself in this feature nearly every week.
Sei Young Kim - It will be interesting to see how she performs after her remarkable victory in Hawaii. That was her second victory of the season, so she could either be content with her performances or she will be hungry for more. If she's focused, she will be right back near the top once again.
Hyo Joo Kim - I was back and forth between Kim and Stacy Lewis for this spot, but Kim gets the slight edge because of her final round in Hawaii that got her close to being in contention down the stretch had her putter not abandoned her. She could win on any course during any week.
(SLEEPER) Mika Miyazato - I am cautiously optimistic about Mika-chan's chances this week after seeing her slowly improve every week. While last week was her first top 10, it was her fourth top 25 of the season, and she has only one missed cut, which took place the very first week of the season. She has some momentum now, and could translate that into a big finish this week.
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