Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Wednesday Preview - Kingsmill Championship

After taking a week off, the ladies of the LPGA Tour head to the east coast for the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Virginia. The countdown to the US Women's Open begins this week.

Course: Kingsmill Resort, River Course, a 6,400 yard track. It's not terribly lengthy but it can be tricky in certain parts. The scores generally hover around twelve under par. Annika Sorenstam owns the scoring record at -19, but she also won by seven strokes that year. Look for eleven or twelve to take it.

Strength Of Field: B+. A few players here and there, like Shanshan Feng, prevent this event from being another A class field. Expect another top heavy leaderboard this weekend.

Extra Tidbits: Following the North Texas Shootout, a reshuffle occurred in the priority rankings. Charley Hull and Stephanie Meadow get into the field thanks to their new priority ranking. Expect them to play a ton leading up to the US Open...Brooke Henderson is once again in the field this week. Expect her to receive membership next year after commission Mike Whan accepts her special exemption...This used to be the site of the Michelob ULTRA Open, which always attracted the best fields. The tournament took two years off in 2010 and 2011, and is now back as the re-branded Kingsmill Championship...Lizette Salas won her first LPGA Title last year by four strokes...Only one play has won more than once in Kingsmill. That player is Cristie Kerr, who has won three times.


Fantasy Four:

Inbee Park - Won once again in Texas after finishing runner up in Hawaii. She's Lydia Ko's closest challenger and has been playing incredible golf, again, in 2015. 

Lydia Ko - It will take a lot to be bumped out of the Fantasy Four for Ko, but I do not consider her the favorite this week, thanks to Inbee's stunning play as of late. That means Ko will enter this week under the radar...a dangerous position for the world's top player.

Lexi Thompson - Has been quickly improving and appears to be knocking on the door of her first victory since her major triumph last season. The course should set up for her game, and she could overpower a few holes on this course.

Hyo Joo Kim - After winning a month ago, she has finished either inside the top 10 or just outside in every event. 

(SLEEPER) Stephanie Meadow - Will be looking to take advantage of her new status on Tour. Her only start this season was a T20 at the ANA Inspiration. A lot of people seem to have forgotten about Meadow, who finished inside the top 5 at the US Open, and she will remind some people this week.
EDIT: Stephanie Meadow has withdrawn from the event. My Sleeper replacement will be Brooke Henderson.

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