ShopRite LPGA Classic
Bay Course at Seaview – A Dolce Resort
Galloway, N.J.
Pre-tournament notes and interviews
June 1, 2011
Ai Miyazato Rolex Rankings No. 7 and defending champion
Yani Tseng, Rolex Rankings No. 1
The ShopRite LPGA Classic begins Friday at Seaview – A Dolce Resort in Galloway, N.J. The 150-player field will be competing for a $1.5 million purse as they play the Bay Course this week to kick off what will be a significant stretch of summer tournaments. Defending champion Ai Miyazato will be among the group of players in the field at the ShopRite LPGA Classic who are trying to chase down current Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng.
Miyazato, who is No. 7 in the Rolex Rankings, will be joined this week by other top-ranked players such as No. 3 Jiyai Shin, No. 4 Cristie Kerr, No. 5 Na Yeon Choi and No. 6 I.K. Kim. The tournament field also includes past ShopRite LPGA Classic champions Seon Hwa Lee (2006), Kerr (2004), Angela Stanford (2003), Se Ri Pak (1999), and Juli Inkster (1986, 1988), as well as all 2011 LPGA Tour winners.
Looking for Back-to-Back: Japan’s Ai Miyazato returns to the site of her fifth career LPGA victory this week hoping to be the first player in 2011 to successfully defend a title. Miyazato’s two-shot victory over M.J. Hur at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in 2010 propelled her to Rolex Rankings No. 1, a position she held for 11 weeks throughout last season.
Miyazato has only one Top-10 finish in six events so far this season, but that finish came at the Sybase Match Play Championship two weeks ago when she lost to Cristie Kerr in the quarterfinals. “I played really good at the Match Play, so I felt like my game is coming back and my confidence is coming back too,” Miyazato said. “So I’m really comfortable with my game now.”
Tseng-sational: Yani Tseng will try to continue her strong hold on the world’s top spot while playing at the ShopRite LPGA Classic this week. Tseng took over the Rolex Rankings No. 1 spot early this season after winning four straight events worldwide, including the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open and ANZ RACV Ladies Open co-sanctioned by the Australian Ladies Open co-sanctioned by Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG) on the Ladies European Tour (LET) and the season-opening Honda LPGA Thailand on the LPGA Tour.
Tseng is looking to make history in 2011. She became the youngest player in LPGA history to win three majors by capturing the 2008 LPGA Championship, 2010 Kraft Nabisco Championship and the 2010 RICOH Women’s British Open. A victory at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open will complete Tseng’s quest for the Career Grand Slam.
Suzann Pettersen withdrew from the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Wednesday. The Rolex Rankings No. 2 released the following statement regarding her withdrawl: “I regret that I will have to miss the ShopRite Classic this week as a result of sickness. It is unfortunate since I enjoy the course and the people of Atlantic City have been so wonderful to me throughout the years. I have been struggling to get healthy the last two weeks and have been advised that a week off will make an important difference in my recovery so that I am ready to head to Springfield to play in the State Farm Classic.”
Of Note…Young-A Yang and Jean Bartholomew earned the final two spots in the field via Monday’s qualifier. Both shot even-par 71s and earned their spots in a playoff with Yang making birdie on the first playoff hole and Bartholomew makin
Full Article: LPGA.com News & Entertainment
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