Will an American win the LPGA player of the year for the first time since 1994? (Stats & Facts, Vol 11)

[Tontj5]

Stats & Facts "Vol 11"

The LPGA was Idle last week and will be Idle again this week. The tour will resume next week, and that will be the start of six consecutive tournaments without a break. The first four of those tournaments will be held in Asia, followed by one in Mexico, and then the LPGA will have its finale; The Titleholders Championship, in the state of Florida.

There is still a lot at stake these coming weeks, so let us look at some statistics as the top players will be fighting for some pretty important awards:

Rolex Player of the Year Award : (Winner will receive a Hall of Fame point)
1- Stacy Lewis - 184 points
2- Jiyai Shin - 128
3- Yani Tseng - 120
4- Inbee Park - 114
5- Shanshan Feng - 112

Player of the year award points are awarded as follows:
First Place - 30
2nd - 12
3rd -  9
4th -  7
5th -  6
6th -  5
7th -  4
8th -  3
9th -  2
10th -1

It appears that Stacy Lewis has all but wrapped this up. It would take someone listed above to win twice, coupled by a complete collapse on Stacy's part, to knock her out of the top spot.  Considering the fact that she leads the tour with 14 top tens, that would appear unlikely. A stacy win would be the first time an American player has won this award since 1994.

Vare Trophy Standings: (Winner receives a Hall of Fame point)
1- Jiyai Shin - 70.14 (strokes per round)
2- Stacy Lewis - 70.33
3- Inbee Park - 70.60
4- So Yeon Ryu - 70.63
5- Ai Miyazato - 70.71

This race is up for grabs. A good finish for any of the above, could vault them to the top. Jiyai Shin is still 19 rounds short of the minimum qualification requirement. With a total of 6 tournaments and 22 rounds still to be played (two of the events are 3 rounds only), Jiyai must play them all to qualify.

Rolex Rookie of the Year Award:
1- So Yeon Ryu - 1117 points
2- Lexi Thompson - 652
3- Lizette Salas - 268
4- Sydnee Michaels - 260
5- Mo Martin - 236

This race appears to be over. It would take Two Lexi wins and a So Yeon immediate retirement announcement to change this result.

Solheim Cup Points: (Top 8 qualify automatically, 2 captains picks, 2 highest Rolex ranked players not already in)
1- Stacy Lewis - 457 points
2- Paula Creamer - 239
3- Cristie Kerr - 214
4- Angela Stanford - 209
5- Brittany Lincicome - 161
6- Brittany Lang - 143
7- Lexi Thompson - 107
8- Katie Futcher - 97

On the outside looking in:
9 -Vicky Hurst - 89
10-Michelle Wie - 85
11-Natalie Gulbis 74
12-Morgan Pressel - 70

Most consecutive tournaments without a missed cut:
1- Karrie Webb - 41
2- Paula Creamer - 40
3- Jiyai Shin - 32
4- Na Yeon Choi - 29
5- Beatriz Recari - 27

Most consecutive missed cuts:
1- Stephanie Kono - 15
1- Michelle Elli - 15
3- Na On Min - 12
4- Ashli Bunch - 11
5- Elsa Seramina - 10

For  much more news on the LPGA:

http://mlyhlss.blogspot.com/2012/10/stats-facts-vol-11.html

[MSchott]

I follow the LPGA but not that closely. Had no idea that Lewis was doing so well. This is great to hear. I'm hoping Yani gets her game back together and that Wie lives up to her potential. There are a lot of fine young players on the LPGA these days.

[Elvisliveson]

I think Stacy will bring it home.

The Solheim Cup points accumulation still has about 10 months to run, no? Surprised to see how few points Morgan Pressel has. Guess she really has fallen off the map since the Sybase Match Play debacle. Thought Vicky Hurst and Natalie Gulbis would have more. Natalie had high finishes in big profile events (Kraft Nabisco and Evian) and one other top 10. But, she seems to finish just outside the top 20 a lot, thereby getting no points. Conversely, Michelle Wie has missed a lifetime of cuts this year, but I guess had several high finishes last year. I think they should award Solheim points to the top 20 American and European finishers each week rather than for just finishing inside the top 20.

[Tontj5]

Originally Posted by Elvisliveson

I think Stacy will bring it home.

The Solheim Cup points accumulation still has about 10 months to run, no? Surprised to see how few points Morgan Pressel has. Guess she really has fallen off the map since the Sybase Match Play debacle. Thought Vicky Hurst and Natalie Gulbis would have more. Natalie had high finishes in big profile events (Kraft Nabisco and Evian) and one other top 10. But, she seems to finish just outside the top 20 a lot, thereby getting no points. Conversely, Michelle Wie has missed a lifetime of cuts this year, but I guess had several high finishes last year. I think they should award Solheim points to the top 20 American and European finishers each week rather than for just finishing inside the top 20.

I agree with you. I think Stacy will bring it home, and also threaten Yani's #1 position in the world very soon.

[Elvisliveson]

Originally Posted by Tontj5

I agree with you. I think Stacy will bring it home, and also threaten Yani's #1 position in the world very soon.

Yes, I firmly believe Stacy will supplant Yani as #1, unless JI Shin somehow beats her to it, which seems highly unlikely.

I think it's a shame how so many casual viewers don't realize how good Lewis is because the media always seemed to be focusing on building up some other American (like Paula, Michelle and now Lexi).