Stacy Lewis wins again!! (Lorena Ochoa Invitational Preview & Pairings)

[Tontj5]

Lorena Ochoa Invitational Preview & Pairings

It has quite a week here in New Jersey. Hurricane Sandy has really done quite a bit of damage. I was not able to give you pairings or updates on last week's tournament as we were without power for quite a few days. Getting gasoline to fill our automobiles has also been one big challenge.

Congratulations goes out to Stacy Lewis for winning the Mizuno Classic. Stacy made a remarkable comeback as she was seven shots down at the start of the final round. This was her fourth win of the year. Stacy has now just about wrapped up the 2012 Rolex Player of the Year Award. Inbee Park would have to win the two remaining tournaments while Stacy finishes out of the top ten in both, for Inbee to steal the trophy away. That is a scenario that is very highly unlikely. The winner also receives a Hall of Fame point. The last American to win the award was Beth Daniel in 1994.

The other big race is for the Vare Trophy which also carries a Hall of Fame point. With Jiyai Shin not eligible because she does not meet the minimum rounds criteria, it has come down to a race between Stacy Lewis and Inbee Park. Currently Inbee leads with a 70.30 per round average. Stacy Lewis is second at 70.32. How close is that? Stacy just has to make up 2 strokes in the final 8 rounds of the season to win this also.

The tour moves to Mexico this week for the playing of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. Lorena will actually be teeing it up herself this week.

This is tournament #26 of 27 this year. Here are the key details:

Course: Guadalajara Country Club
Location: Guadalajara, Mexico
Defending Champion: Catriona Matthew
Winning Score: 69-68-68-71=276 (-12)

Final Field: 36 players
Par: 36/36=72
Yardage: 6,644 yards
Purse: $1,000,000

I will post the pairings as soon as they become available.

Other Tidbits:
It seems like just yesterday that we thought nobody was going to catch Yani Tseng for the number one ranking in the world for a very long time. Well things are changing much more quickly than anyone could have anticipated. In April, Yani had a 9.47 lead over Na Yeon Choi who was in second place. Currently her lead is only 3.14 over Stacy Lewis.

For more on this tournament and other news:
http://mlyhlss.blogspot.com/2012/11/lorena-ochoa-invitational-preview.html

[MSchott]

Thank you for keeping us up to date on the LPGA. I follow it but not closely and was unaware that Lewis has become such a force. That's great to hear.

[Tontj5]

Here are Thursdays pairings:

http://tinyurl.com/bw2xt7s

[Tontj5]

Here are the first round leaders:

1 Michelle Wie -6

1 Angela Stanford -6

1 Candie Kung -6

4 Cristie Kerr -5

4 So Yeon Ryu -5

4 Stacy Lewis -5

4 Inbee Park -5

4 Karine Icher -5

9 In-Kyung Kim -4

9 Katherine Hull -4

11 Beatriz Recari -3

11 Anna Nordqvist -3

13 Suzann Pettersen -2

13 Yani Tseng -2

13 Hee Kyung Seo -2

16 Nine tied at -1

16 Lorena Ochoa -1

[Yukari]

Michelle Wie must really like this tournament.

She seems to do well on this tournament.  I guess having your first win in this tournament gives you more confidence.

[Tontj5]

Here are the leaders after the second round:

1 Angela Stanford -11 F
2 Inbee Park -9 F
3 Cristie Kerr -8 F
4 So Yeon Ryu -7 F
4 Stacy Lewis -7 F
4 Candie Kung -7 F
7 In-Kyung Kim -6 F
7 Karine Icher -6 F
9 Hee Kyung Seo -5 F
9 Katherine Hull -5 F
11 Anna Nordqvist -4 F
12 Haeji Kang -3 F
12 Ai Miyazato -3 F
12 Vicky Hurst -3 F
12 Yani Tseng -3 F
12 Michelle Wie -3 F

[boogielicious]

First time I saw this Tournament a couple of years back they had the camera on Christie Kerr.  She hit an errant approach shot and said, "God Damn it" very loud.  No tape delay.  Pretty funny.

[Tontj5]

Final results:

1 Cristie Kerr -16 F
2 Angela Stanford -15 F
2 Inbee Park -15 F
4 Candie Kung -12 F
4 Stacy Lewis -12 F
6 Haeji Kang -11 F
6 So Yeon Ryu -11 F
8 Katherine Hull -10 F
8 Hee Kyung Seo -10 F
10 Anna Nordqvist -9 F
11 Karine Icher -8 F
12 Suzann Pettersen -7 F
12 In-Kyung Kim -7 F
14 Ai Miyazato -6 F
14 Brittany Lincicome -6 F
14 Michelle Wie -6 F