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Here are the first round leaders: 1 Angela Stanford -8 F 1 Catriona Matthew -8 F 3 Irene Cho -6 F 3 Hee Young Park -6 F 3 Belen Mozo -6 F 3 Meena Lee -6 F 3 Inbee Park -6 F 8 Amy Yang -5 F 8 Ryann O'Toole -5 F 8 Chella Choi -5 F 8 Jenny Shin -5 F 8 Ji Young Oh -5 F For complete scoreboard: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/07/manulife-financial-lpga-classic-preview.html

The pairings for the first 2 rounds have now been posted. http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/07/manulife-financial-lpga-classic-preview.html

After a one week break the LPGA moves to Canada and resumes its schedule with the playing of the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic. This is a full field, 72 hole tournament. It is tournament #16 of 28 on the schedule this year. Here are the key details: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/07/manulife-financial-lpga-classic-preview.html

Most of the Asian players live here now but still choose to play under their country's flag. That is why the International crown tournament will be held next year. That way all countries can compete and just not the U.S. and Europe. To answer your second question, players from all european countries are eligable for the Solheim Cup, but they most be ranked high enough on either the Europeon Tour's point list or the Rolex Rankings to qualify. The Captain of the Euro Team, I beleive gets four picks of her own.

Only three more tournaments remain for the U.S. players to get themselves into position to qualify for the 2013 Solheim Cup, which will be played this year at the Colorado Club in Parker, Colorado. Players started accumulating points at the completion of the last Solheim Cup, in 2011. The United States has changed the qualifications for entry. In previous years it was the top ten players who accumulated the most points, and then two captain's picks. They have now changed that to the top eight players off the points list, the 2 highest Rolex ranked players not already in, and 2 captain's picks. Points are accumulated the following way: (From the first event after the previous Solheim Cup match in 2011 through the end of the 2012 season) Winner - 40 points, 2nd - 20 points, 3rd - 18 points, 4th - 17 points, all the way down to 20th - 2 points. (The 2013 season tournaments, leading up to the Solheim match) Winner - 60 points, 2nd - 30 points, 3rd - 28.5 points, 4th - 27 points, 5th - 25.5 points, all the way down to a 20th place finish worth 3 points. The reason for the increased points for the last part of the term is to give an advantage to the players who are hot going into the match. Points are doubled for major championships. With many players fighting to get into a position to make the team, lets look at where they stand. http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/07/solheim-cup-update-players-fighting-for.html

If you watch the LPGA regularly I am sure you hear it mentioned at least once every broadcast that Paula Creamer has not won since winning the U.S. Open in 2010. That of course is true, but doesn't tell the entire story of the level of golf Paula is playing. When a top player doesn't win for 3 years it usually means that they are in some kind of playing slump. Looking at Paula's record, she really has not had a period in her career where she has ever played poor golf. In fact, I can't find where she has ever had three bad tournaments in a row. It seems that in spite of the fact that she has been absent from the winner's circle for 3 years, she is always on the first or second page of the leader board. In fact she has finished in the top twenty 11 times this year already. That is more times than Inbee, Yani, Suzann, and Stacy. That is more times than anyone on the LPGA this year. She has also made 56 consecutive cuts. Paula's 4th place finish in last week's U.S. Open put her over the 10 million dollar mark in career earnings. She is the 8th player to achieve that feat. She did it in 194 tournaments. Only Lorena Ochoa accomplished it quicker. How does that stack up against some of today's brightest stars? Let's take a look. http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/07/paula-creamer-becomes-2nd-fastest-to-10.html

Way back in March I sat down and wrote who I thought were my biggest surprises and disappointments of the year. The LPGA had only played 5 tournaments at that point. So much has changed since then. The LPGA has now completed 15 of its 28 tournaments, and I would like to take another look. http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/07/surprises-disappointments-2013-part-2.html

First let me once again say congratulations to Inbee Park for not only making history in winning her third consecutive major championship, but also winning three consecutive LPGA tournaments. Inbee has now won 6 tournaments already this year. No one else has won more than two. Inbee has become,without a doubt, the most dominant player on the LPGA tour. People are already calling her a future Hall of Famer, and the next great player to follow in the footsteps of Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa. Where have we heard that before? Oh yes, it was about this time last year when we were all writing about Yani Tseng. What Inbee has accomplished this year is bound to draw comparisons to what Yani was doing until the middle of last year, when she went into a slump that she is still yet to recover from. The truth of the matter is that they are two completely different kinds of players. Yani, with her huge drives and very confident personality (at that time), was extremely exciting to watch. Inbee on the other hand, can almost put you to sleep. She doesn't wow you with her driving ability, and has a very laid back personality. What Inbee does have though is the hottest putter that I have ever seen on any tour. She seems to always be on top of the leader board, even though many times she doesn't appear to be playing all that well. Her ability to drop long putts at crucial times is uncanny. Comparing Inbee's 2013 season to Yani's 2011 season: Towards the end of the 2011 season I did a blog showing how dominant Yani was that year. Here are some of those numbers: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/07/comparing-inbee-park-yani-tseng.html

Here are the Final scores: 1 Inbee Park -8 2 In-Kyung Kim -4 3 So Yeon Ryu -1 T4 Paula Creamer +1 T4 Angela Stanford +1 T4 Jodi Ewart Shadoff +1 T7 Brittany Lang +2 T7 Jessica Korda +2 T9 Shanshan Feng +3 T9 Brittany Lincicome +3 For entire results: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/us-open-preview-pairings.html

Here are the leaders after 3 rounds: 1 Inbee Park -10 2 In-Kyung Kim -6 3 Jodi Ewart Shadoff -3 T4 So Yeon Ryu -1 T4 Angela Stanford -1 T6 Paula Creamer +1 T6 Jessica Korda +1 T8 Ai Miyazato +2 T8 Brittany Lang +2 T8 Brittany Lincicome +2 T8 Cristie Kerr +2 T12 Karrie Webb +3 For complete scoreboard: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/us-open-preview-pairings.html

Here are the second round leaders: 1 Inbee Park -9 2 In-Kyung Kim -7 T3 Lizette Salas -4 T3 Jodi Ewart Shadoff -4 T5 Angela Stanford -3 T5 Jessica Korda -3 T7 So Yeon Ryu -2 - T7 Anna Nordqvist -2 T9 Ha-Neul Kim -1 T9 Caroline Hedwall -1 T11 Haeji Kang E T11 Cristie Kerr E T11 Lindy Duncan E T11 Brittany Lincicome E T11 Jennifer Rosales E T11 Soo-Jin Yang E T17 Brittany Lang +1 T17 Paula Creamer +1 T17 Catriona Matthew +1 T17 Lexi Thompson +1 T17 Karine Icher +1 T17 Ryann O'Toole +1 For full results: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/us-open-preview-pairings.html

I have been telling this to people for years. Also, when the tour comes to your area you should give it a shot. You will have a great time.

Here are the first round leaders: 1 Ha-Neul Kim -6 -6 F 66 - - - 66 2 Inbee Park -5 -5 F 67 - - - 67 T3 Caroline Hedwall -4 -4 F 68 - - - 68 T3 Lizette Salas -4 -4 F 68 - - - 68 T3 In-Kyung Kim -4 -4 F 68 - - - 68 T3 Anna Nordqvist -4 -4 F 68 - - - 68 T7 Paz Echeverria -3 -3 F 69 - - - 69 T7 Maude-Aimee Leblanc -3 -3 F 69 - - - 69 T9 Mariajo Uribe -2 -2 F 70 - - - 70 T9 Jodi Ewart Shadoff -2 -2 F 70 - - - 70 T9 Karine Icher -2 -2 F 70 - - - 70 T9 Je-Yoon Yang -2 -2 F 70 - - - 70 T9 Natalie Gulbis -2 -2 F 70 - - - 70 T9 Jennifer Rosales -2 -2 F 70 - - - 70 T9 Catriona Matthew -2 -2 F 70 - - - 70 T9 Jessica Korda -2 -2 F 70 - - - 70 For comlete scores: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/us-open-preview-pairings.html

The updated pairings for the first two rounds are now posted: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/us-open-preview-pairings.html

Before I get started with the preview of the LPGA's biggest major tournament, let me congratulate Inbee Park for winning the Walmart NW Arkansaw Championship in a playoff over So Yeon Ryu. It was Inbee's 5th win of the season, and her 2nd consecutive victory via the playoff route. Inbee has clearly established herself as the number one player on the planet. This week the tour moves to New York for the playing of the United States Open. This will be the third of five major championships on the schedule this year, and generally regarded by the players, press, and fans, as the most prestigious. This is tournament #15 of 28 on this year's schedule and will mark the beginning of the second half of the season. The LPGA will have their final player reshuffle at tournament's end. Here are the key details: Before I get started with the preview of the LPGA's biggest major tournament, let me congratulate Inbee Park for winning the Walmart NW Arkansaw Championship in a playoff over So Yeon Ryu. It was Inbee's 5th win of the season, and her 2nd consecutive victory via the playoff route. Inbee has clearly established herself as the number one player on the planet. This week the tour moves to New York for the playing of the United States Open. This will be the third of five major championships on the schedule this year, and generally regarded by the players, press, and fans, as the most prestigious. This is tournament #15 of 28 on this year's schedule and will mark the beginning of the second half of the season. The LPGA will have their final player reshuffle at tournament's end. Here are the key details: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/us-open-preview-pairings.html

Here are the final results: 1 x-Inbee Park -12 F 1 So Yeon Ryu -12 F 3 Mika Miyazato -11 F 4 a-Lydia Ko -10 F 4 In-Kyung Kim -10 F 4 Stacy Lewis -10 F 7 Suzann Pettersen -9 F 7 Paula Creamer -9 F 7 Chie Arimura -9 F 7 Beatriz Recari -9 F 11 Haeji Kang -8 F 11 Ai Miyazato -8 F 13 Shanshan Feng -7 F 13 Brittany Lang -7 F 13 Brooke Pancake -7 F 13 Juli Inkster -7 F For full results : http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/walmart-nw-arkansas-championship.html

Here are the leaders after Saturday's Round: 1 Chie Arimura -10 F 1 Beatriz Recari -10 F 1 Stacy Lewis -10 F 1 So Yeon Ryu -10 F 5 In-Kyung Kim -8 F 5 Pornanong Phatlum -8 F 5 Inbee Park -8 F 5 Ji Young Oh -8 F 9 a-Lydia Ko -7 F 9 Mika Miyazato -7 F 11 Juli Inkster -6 F 11 Moriya Jutanugarn -6 F 11 Brooke Pancake -6 F 11 Paula Creamer -6 F 11 Christel Boeljon -6 F 11 Mina Harigae -6 F 11 Sarah Kemp -6 F For complete results: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/walmart-nw-arkansas-championship.html

Here are the first round leaders: 1 Mika Miyazato -6 F 2 So Yeon Ryu -5 F 2 Angela Stanford -5 F 4 Chie Arimura -4 F 4 Lisa McCloskey -4 F 4 Danielle Kang -4 F 4 Stacy Lewis -4 F 4 Sarah Kemp -4 F 4 Suzann Pettersen -4 F 4 Mina Harigae -4 F 4 Azahara Munoz -4 F 4 Christel Boeljon -4 F 4 Beatriz Recari -4 F For full results of all players: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/walmart-nw-arkansas-championship.html

The pairings for the first 2 rounds have now been posted: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/walmart-nw-arkansas-championship.html

This is the 6th year of the event.

After a one week break, the LPGA resumes its schedule this week with the playing of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G.; Another strong field will be teeing it up, this time in the state of Arkansas. My strength of field rating is a solid 81%. Nineteen of the top 20 players on the LPGA Priority List, and 17 of the top 20 players on the Rolex Rankings will be in attendance. This tournament will mark the completion of the first half of the season. This will be tournament #14 of 28 to be played this year, and is a 54 hole event. Here are the key details: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/walmart-nw-arkansas-championship.html

The LPGA is taking a break this week before moving on to Arkansas for the playing of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G.; That tournament will mark the halfway point in the season. I think now is a good time to look at some of the key statistics and notes covering the first 13 tournaments: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/stats-facts-volume-14.html

With the LPGA season about 50% complete (13 of 28 tournaments have been played), I would like to take a look at how the rookies are faring so far this year. I will do this again at the 75% mark and a final time at the end of the season. These ratings are strictly based on how they fared in LPGA events only. Any successes or failures on other tours are not considered here. My main objective here is to analyze the chances of these rookies retaining their LPGA cards next season. Ideally you would like to finish in the top 80 on the money list. That will guarantee you a priority list ranking good enough to compete in all full-field events. If you finish further down the money list you then have to worry about the top 10 ladies coming off the Symetra Tour, and qualifying school graduates getting to play ahead of you. If you finish in the top 100 on this year's money list, you will still play in most events next year. Further down the list than that, there are no guarantees about playing time. Let us see how they are doing so far. http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/rating-rookies-2013-part-1.html

started writing about the LPGA a couple of years back. The fact that this blog has been as successful as it is is a tribute to the loyalty of the hard core LPGA fans. I am of the opinion that the LPGA is the best kept secret in the world of sports. All the girls are so incredibly cooperative with the fans. There is no other sport that you can go to where you are practically guaranteed of getting your favorite player's signature on any hat, ball, or whatever item you would like signed. The girls are always very fan friendly. I always urge everyone to go to a tournament. I feel that if they do, they will want to go back again and again. My wife and I still have Ohio, St. Andrews, Scotland, and Edmonton to look forward to attending on this year's schedule. As you all can see, I never advertise on my blog, or make a single penny. My main objective here is to promote the LPGA, the game I truly love. The problem I am having now is that love is turning into frustration. I can't understand why an American roster that includes such outstanding players as: Stacy Lewis, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lincicome, Brittany Lang, Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda, Angela Stanford, etc., can come up so small during the biggest of tournaments. Inbee Park's win at the Wegman's LPGA Championship this past weekend was the ninth consecutive major championship won by an Asian player. Yes, read that again, that is 0 for 9 for the Americans in major championships. In fact Americans have won only 4 of the last 23 majors. That is completely unacceptable. They haven't done that well in total events this year either, winning only 4 of the first 13 tournaments on the schedule. For complete article: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/its-time-for-us-ladies-to-step-it-up.html

Here are the final results: 1 x-Inbee Park -5 F 2 Catriona Matthew -5 F 3 Suzann Pettersen -4 F 3 Morgan Pressel -4 F 5 Amy Yang -3 F 5 Chella Choi -3 F 5 Sun Young Yoo -3 F 5 Jiyai Shin -3 F 9 Shanshan Feng -2 F 9 Michelle Wie -2 F 9 Na Yeon Choi -2 F 12 Anna Nordqvist -1 F 12 Cristie Kerr -1 F 12 Caroline Masson -1 F 15 Ai Miyazato E F 15 Kristy McPherson E F 17 a-Lydia Ko +1 F 17 Brittany Lincicome +1 F For full leaderboard: http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/06/wegmans-lpga-championship-preview.html