Monday, July 24, 2017

LPGA TOP STORYLINES

TOP STORYLINES

WELCOME TO THE HOME OF GOLF
For the first time in Scottish Open history the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will be co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA, be hosted at the same venue as the men and will be competed for the highest prize fund on the LET, outside the Majors, with the 156-strong player field contesting for $1.5m.

For the first time in history, the 2017 Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open takes place at the same venue as the Men’s Scottish Open with Dundonald Links playing host to both events over a three-week period. Rafa Cabrera Bello captured the men’s event in a playoff over Callum Shinkwin a mere two weeks ago.

Taking place the week before the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns in 2017, the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will kick off a superb two weeks of links golf in Scotland. The back-to-back stretch of events echoes the successful strategy employed by the Men’s Scottish Open taking place the week before The Open – an approach proven to be a competitive advantage for those players competing in both Championships. The Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open is also a key element of Scotland’s commitments to the staging of The 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LADIES SCOTTISH OPEN
- This marks the first year that the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will be co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA
2 - Catriona Matthew has captured a pair of Ladies Scottish Open wins when it was an LET event in 2013 and 2011
245/43 - This week’s field has combined for 245 wins on the LPGA Tour and 43 majors
81 - The field has also combined for 81 Solheim Cup appearances

WHO’S IN THE FIELD
Past Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open Winners (5):*
Isabelle Boineau (2016), Trish Johnson (2014), Catriona Matthew (2013, 2011), Carly Booth (2012), Gwladys Nocera (2008)
* as an LET event

2017 LPGA Tour Winners (9):
Inbee Park (HSBC Women’s Champions),  So Yeon Ryu (ANA Inspiration and Walmart NW Arkansas Championship), Cristie Kerr (LOTTE Championship), Haru Nomura (Volunteers of America Texas Shootout), Sei Young Kim (Lorena Ochoa Matchplay), Shanshan Feng (Volvik Championship), In-Kyung Kim (ShopRite LPGA Classic, Marathon Classic), Ariya Jutanugarn (Manulife LPGA Classic), Katherine Kirk (Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic)

LOCAL CONNECTIONS
There are nine Scottish Players in the Field
•             Catriona Matthew
•             Kylie Henry
•             Pamela Prestswell
•             Vikki Laing
•             Kelsey MacDonald
•             Gemma Dryburgh
•             Carly Booth
•             Sally Watson
•             Michele Thompson

ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LADIES SCOTTISH OPEN IS WEEK 21 OF RACE TO CME GLOBE
This week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will mark the 21st event in the season-long Race to CME Globe.  With her runner-up finish in Toledo, Lexi Thompson (2,554 points) has narrowly taken over the top spot from Rolex Rankings No. 1 So Yeon Ryu (2,504 points) she is followed closely by reigning Race to the CME Globe winner Ariya Jutanugarn (2,177).

In 2017, the reset points for the Race to the CME Globe will be modified slightly. As a result of these modifications:
•             The top five finishers entering Naples will control their own destiny at the CME Group Tour Championship
•             If a player in the top five wins in Naples, she will also win the $1M CME Globe
•             The top 12 finishers entering Naples will have a mathematical chance to win the $1M CME Globe
•             Please note that previously, the top three controlled their destiny and top nine had a mathematical chance

DOWN TO THE WIRE FOR SOLHEIM
Only two tournaments remain before the 2017 Solheim Cup returns to U.S. soil at Des Moines Golf & Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 18-20, 2017. The U.S. leads Europe, 9-5, in Solheim Cup competition following their historic comeback win in September 2015 at St. Leon-Rot Golf Club in Germany. The Americans trailed 10-6 heading into Sunday’s singles matches and overcame the largest deficit in the event’s history to win by a score of 14½ to 13½, the closest in the Cup history.

As of the July 24 standings, the points for the final spots are very close with spots seven through 12 separated by a mere 30.5 points. The top-8 players in the standings automatically qualify for the Solheim Cup.

7
Brittany Lang
247
7
Michelle Wie
247
9
Brittany Lincicome
237
10
Angela Stanford
232
11
Austin Ernst
227
12
Lizette Salas
216.5


2017 LPGA TOUR SEASON BY THE NUMBERS


2017
2014
2011
# of Events
35
33
25
# of Official Events
34
32
23
Official Money Purses
$67.35M
$57.55M
$41.5M
Official Events at $2 million
16
13
8
Events in N. America
22
22
15
Events outside N. America
13
11
10


2017 LPGA LEADERS
Below are the list of the players who lead the LPGA in six of the key statistical categories entering the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open.

Wins - 2 (So Yeon Ryu and In-Kyung Kim)
Top-10s - 10 (So Yeon Ryu)
Money List - $1,702,905 (So Yeon Ryu)
Race to CME Globe - 2,554 (Lexi Thompson)
Scoring Average - 68.944 (Lexi Thompson)
Rolex Player of the Year - 150 (So Yeon Ryu)

2016 LPGA LEADERS
Below are the list of the players who led the LPGA in six of the key statistical categories during the 2016 season

Wins - 5 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Top-10s - 15 (Brooke Henderson)
Money List - $2,550,947 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Race to CME Globe - 6,800 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Scoring Average - 69.583 (In Gee Chun)
Rolex Player of the Year - 260 (Ariya Jutanugarn)

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