Wednesday, April 24, 2019


HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open
Wilshire Country Club | Los Angeles, Calif. | April 25-28, 2019
Tuesday Pre-Tournament Notes
April 23, 2019

Quick Links:

Wednesday, April 24
11 a.m. – Lizette Salas, Rolex Rankings No. 29 and a native of Azusa, discussing the LPGA’s #DriveOn campaign
2 p.m. – Moriya Jutanugarn, Rolex Rankings No. 20 and defending champion
#LPGAGOESHOLLYWOOD FOR HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA OPEN
The 10th event of the 2019 LPGA season takes the Tour to Los Angeles and Wilshire Country Club for the second playing of the HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open. Nestled in the heart of La La Land, the club features spectacular Southern California views, including a scenic vista of the famed Hollywood sign from the 13th hole.
The inaugural tournament in 2018 saw Moriya Jutanugarn’s long-awaited breakthrough LPGA Tour victory. With younger sister Ariya tearfully waiting off the green, Moriya captured a two-stroke win over Inbee Park and Jin Young Ko. The Thai duo is one of three sets of sisters to win on the LPGA Tour, along with Annika andCharlotta Sorenstam and Jessica and Nelly Korda. Both Jutanugarns and Kordas are competing this week in Los Angeles.
This week’s field boasts 18 of the top 20 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, led by No. 1 Jin Young Ko, No. 2 Sung Hyun Park and No. 3 Ariya Jutanugarn. Seven of the season’s eight winners are also in the field, including Brooke Henderson, who last week defended her LOTTE Championship title in Hawaii.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA OPEN
  • This is the second playing of the HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open, both held at Wilshire Country Club. The inaugural tournament was named the HUGEL-JTBC LA Open.
  • In April 2001, Wilshire Country Club was the venue for The Office Depot Hosted by Amy Alcott, where Annika Sorenstam won in a one-hole playoff with Mi Hyun Kim. Sorenstam came back from a 10-stroke deficit to win, tying the largest comeback in LPGA Tour history.
  • This is the third of four LPGA Tour events being held in California in 2019, joining the Kia Classic (Carlsbad), ANA Inspiration (Rancho Mirage) and LPGA Mediheal Championship (San Francisco)
  • HUGEL is a leading Korean bio-medical company and AIR PREMIA is a new commercial airliner that flies to the Americas, Asia and Europe
FRESH OFF HAWAIIAN DEFENSE, HENDERSON READY FOR LA CHALLENGE
Sunny, 75 degrees, no rain, little wind. This week’s weather forecast for Wilshire Country Club makes 143 of the field’s 144 players very happy. That lone holdout?Brooke Henderson, who last week captured her second consecutive LOTTE Championship win amidst whipping Hawaiian winds.
“I feel like a lot of my wins have also come when the weather is a little bit off, and it's always extremely windy out there,” said Henderson of the Hawaiian weather conditions. “So it just kind of maybe goes in my direction a little bit more.”
Henderson, who did eventually concede that this week’s forecast isn’t a bad thing, hopes to have a better experience at Wilshire than she did in 2018. In the inaugural tournament, the 21-year-old Canadian missed the cut, one of only three times all year she did not reach the weekend. With one win already to her name in 2018, Henderson’s goal of four consecutive years with multiple wins is now easily within reach.
“I think to do that, scoring average is really my main focus. Last year it was under 70; it was 69 point something,” said Henderson, who has averaged 69.64 in her first seven events of 2019. “I think if you can get it under 70 again this year, I'll be putting myself in good positions and hopefully in a lot of final groups.”
FAMILIAR GROUND FOR RYANN O’TOOLE
As the LPGA goes Hollywood this week at Wilshire Country Club, Ryann O’Toole is happy to be back in a place she called home for 10 years. O’Toole grew up in San Clemente, south of Los Angeles, and played collegiate golf as a UCLA Bruin. That tight-knit group of alumnae keeps in close contact, with a group of current and former players meeting up this evening for a team dinner ahead of the tournament.
“It's nice to get back in touch with coaches. They are still the same coach and assistant coach that were there when I was there. Just to have that team bonding is fun,” said O’Toole, who recorded 12 top-10 finishes while at UCLA. “There are so many UCLA girls out here on tour. It's nice just to kind of touch back to our roots and reconnect.
The 32-year-old is no stranger either to Wilshire. During her time as a Bruin, the team would drive out early in the morning to play at this course. “It was always fun to play here,” said O’Toole. “We were here from 7:00 to noon every week, and, you know, just college days. I mean, it feels like so long ago. We would have qualifying out here for tournaments; just there is a lot of memories.”
NOTABLE FIRST-ROUND GROUPINGS
Defending champion Moriya Jutanugarn tees off the 10th alongside Rolex Rankings No. 6 Lexi Thompson and Rolex Rankings No. 12 Jessica Korda at 7:44 a.m.
ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open winner and Rolex Rankings No. 10 Nelly Korda begins her Los Angeles journey off No. 1 at 12:44 p.m. with Rolex Rankings No. 11 So Yeon Ryu and Rolex Rankings No. 13 Danielle Kang
Rolex Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko tees off No. 1 at 12:55 p.m. with 2019 LOTTE Championship winner Brooke Henderson and Rolex Rankings No. 3 Ariya Jutanugarn
RACE TO THE CME GLOBE UPDATE
Heading into the 10th week of the 2019 Race to the GME Globe, two-time winner Jin Young Ko leads the standings with 2,011 points. Nelly Korda is second with 1,264 points, followed by Eun-Hee Ji with 1,128 points.
The 2019 season brings a fresh face to the Race to the CME Globe. LPGA Members will accumulate points at each official LPGA Tour event leading up to the CME Group Tour Championship. The top 60 points earners and ties will then earn a spot in the CME Group Tour Championship, with the entire field competing for the $5 million purse and the $1.5 million winner’s check, the largest single prize in the history of women’s golf.
No. 15, par 5
TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORDS
18 holes: 65 (-7), So Yeon Ryu, second round, 2018
36 holes: 134 (-8), Moriya Jutanugarn, 2018
54 holes: 204 (-9), Moriya Jutanugarn, 2018
72 holes: 272 (-12), Moriya Jutanugarn, 2018
SOCIAL MEDIA - #DriveOn
Tournament: @lpga_LA; #LPGAGoesHollywood
LPGA: @LPGA, @LPGAMedia (Twitter), @lpga_tour (Instagram)
TV TIMES (all times Eastern on Golf Channel)
Thursday, April 25 – 6:30-9 p.m.
Friday, April 26 – 6:30-9 p.m.
Saturday, April 27 – 6-9 p.m.
Sunday, April 28 – 6-9 p.m.
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