Count Me In! Choi now in mix for Rolex Rankings No. 1, other titles
Shin returns to top of Rolex Rankings
Na Yeon Choi
(story courtesy of lpga)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 1, 2010 – Na Yeon Choi defended her title at the LPGA Hana Bank Championship Presented by SK telecom on Sunday—the only LPGA player to defend a tournament title in 2010—and in the process vaulted into the now-growing cluster of LPGA players battling for year-end titles.
Choi jumped to No. 5 in the Rolex Rankings, and also now leads the 2010 LPGA Official Money List and Vare Trophy for low scoring average races. Choi, known as “NYC” and “The Big Apple,” played in front of packed galleries every day in South Korea, where fans braved unseasonably cold weather to follow a leaderboard packed with the game’s greatest players.
Fellow South Korean Jiyai Shin regained the top spot on the Rolex Rankings from Cristie Kerr following Shin’s tie for fourth at the LPGA Hana Bank Championship and now will spend her 11th week this season as the world’s No. 1 female professional golfer. Shin holds a narrow lead over the top-six on the Rolex Rankings, including Choi who inched past Yani Tseng—who did not play in Korea—to move into the top-five. Suzann Pettersen, who with Shin also finished tied for fourth at the LPGA Hana Bank Championship, moved up to No. 3 while Ai Miyazato dropped down to fourth. For more on the Rolex Rankings, please log on to: www.RolexRankings.com
Choi’s surge up the Rolex Rankings charts is not surprising when you consider the strength of last week’s field, her performance over the past several months—tying for second at the U.S. Women’s Open, Evian Masters and Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi and tying for third at the RICOH Women’s British Open and Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV—and the fact that she now has won four LPGA tournaments over the past two years: Samsung World Championship and Hana Bank KOLON Championship in 2009, and Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic and the LPGA Hana Bank Championship this season. The Rolex Rankings awards points based on the field strength and evaluate a player’s performance over a rolling two-year period weighted in favor of the current year, with even more importance placed on the most recent 13 weeks. Points are reduced in 91 equal decrements following week 13 for the remaining 91 weeks of the two-year Rolex Ranking period.
Choi will tee it up alongside Miyazato, Shin and Tseng at this week’s Mizuno Classic in Japan.
The Rolex Rankings No. 1 spot has changed hands nine times between three different players (Shin, Cristie Kerr and Ai Miyazato) in the five-month span since Lorena Ochoa retired this season.
Rolex Rankings, Nov. 1, 2010
Rank Player Country Avg Points
1 Jiyai Shin KOR 10.86
2 Cristie Kerr USA 10.64
3 Suzann Pettersen NOR 10.52
4 Ai Miyazato JPN 10.50
5 Na Yeon Choi KOR 10.38
6 Yani Tseng TPE 10.14
7 Michelle Wie USA 7.92
8 Song-Hee Kim KOR 7.67
9 Paula Creamer USA 7.35
9 In-Kyung Kim KOR 7.22
Vare Trophy for Low Scoring Average, Nov. 1, 2010
Rank Player Scoring Average
1 Na Yeon Choi 69.88
2 Cristie Kerr 69.94
3 Suzann Pettersen 70.05
4 Song-Hee Kim 70.12
5 Jiyai Shin 70.16
6 Ai Miyazato 70.47
7 Yani Tseng 70.57
8 In-Kyung Kim 70.65
9 Inbee Park 70.94
10 Brittany Lincicome 70.97
LPGA Money List, Nov. 1, 2010
Rank Player 2010 money
1 Na Yeon Choi $1,742,028
2 Jiyai Shin $1,599,768
3 Cristie Kerr $1,455,237
4 Yani Tseng $1,436,223
5 Suzann Pettersen $1,419,166
6 Ai Miyazato $1,404,209
7 Song-Hee Kim $1,152,528
8 In-Kyung Kim $901,382
9 Michelle Wie $888,016
10 Paula Creamer $817,511
.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
RSS