May 16, 2017: This week’s Kingsmill Championship Presented by JTBC will mark the 11th event in the season-long Race to CME Globe. ANA Inspiration champion and World No. 2 So Yeon Ryu holds a narrow lead in the current Race to the CME Globe standings with 1,605 points. Reigning Race to the CME Globe winner Ariya Jutanugarn is close behind with 1,525 points, and she is followed closely by Cristie Kerr (1211) and Inbee Park (1082).
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
THE HEAT IS ON
Rolex Rankings No. 2 So Yeon Ryu and No. 3 Ariya Jutanugarn are looking to be the 10th different player to reach No. 1 since the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings began in 2006. Both players will try to achieve this in the coming weeks, as only 0.2 points separates them from the top ranking.
Top three players in the Rolex Rankings (since the 2016 RICOH Women’s British Open)
| LYDIA KO | ARIYA JUTANUGARN | SO YEON RYU | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Events | 18 | 20 | 16 |
| Wins | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Second | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Top 10s | 8 | 16 | 12 |
- So Yeon Ryu has four top-10 finishes at Kingsmill, and she has an active streak of 10 consecutive top 10s dating back to the 2016 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia
- It has been 18 starts since No. 1 Lydia Ko’s last win at the 2016 Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I, her longest stretch without a win on the LPGA Tour
ROOKIE ROUNDUP
The Kingsmill Championship field features 21 of the 37 2017 LPGA Tour rookies, the most to tee it up at a tournament this season.
With seven tournaments under her belt and seven top 25s to boot, South Korean rookie Sung Hyun Park is the early leader in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award. With 406 points, Park leads Angel Yin, who has four top 25s in eight events this season, by 181 points.
Regan De Guzman (four starts, four MC), Madeleine Sheils (one start, one MC) and Mariah Stackhouse (two starts, two MC) will be looking to make their first cuts as LPGA Tour members.
In 2017, the LPGA expanded its global representation with the addition of five rookies from new countries: Aditi Ashok (India), Laura Gonzalez Escallon (Belgium), Daniela Darquea (Ecuador), Olafia Kristinsdottir (Iceland) and Krista Puisite (Latvia). Ashok, Escallon and Kristinsdottir will be in action at the Kingsmill Championship.
INSPIRING INVITE
Teeing it up on the River Course alongside the 144-player field will be Maryland native and sponsor invite Kaylin Yost. In March, the hearing-impaired Yost made waves by Monday qualifying and subsequently playing the weekend in her first LPGA tournament at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup.
“I think she’s such an intriguing story,” Kingsmill Championship Tournament Director Matthew Schulze said. “Having her life challenges, then trying to give up on her dream and realizing she couldn’t not continue to try to play on the LPGA is inspiring.”
LPGA Tour Release
