McDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP
It’s always nice to have a little corporate presence in the name of a Major championship.
Anyway, the following list of favorites holds potential value to bettors because its odds represent each players actual chance of winning (or so I think…) as opposed to bookmaker’s odds, which are driven primarily by the handle.
So…
Lorena Ochoa (Mexico) (3-1): What can we say? She’s the world’s best player…by a mile.
Annika Sorenstam (Sweden) (6-1): With three wins in 10 starts, the obvious second choice. She’s won the event thrice (including in its first playing at Bulle Rock) and, having announced her year-end retirement, is presumably highly motivated. Has not played her best golf in her last two starts (T11 at the Sybase, T32 at her own Ginn Tribute event) but that should matter little come Thursday.
Paula Creamer (USA) (14-1): Though clearly 2008’s third best player to date (with two wins in 11 starts), her relative inconsistency, plus no top-10 finishes in the last month, make Creamer something of a dicey proposition. But it’s tough to look down this list and rate anyone’s chances better.
Suzann Pettersen (Norway) (15-1): Has played through an up-and-down season to date, finishing T2 at the Kraft Nabisco and T3 at the Ginn Open, but logging only one further top 10 (a T9 at last week’s Ginn Tribute) in nine 2008 starts. A recent win at the LET’s Swiss Open, however, might suggest a positive trend.
Jeong Jang (Korea) (18-1): The knock on Jang is that she doesn’t win enough for all her fine play…and that might be true. However, she has won a Major championship (the 2005 Women’s British Open) and she arrives in strong form, having logged three consecutive top-three finishes prior to tying for 32nd last week. Much stranger things have happened.
Karrie Webb (Australia) (21-1): This Hall-of-Famer won her homeland Australian Open earlier this year, finished 2nd last week at the Ginn Tribute, and has posted two additional top 5s in eight LPGA starts. Unfortunately, she’s thrice finished no better than 38th and doesn’t presently feel consistent enough to rate a top favorite. But if you like “Horses For Course,” she’s finished 2nd at Bulle Rock the last two years.
Mi-Hyun Kim (Korea) (24-1): Arrives in up-and-down form (3rd at Corning, T32 last week, two 2008 top 10s to date) but is a legitimate top-shelf player with two previous top 10s (in three tries) at Bulle Rock.
Sophie Gustafson (Sweden) (26-1): Last week’s Ginn Tribute Sunday collapse notwithstanding, is playing some of the best golf of her LPGA career, with top 10s in her last three starts. If she can forget about last week, a nice darkhorse pick.
Karen Stupples (England) (28-1): The 2004 Women’s British Open champ is still finding her consistency after missing nearly all of 2007 giving birth, and she hasn’t done much at Bulle Rock. Still, she’s proven she can climb the Major mountain, she tied for 2nd as recently as May’s Michelob Ultra Open, and she can go low.
Cristie Kerr (USA) (30-1): The world’s seventh-ranked player and reigning U.S. Women’s Open champ has struggled a bit this year, logging only two top 10s, the last in late April. Still, with seven top 10s in her last 13 Major starts, she cannot be completely ignored…
Song-Hee Kim (Korea) (30-1): This young ex-Futures Tour star has logged top-10 finishes in her last two starts (including 3rd at least week’s Ginn Tribute), but her Major championship experience is extremely limited. Another top 10? Very possible. But a win??
Seon Hwa Lee (Korea) (33-1): Worthy of a look as the winner of last week’s Ginn Tribute but with only three top 10s in 13 2008 starts, this 22-year-old three-time LPGA winner must be viewed as a comparative longshot.
Christina Kim (USA) (34-1): Also a bit of a longshot, but this charismatic player has rung up four 2008 top 10s and, at least at times, appears ready to push her game up a notch or two. Of course, she’s never bettered 33rd in three previous events at Bulle Rock…
Natalie Gulbis (USA) (45-1): The world’s 23rd-ranked player is struggling, last week’s T11 at the Ginn Tribute notwithstanding. She hasn’t yet logged a 2008 top 10 (though she’s also only missed two cuts) and shows little sign of peaking for this week – but when you consider the number of players in the field with a realistic chance to win, it’s not hard to throw her into the mix. At the low end.
Morgan Pressel (USA) (45-1): Another highly ranked player who’s struggling, including four missed cuts (!) in 11 starts and only one top 10 – but that was a 2nd two weeks ago at the Sybase. Has tons of Major experience for a 20-year-old, including a win at the 2007 Kraft Nabisco, so she could be ready to re-emerge…
Daniel
2 Comments
Reader Comments (2)
You should enter SeoulSisters.com's Pakpicker competition this week with those picks! I went with my gut for the winner this week:
http://mlyhlss.blogspot.com/2008/06/lpga-championship-previewpredictions.html
Can't do much worse than I have been this season!
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