The LPGA has now completed about two thirds of its 2021 schedule. It has been a very interesting year. So far there have been:
- Winners from 12 different countries
- 3 tournaments that resulted in a playoff
- 4 first time winners
- 7 tournaments decided by one stroke
- 1 non LPGA winner
Like all other seasons, this year has had its share of surprises and disappointments.
BIGGEST SURPRISES
1. Nelly Korda – We know she comes from an athletic family and we expected her to have success on the LPGA Tour, but we probably didn’t expect her to rise to the No. 1 player in the world this quickly. In thirteen starts this year she has won three times (including a major championship), has 6 top fives, 8 top tens, and 11 top twenty-fives. I won’t bother to list what categories she leads the LPGA in because she leads in everything.
2. Patty Tavakanikit – Many experts picked her to be in the top three for rookie honors, but very few had her running away with the award. Not only is she No. 1 in the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year race, but she is No. 2 in the Player of the Year race, 14th in scoring average, and 13th in the world rankings.
3. Lydia Ko – Lydia was number one in the Rolex Rankings for 104 weeks as a young teenager. She then struggled for a few years and dropped out of the top 50.
Many thought that she would never regain her top form. They were wrong. Lydia started the 2021 season ranked No. 40, she has now moved back into the top ten.
4. Matilda Castren – Most people had never heard of this player a month or so ago. They know her now. She recently won her first LPGA tournament, then followed that up two weeks later with a second place finish. She wanted to be eligible to compete on the European Solheim Cup team but wasn’t a member of the LET. She had to win a tournament on that tour to qualify. Last week she flew to Finland and won.
Honorable Mentions: Leona Maguire and Lauren Stephenson
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
1, Sung Hyun Park – She was number one in the world rankings four different times totaling 20 weeks. She looked like she would be one of the tour’s best players for a long time. Nobody saw this collapse coming. Sung Hyun Park has played in 13 events this year and has not finished in the top thirty in any. She has missed eight cuts. She is ranked 152nd in greens in regulation, 88th in putting, 148th in driving accuracy, and her 73.06 scoring average is 138th.
2. Mirim Lee – A top player for so long, Mirim has been invisible so far this year. She ranks No. 91 on the year’s money list, 137 in driving accuracy, and her 72.23 scoring average is ranked 108th.
3. Bronte Law – So solid a player the last few years, Bronte can’t seem to find her game. She has dropped all the way down to 99th in the world rankings and has just one top ten in 16 starts. Her scoring average of 72.22 ranks her 107th. Her ranking of 147th in putting doesn’t help.
Here are the leaders in the most important categories on the LPGA:
Official Money
1- Nelly Korda – $1,856,649
2- Yuka Saso – $1,160,376
3- Lydia Ko – $1,073,133
4- Patty Tavatanikit – $1,009,172
5- Nasa Hataoka $990, 493
Player of the Year (winner receives a Hall of Fame point)
1- Nelly Korda 161 points
2- Patty Tavatanikit – 102 points
3- Lydia Ko – 85 points
4- Minjee Lee – 72 points
5- Inbee Park – 70 points
Vare Trophy (winner receives Hall of Fame point)
1- Nelly Korda – 68.891 strokes per round
2- Inbee Park – 69.302
3- In Gee Chun – 69.633
4- Jessica Korda – 69.723
5- Lydia Ko – 69.780
Race to the CME Globe
1- Nelly Korda – 2,795.600 points
2- Lydia Ko – 1,814.750
3- Patty Tavatanikit – 1,731.400
4- Inbee Park – 1,713.500
5- Ariya Jutanugarn – 1,597.650
Wins
1- Nelly Korda – 3
2- Ariya Jutanugarn – 2
3- 15 players tied with – 1
Top Five Finishes
1- Nelly Korda and Patty Tavatanikit – 6
3- Danielle Kang and Jin Young Ko – 4
Top Ten Finishes
1- Nelly Korda -8
2- Danielle Kang, Lydia Ko, and Inbee Park – 7
5- 4 players tied with -6
Wins By Country
1- United States – 6
2- Thailand – 4
3- Republic of Korea – 3
4- 7 countries tied with 1
Other Notes
Anna Nordqvist leads the tour with 33 consecutive cuts made.
Jasmine Suwannapura is the only player to play in all 19 events this year.
The following players have not missed a cut in 2021
Hyo-Joo Kim, Anna Nordqvist, Inbee Park, Jessica Korda, Lexi Thompson, and So Yeon Ryu.
Images Credit
Feature photo of Nelly Korda at the 2021 Meijer LPGA Classic and all other photographs by LPGA Tour photographer Ben Harpring.
