Ochoa takes on strong field at Michelob
IN: News | LPGA | Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill (2008) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 08 May 2008
The LPGA Tour moved from Oklahoma to Virginia for this week’s Michelob Ultra Open in Williamsburg, Virginia, where Suzann Pettersen will attempt to defend the first of her five LPGA Tour victories in 2007 when she won a playoff over Jee Young Lee.
Pettersen will have to contend with one of the stronger fields of the year if she is to do so, with eleven of the top twelve players in the world teeing it up at the Pete Dye designed Kingsmill Resort & Spa in Virginia. The only absentee from that group is the Korean Ji Yai Shin.
A surprise absentee perhaps is the 2004 winner at Kingsmill, Se Ri Pak, who is in Japan this week for the grandly named Salonpas World Ladies Championship, a major on the Japan Ladies Tour, but this is a field and an event that has grown quite a following since its inception in 2003.
Lorena Ochoa’s winning streak came to a halt last week in Oklahoma but she hardly disgraced herself when producing a strong finishing round to finish 5th and there is every reason to believe she will be back to her winning ways this week. She has played well at Kingsmill previously and is surely going to be in the hunt on Sunday.
Last week’s winner Paula Creamer has not won this event but she has often been close and after a runner up placing and win in her last two starts, she stands a very good chance of winning her third event of the season this week.
Annika Sorenstam is another who has not won this event and by her standards generally she has struggled in this event but despite this and following her victory two weeks ago she will be a threat to the world number one.
Karrie Webb did win this event in 2006 and after her brilliant final round in Florida at the Stamford Championship (64) she will be a greater threat to win than perhaps she has been all year on the LPGA Tour.
Cristie Kerr is another previous winner of this event and although she has not been at her best in 2008, her recent 6th place at the Stamford indicates that things are improving and, on a golf course which clearly suits her, she has a chance.
Other Australians in the field other than Webb are Lindsey Wright, Rachel Hetherington, Katherine Hull, Wendy Doolan and Michelle Ellis.
The tournament carries prizemoney of US$2.2 million.
