Read full story >>>

Read full story >>>

Meanwhile, the other final-round races proved almost as interesting as the race to the top of the leaderboard.  A trio of dual LPGA/LET members garnered some serious momentum for next week’s LPGA 2012 debut at the Women’s Australian Open, as Gwladys Nocera, Caroline Hedwall, and Karine Icher closed with sparkling 64s.  LPGAer Lindsey Wright went 66-68 on the weekend to tie the JLPGA’s Nikki Campbell for low Aussie honors and match the low American, Kang, at -13 for the week.  Carlota Ciganda thumped Maria Hernandez for low Spaniard by 5 shots, even as Julieta Granada beat out Mariajo Uribe for low South American by 3 shots and Nontaya Srisawang held off Titiya Plucksataporn by 1.  Last but not least, Thompson ended up beating 14-year-old Lydia Ko, the winner of last week’s ALPG event, by 5 shots.

So the table is set for next week’s Women’s Australian Open, with both Ryu and Thompson having something to prove in their 1st official LPGA events as members of the rookie class of 2012.  Boeljon will attempt to make up ground on Seo on the LPGA.  And all of them will be hoping to show that they can hang with Ya Ni Tseng and the rest of the LPGA’s heavy hitters better in the new season than last one.

Meanwhile, the other final-round races proved almost as interesting as the race to the top of the leaderboard.  A trio of dual LPGA/LET members garnered some serious momentum for next week’s LPGA 2012 debut at the Women’s Australian Open, as Gwladys Nocera, Caroline Hedwall, and Karine Icher closed with sparkling 64s.  LPGAer Lindsey Wright went 66-68 on the weekend to tie the JLPGA’s Nikki Campbell for low Aussie honors and match the low American, Kang, at -13 for the week.  Carlota Ciganda thumped Maria Hernandez for low Spaniard by 5 shots, even as Julieta Granada beat out Mariajo Uribe for low South American by 3 shots and Nontaya Srisawang held off Titiya Plucksataporn by 1.  Last but not least, Thompson ended up beating 14-year-old Lydia Ko, the winner of last week’s LET/ALPG event, by 5 shots.

So the table is set for next week’s Women’s Australian Open, with both Ryu and Thompson having something to prove in their 1st official LPGA events as members of the rookie class of 2012.  Boeljon will attempt to make up ground on Seo on the LPGA.  And all of them will be hoping to show that they can hang with Ya Ni Tseng and the rest of the LPGA’s heavy hitters better in the new season than last one.

Read full story >>>

Read full story >>>

Clearly, these sheltered,…

But there will be other interesting games within games tomorrow.  14-year-old Lydia Ko passed soon-to-be-17-year-old Lexi Thompson in the battle of the global phenoms with a 69; the New Zealander is 1 shot ahead of the American with 1 round left to play.  Danielle Kang, who dominated in recent years in the U.S. amateur ranks but struggled last fall in Q-School, fired a 66 to get within 2 shots of Lewis in the battle for low American (meanwhile, she’s 2 shots ahead of Thompson and 3 shots ahead of Stacy Lewis).  Campbell has a 3-shot lead in the battle for low Aussie over Wendy Doolan, Lindsey Wright, and Bree Arthur.  Carlota Ciganda and Maria Hernandez are tied as they duel for low Spaniard.  1 shot separates Nontaya Srisawang and Titiya Plucksataporn for low Thai honors.  Julieta Granada has a 3-shot lead on Mariajo Uribe and a 4-shot lead on Victoria Tanco in her effort to be low South American.  And everyone playing in the LPGA’s 2012 debut at the Women’s Australian Open is looking for some positive momentum heading into next week’s ALPG event.

[Update 1 (7:58 am): Jamie is already thinking about the forthcoming Ryu-Thompson showdown for LPGA Rokie of the Year honors!  I'm with him, but given the question marks he mentions for both, I'm wondering if anyone else might horn in on this race....]