The LPGA will have a rare Wednesday start this week at the LPGA Lotte Championship presented by J Golf. The final round of the 72-hole event will be on Saturday.
This is just the second year for this event. Ai Miyazato shot 12-under par and won the inaugural LPGA Lotte Championship presented by J Golf by four shots over Azahara Munoz and Meena Lee.
It is played on the Ko Olina Golf Club in Kapolei, Hawaii. It plays to par-72 and stretches to 6,383 yards for the ladies.
Even though the LPGA had the week off last week, Kraft Nabisco champion, Inbee Park slipped past Stacy Lewis to claim the No. 1 spot on the Rolex Rankings.
Lewis has won twice in 2013 and with a total of $573,304, still leads Park on the LPGA Tour’s money list by just $6,000. Beatriz Recari, Jiyai Shin, and So Yeon Ryu round out the top-five on the LPGA Tour money list.
Former No. 1, Yani Tseng has fallen to No. 3 in the Rolex Rankings and has won $207,000 in her five starts thus far in 2013. She is looking to regain the form that made her No. 1 in the world for 109 weeks before Lewis overtook her earlier this year.
Tseng has 15 LPGA Tour wins including five major titles, but has not won on the LPGA Tour since March, 2012.
Michelle Wie is still struggling to find a putting stroke to compliment her outstanding ball striking ability. Playing in her home state of Hawaii may help her gain confidence and get back to the winners circle.
The LPGA Lotte Championship can be viewed on the Golf Channel 6:30-11:00 PM EST on Wednesday, April 17. It will be aired in prime-time on the Golf Channel Thursday-Saturday, April 18-20, 6:30-9:30 PM EST.