This week’s stop on the LPGA Tour is the next-to-last before next week’s finale in Naples at the CME Globe — but first things first — Sei Young Kim won last year but can anyone in the field beat the world’s hottest player at this moment — Jin Young Ko?
There was an interesting and puzzling turn of events in the Rolex World Rankings. Ko fell out of the No. 1 spot last week even though she nor Nelly Korda didn’t play.
Nelly got back to No. 1 despite that fact. The women’s world rankings are a rolling average and the weeks that rolled off jiggled the numbers in Nelly’s favor. Ko leads the Player of the Year race by 15 points. But Korda could overtake her with a win this week or next and another top 10, depending on how Ko plays.
Even so, Korda insists that she doesn’t think about what’s at stake. “I was super shocked,” she said when she jumped back to No. 1. “I had someone come up to me on 18 yesterday when I was finishing up my practice round and told me that I am back at world No. 1. I was like, ‘No, you’re joking. How is that possible?’ So, it was a little bit of a shock to me.
“But I’m honestly not thinking about it because I haven’t played in three weeks. I have kind of had a weird schedule the past two months where I haven’t been playing a lot. So, just trying to get back into competitive golf and take it one shot at a time, because I can definitely tell that I haven’t been playing competitive golf a good bit.”
So obviously there’s something to settle for both Ko and Korda. This week’s venue — the re-born Pelican Golf Club, is an exclusive private club with an emphasis on women members.
The women’s locker room is posh and overlooks the course. The men’s locker room overlooks the parking lot. That should tell you enough.
This course used to be the old Belleview Biltmore Golf Club, it was a public course but the Doyle family purchased it in 2017 and poured more than $30 million into the renovation and addition of classy facilities. It has a large staff and teaching professionals for both men and women.
Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley is a member and helped the Doyle family set up the club operations. His U.S. Amateur trophy is on display in the clubhouse.
Still, it takes more than money to make a great club and this one still takes a back seat jto the 36-hole Belleair Country Club that sits just down the street and was established in 1897 and is still one of the remarkable clubs in the Tampa Bay area.
At Pelican, the conditions are perfect, the weather is beyond perfect and the field is strong.
Should be a great week for the LPGA Tour.
