There has been another change at the top of the Women’s World Golf Rankings following Ariya Jutanugarn’s stunning comeback win at the Manulife LPGA Classic last week. A final round collapse from Lexi Thompson opened the door for Jutanugarn, and she kicked it wide open with a memorable comeback and playoff victory. Jutanugarn replaced Lydia Ko after the latter spent 85 weeks as the world’s top-ranked player and she became the second youngest player in LPGA history to take over that top spot. Jutanugarn will be looking to build off the momentum she has established when she takes part in the Meijer LPGA Classic this week.
Details
Event: Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give
Category: LPGA
Date: June 15-18
Location: Blythefield Country Club, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Jutanugarn will have some tough competition at the Meijer LPGA Classic this week. Ko will make her first start in a month when she returns to action in Michigan and should be Jutanugarn’s biggest challenger. Ko has six top-10 finishes this season but she is still looking for her first win of 2017. Meanwhile, Sei-young Kim returns as the defending champion while Thompson looks for a bounce back performance as the 2015 winner of this event.
Past Five Winners
2016: Sei-young Kim -17
2015: Lexi Thompson -18
2014: Mirim Lee -14
What To Know About The Course
This will be the LPGA Tour’s fourth edition of the Meijer LPGA Classic from the Blythefield Country Club so experience could count for something this week. The past three installments of this event have been absolute birdie-fests with all three winners finishing 14-under-par or better. There is a good chance we will see similar numbers this year with a focus on strong Greens In Regulation, Scrambling and Putting numbers among the keys to success. It won’t be a surprise if there is some rough weather at some point this week so it will be interesting to see how that impacts the individual performances in Michigan.
The Field
After finishing 1-2 in their playoff on Sunday, Jutanugarn and Thompson will be co-favorites for the Meijer LPGA Classic. Both golfers are listed at +700 odds to win this event outright. Thompson won it in 2015 while Jutanugarn is coming off a big win last week and looking to add to her impressive run this week. In Gee Chun, Inbee Park and Sung Hyun Park are all expected to be in the mix as they are each among the sports betting favorites to win this week. Ko returns at +2000 odds to win the Meijer LPGA Classic while Stacy Lewis, Cristie Kerr, Gerina Piller and Mirim Lee round out the list of the top-10 sports betting favorites. Thompson, Shanshan Feng, Haru Nomura, Kris Tamulis, So Yeon Ryu and Xiyu Lin have all registered a pair of top-10 finishes at this event.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Ariya Jutanugarn over Lydia Ko
The world No. 1 and No. 2 go head-to-head in this week’s Meijer LPGA Classic and that should be an entertaining matchup to keep an eye on. Ko has been fairly consistent this year but she hasn’t done what it takes to capture that elusive victory. This will be her first tournament in a month so it won’t be a shock if she is a little rusty early on. Meanwhile, Jutanugarn certainly won’t be rusty at all as she looks to build off last week’s winning performance. Jutanugarn is playing with a ton of confidence and she should be in the mix to pick up another outright victory this week.
Top-Five Pick: Lexi Thompson
Thompson will be playing with an added sense of urgency as she looks to bounce back following last week’s disappointment. The 2015 Meijer LPGA Classic winner knows what it takes to win in Michigan and she has already proven to us that she can win here outright. Thompson has finished in the top-10 in two of her three starts in this tournament. Another top-five finish won’t be a surprise at the Meijer LPGA Classic this week.
Odds To Win The 2017 Meijer LPGA Classic
Lexi Thompson +705
Ariya Jutanugarn +805
Inbee Park +905
In Gee Chun +905
Sung Hyun Park +1050
Shanshan Feng +1150
Lydia Ko +1550
Cristie Kerr +2050
Mirim Lee +2250
Stacy Lewis +2550
Moriya Jutanugarn +2550
Gerina Piller +2850
Brooke M Henderson +2850
Carlota Ciganda +2850
Sei Young Kim +3250
Hyo Joo Kim +3250
Lizette Salas +3250
Haru Nomura +3250
Jeong Eun Lee +3250
Michelle Wie +3250
Mi Jung Hur +3550
Jessica Korda +4050
In Kyung Kim +4050
Angel Yin +5500
Brittany Lincicome +5500
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