The top ladies golfers in the world will make the trip to Carlsbad, California and the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort for this week’s Kia Classic. Sei Young Kim is coming off a dominant performance at last week’s JTBC Founders Cup but she will be in tough to make it two wins in a row with Lydia Ko leading an impressive cast of players that will be looking to take her down this week. Ko is again favored – as she typically is these days – but remember that she hasn’t been sealing the deal so much in 2016. Of course, she’s been close, finishing no worse than third in her three of her four events this year.
Event Details
Event: Kia Classic
Category: LPGA
Date: March 23-27
Location: Aviara Golf Club, Carlsbad, California
Kim set the all-time LPGA record with a 27-under par performance in last week’s JTBC Founders Cup, beating out Ko by five strokes. Both players will be seeking their first Kia Classic win this week with Christie Kerr returning to defend her title.
Past Five Winners
2015: Christie Kerr
2014: Anna Nordqvist
2013: Beatriz Recari
2012: Yani Tseng
2011: Sandra Gal
What To Know About The Course
The Aviara Golf Club was named one of the best resort golf courses in the United States with a par-72 coastal layout that measures at 7,007 yards. The distance isn’t too bad but the winds can be a factor regardless of the forecast. The course is loaded with bunker and water challenges. Accuracy and putting will remain the two most important factors once again this week.
The Field
There have been six different winners from six different countries over at this tournament since 2010 with Anna Nordqvist of Sweden winning here in 2014, and Beatriz Recari of Spain back in 2013. However, Nordqvist is listed as a +3250 long shot to win this weekend while Racari is listed at a ridiculous +50100 to win. That is because a lot has changed over the last couple of years. Ko is still looking for her first win of 2016 and she is easily the favorite to win at +405 odds. Meanwhile, Kim is listed at +905 to come out on top for the second week in a row while Ha Na Jang is listed at +1015. The defending champion Christie Kerr is also considered a long shot to win this week at +3250 odds while Stacy Lewis is listed at +1015 odds to win outright.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Sei Young Kim over Stacy Lewis
Kim shocked the golf world with her incredible performance at the JTBC Founders Cup but there are plenty of reasons to believe that she can build off that win this weekend. Kim has already registered three top-five finishes in five events and she will have plenty of confidence as well as the momentum on her side heading in to this event. Meanwhile, Lewis is coming off her third top-10 finish of the season but she finished 15th at this event a year ago and will be in tough to finish with a better score than Kim at the Kia Classic this week.
Top Five Prediction: Lydia Ko
The world No. 1 is coming off another impressive performance at the JTBC Founders Cup that was overshadowed by a record run by Kim. There isn’t any reason to bet against her as a lock to finish in the top-five this weekend. The top five option gives you a bigger window of success. Sure, Ko maybe didn’t win last week but she still cashed for you if you had her to place in the top five. That’s important because Ko hasn’t finished any lower than a tie for third in 2016. The results from her last three events reading 2-1-2 so consider her the closest thing to a lock to finish in the top-five at the Kia Classic.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Kia Classic
Lydia Ko +405
Sei Young Kim +905
Ha Na Jang +1015
Stacy Lewis +1015
Lexi Thompson +1415
Brooke Henderson +1650
In Bee Park +1850
Hyo Joo Kim +2550
Sung Hyun Park +2550
Cristie Kerr +3250
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