The LPGA Tour was off last weekend, but now they get back to action in Australia. Lydia Ko will be make five title defenses this season, the first of which comes this week at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open this week. Ko shot a two-under par final round a year ago at the Royal Melbourne to hold off a strong challenge from Amy Yang. The win is what kickstarted a dominant season on the Ladies tour. She is the obvious betting favorite again this week as everyone wants to see what she’s got in store to start her 2016 campaign.
Event Details
Event: 2016 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open
Category: LPGA
Date: February 18-21
Location: The Grange Golf Club, West Course
The ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open has taken place for many years, but it only became a part of the LPGA Tour in 2012. The event has been held at the Royal Canberra Golf Club in Yarralumla, the Victoria Golf Club in Cheltenham, Victoria and then at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club. This year’s event will take place at the West course at the Grange Golf Club.
Past Five Winners
2015 – Lydia Ko -9
2014 – Karrie Webb -12
2013 – Jiyai Shin -18
2012 – Jessica Korda -3
2011 – Yani Tseng -16
What To Know About The Course
The West course at the Grange Golf Club is a parkland course that is 6,600 yards. The par 72 includes four par 5’s and four par 3’s with wide fairways, but also a fair amount of bunkers lining them. The course is stocked with sandy wasteland areas and the greens can play very fast depending on the weather conditions. The windy conditions that are regularly featured on the course can make it that much more difficult, especially when they really start to pick up in the afternoons. Accuracy is going to be a big part of this week’s event, so if you’re betting the event, look for golfers that are accurate off the tee. You’ll also want to eye the players that are adept at getting out of trouble.
The Field
Ko has absolutely dominated the LPGA with 11 wins through her first three seasons, becoming the youngest player ever to reach 10 career wins. She’s the star of the LPGA right now and the favorite each and every time she plays. She’s the defending champion, which is why she’s listed at +160 odds to win this week and there isn’t any reason to doubt her ability after an extremely strong start to 2016. Ha Na Jang is listed at +745 odds and there is another major drop off after that with Brooke Henderson listed at +1250 odds. LPGA Hall of Famer Karrie Webb will make her debut in her home country this week and she is listed at +3550 odds to win outright.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Karrie Webb over Chella Choi
Webb enters the 2016 season with 41 career LPGA Tour victories and is tied for 10th on the all-time wins list heading in to this event. Webb has captured four titles in Australia including the 2014 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, where she rallied from a five-shot deficit to beat out Choi at the Victoria Golf Club. She should be well rested and in fine form at this week’s tournament and the smart money is on her once again registering a better score than Choi at this event.
Top-Five Prediction: Ha Na Jang
Jang finally broke through with her first victory on the LPGA Tour at the Coates Golf Championship a couple of weeks ago, but she has plenty of experience finishing near the top of the leaderboard in her young career. Jang registered four runner-up finishes in her rookie season in 2015 and she should have plenty of confidence after finally breaking through with a win. Ko is the obvious pick to place in the top-five, but Jang should be a good bet as well and at much better betting odds.
Top 10 Odds To Win The ISPS Handa Australian Open
Lydia Ko +160
Ha Na Jang +745
Brooke Henderson +1250
Ji Yai Shin +1650
Charley Hull +1850
Minjee Lee +2550
Xi Yu Lin +3050
Nanna Koerstz Madsen +3550
Karrie Webb +3550
Emily K Pedersen +3550
