The best on the LPGA Tour will be back in action this week as they travel to James City County, Virginia for the Kingsmill Championship. It’s been two weeks since Ariya Jutanugarn earned her first-career LPGA Tour victory at the Yokohoma Tire LPGA Classic with a strong field lined up for this week’s tournament led by world no. 1 Lydia Ko as the obvious betting favorite to get her season on track with a victory.
Event Details
Event: Kingsmill Championship
Category: LPGA
Date: May 19-22
Location: Kingsmill Resort & Spa, James City County, Virginia
Minjee Lee stole the show at the 2015 Kingsmill Championship with a win on Monday after the rain delayed Sunday’s final round. She made five birdies and an eagle to take a four-stroke lead after the delay and secure her first win in the finest performance of her rookie season. Lee will be in tough to repeat with an absolutely stacked field lined up for this week’s event.
Past Five Winners
2015: Minjee Lee -15
2014: Lizette Salas -13
2013: Cristie Kerr -12
2012: Jiyai Shin -16
2011: Cristie Kerr -16
What To Know About The Course
Driving Accuracy and Putting will be the two most important statistics by far for this week’s event with the forecast calling for clear conditions. The course has hosted the event for the past three decades but was recently redesigned with crisp fairways and perfectly manicured greens. The best in the world will have the potential to dominate if they are on their game this week with the scores posted by the recent winners illustrating what it will take to pull out a victory.
The Field
The 12th staging of the Kingsmill Championship will feature an absolutely loaded field including eight of the top-10 players in the world and 27 of the top-30 players on the LPGA Money List. That includes world No. 1 Lydia Ko, who is the obvious betting favorite at +350 odds. Ko is followed by a strong cast according to the betting odds with Lexi Thompson listed at +1150, In Gee Chun listed at +1250 and Inbee Park at +1250 odds. Lee is also expected to be in the mix as the defending champion at +2000 while the two-time Kingsmill Championship winner Cristie Kerr is an attractive play at +3300 odds.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Cristie Kerr over Ariya Jutanugarn
The fact that Jutanugarn is listed at better odds to win this week’s tournament than Kerr is a testament to their recent performances rather than their past results at this course and that is a matchup we will be looking to exploit. Kerr has struggled to find her consistency on the LPGA Tour this season but she has posted three wins at this event throughout her career and she is coming off her first top-10 finish of 2016. The Kingsmill Championship should provide the perfect storm for her to get on track with a strong performance and we like her to post a better score than the youngster Jutanugarn this week.
Top Five Pick: Lydia Ko
The world no. 1 will make her first start in more than three weeks, so she should be rested and focused heading into this event. Ko hasn’t finished worse than T-16th in her two starts at the Kingsmill Championship, but after gaining some valuable experience at the course over the last two years, she appears poised to deliver her best result here to this point in her career. Ko has finished third or better in five of her eight starts so far this season and we are banking on her adding to her total with another strong performance this week. She’s the best bet on the board and is a +350 favorite to win it. That’s why with a Top 5 bet, we lose a little bit of a payout but increase our chances of winning since she doesn’t have to win the event for us to cash.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Kingsmill Championship
Lydia Ko +350
Lexi Thompson +1050
In Gee Chun +1150
Sei Young Kim +1250
Inbee Park +1250
Amy Yang +1550
Stacy Lewis +1650
Minjee Lee +1850
Na Yeon Choi +2050
Gerina Piller +2050
Ariya Jutanugarn +2050
