All eyes will be on the world No. 1 this week as Lydia Ko looks to successfully defend her title for the second year in a row at the Swirling Skirts LPGA Classic this week. Ko followed up her victory at the inaugural event with another in 2015 and there won’t be many golf enthusiasts betting against her in this year’s edition at the Lake Merced Golf Club in San Francisco, California. We’ll see if she can come out on top in the pristine weather of California.
Event Details
Event: Swirling Skirts LPGA Classic
Category: LPGA
Date: April 21-24
Location: Lake Merced Golf Club, San Francisco, California
The Swirling Skirts LPGA Classic is co-sanctioned with the Taiwan LPGA and will feature over 100 LPGA players along with even more from Taiwan. There will be 500 points on the line in the Race to Dubai in addition to the $2 million in prize money that will be up for grabs. Even with such a big field in play, it’s no surprise who is the favorite for this week’s festivities: Lydia Ko. Although she’s not a household name on ESPN and to the general sports public, the ladies golf fans recognize her as the Tiger Woods of the women’s tour.
Event Winners
2015: Lydia Ko -8
2014: Lydia Ko -12
What To Know About The Course
The Lake Merced Golf Club is a par 6,507-yard par 72 that features four par 5’s and four par 3’s. There are zero water hazards to look out for but there are plenty of bunkers scattered throughout the course and the fairways are lined with trees with a rough that is very thick. Only 14 players finished the tournament under par a year ago and that is something to keep in mind when it comes to making your picks for this week. The emphasis will be on Driving Accuracy rather than Driving Distance and it will favor players that perform accurately from tee to green. It’s no surprise that Ko ranked 7th in Greens in Regulation in 2014 and was 9th in that category in 2015.
The Field
Ko is the obvious betting favorite and there is still some decent odds available with some sportsbook sites having her listed as high as +300 odds. The drop off after Ko is the perfect illustration of how the field projects to play out with In Gee Chun next in line at +800 odds after her runner-up finish at the LOTTE Championship last week. The top five according to the betting odds rounds out with Sei Young Kim at +1000 odds, Lexi Thompson at +1400 odds and Stacy Lewis at +1600 odds. 18-year-old Brooke Henderson is also worth taking in to consideration as a potential sleeper pick to do some damage at +2200 odds.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Lexi Thompson over Sei Young Kim
The 2015 Rookie of the Year is off to an excellent start this season but she will be in tough to keep up with Thompson this week. Thompson is coming off consecutive top-10 finishes at the ANA Inspiration and LOTTE Championship and she should have plenty of confidence after climbing to No. 3 in the Rolex Rankings. Thompson has been a dominant Tour player off the tee and she has really improved her short game over the last year. She knows this course well and that should help give her an edge over Kim.
Top Five Pick: Lydia Ko
Can there be any doubt about Ko as the obvious choice for this week’s event? She has spent 26 consecutive weeks at the top of the Rolex Rankings and she has already registered a pair of victories in 2016 including her second major victory at the ANA Inspiration. Ko practically owns this golf course and as long as she continues to take care of business with her putter she will be extremely tough to beat.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Swirling Skirts LPGA Classic
Lydia Ko +285
In Gee Chun +715
Sei Young Kim +950
Lexi Thompson +1250
Stacy Lewis +1550
Ha Na Jang +1850
Shanshan Feng +1815
Brooke Henderson +1250
Hyo Joo Kim +2250
Gerina Piller +2250
Suzann Pettersen +2850
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