The LPGA's 2008 Top 30

by Mulligan Stu on Feb 11, 2008 10:36 AM EST Comment 19 comments

If you're an LPGA fan and you're not checking Hound Dog every day, shame on you. Same goes for Waggle Room regular The Constructivist. A couple weeks ago Hound Dog posted his preseason Top 30, and challenged his readers and other bloggers to do the same. The Constructivist took up the challenge. Their lists are below, along with MSM representative Ron Sirak, who does this every year:

Hound Dog
1. Lorena Ochoa
2. Paula Creamer
3. Annika Sorenstam
4. Suzann Pettersen
5. Jee Young Lee
6. Seon Hwa Lee
7. Jeong Jang
8. Mi Hyun Kim
9. Se Ri Pak
10. Stacy Prammanasudh
11. Morgan Pressel
12. Brittany Lincicome
13. Natalie Gulbis
14. Angela Stanford
15. Cristie Kerr
16. Angela Park
17. Hee-Won Han
18. Nicole Castrale
19. Shi Hyun Ahn
20. Christina Kim
21. Catriona Matthew
22. Karrie Webb
23. Eun-Hee Ji
24. Sophie Gustafson
25. Laura Davies
26. Ai Miyazato
27. Juli Inkster
28. Momoko Ueda
29. In-Kyung Kim
30. Maria Hjorth

The Constructivist
1. Lorena Ochoa
2. Paula Creamer
3. Seon Hwa Lee
4. Jee Young Lee
5. Annika Sorenstam
6. Morgan Pressel
7. Jeong Jang
8. Hee-Won Han
9. Se Ri Pak
10. Mi Hyun Kim
11. Angela Park
12. Stacy Prammanasudh
13. Cristie Kerr
14. Natalie Gulbis
15. Suzann Pettersen
16. Ai Miyazato
17. In-Kyung Kim
18. Momoko Ueda
19. Eun-Hee Ji
20. Jane Park
21. Karrie Webb
22. Brittany Lincicome
23. Christina Kim
24. Shi Hyun Ahn
25. Angela Stanford
26. Juli Inkster
27. Meena Lee
28. Laura Davies
29. Sophie Gustafson
30. Inbee Park

Ron Sirak
1. Lorena Ochoa
2. Suzann Pettersen
3. Annika Sorenstam
4. Cristie Kerr
5. Paula Creamer
6. Karrie Webb
7. Se Ri Pak
8. Morgan Pressel
9. Juli Inkster
10. Catriona Matthew
11. Jee Young Lee
12. Brittany Lincicome
13. Natalie Gulbis
14. Mi Hyun Kim
15. Jeong Jang
16. Nicole Castrale
17. Stacy Prammanasudh
18. Seon Hwa Lee
19. Maria Hjorth
20. Pat Hurst
21. Angela Stanford
22. Shi Hyun Ahn
23. Sophie Gustafson
24. Angela Park
25. Ai Miyazato
26. Na On Min
27. Sherri Steinhauer
28. Laura Diaz
29. Christina Kim
30. Karin Sjodin

OK, my list. Keep in mind, I like to use opportunities such as these to throw some curveballs out there. If I turn out to be right, I'll ignore all the wrong selections, focus on the oddball ones that panned out, and declare myself a genius. Just so you know.

My Top 30 in 2008:

1. Lorena Ochoa
2. Annika Sorenstam
3. Suzann Pettersen
4. Paula Creamer
5. Se Ri Pak
6. Angela Park
7. Karrie Webb
8. Hee-Won Han
9. Cristie Kerr
10. Jeong Jang
11. Jee Young Lee
12. Momoko Ueda
13. Stacy Prammanasudh
14. Sophie Gustafson
15. Michelle Wie
16. Mi Hyun Kim
17. In-Bee Park
18. Seon-Hwa Lee
19. Natalie Gulbis
20. Morgan Pressel
21. Brittany Lincicome
22. In-Kyung Kim
23. Eun-Hee Ji
24. Jane Park
25. Catriona Matthew
26. Ruby Tseng
27. Maria Hjorth
28. Angela Stanford
29. Christina Kim
30. Charlotte Mayorkas

No, leaving out Ai Miyazato, Juli Inkster, Laura Davies, Pat Hurst and Nicole Castrale were not oversights. No, including Ruby Tseng and Charlotte Mayorkas was not an error (a mistake maybe, but not an error), nor was ranking the three Parks as high as I have them ranked. And my own nod to the veterans: Se Ri Pak. What can I say. I loves me some Se Ri.

Michelle Wie? Hey, a couple months ago I predicted she'd win twice this year. If I'm going down, I might as well go down in flames ...

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Comments

ummmm

Michelle Wie could come out and win 10 tournaments this year and she STILL wouldn't make the top 30 on the LPGA - she isn't a member !

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Feb 11, 2008 11:17 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I know

The LPGA only considers for its stat lists Tour members, but I don't have to limit myself to tour members. I can consider anyone playing Tour events. And if Wie wins twice (as I foolishly predicted), then she'll deserve a place high on the list, tour member or not. If Ji-Yai Shin wins a Tour event, then she'll get on the list, too. (And I suppose, by any objective measure, there's a better chance of that happening than of Wie winning.)

by Mulligan Stu on Feb 11, 2008 11:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Danke Schoen

Thanks for the plug, Stu.

I ranked Wie in the Top 15 back in 2006 (no member restrictions on my list but I only rate performances in LPGA events), so if she gets her game back you may have us all scooped. Don't worry about pointing out the wrong selections later, we'll handle that!

Only...three...more...days...

by hound dog on Feb 11, 2008 1:27 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

hmmm...

Just had a thought - at the end of the season, how would we determine whose list was best? How will we know who was ultimately right about Juli Inkster or Seon Hwa Lee?

I nominate the final HD Top 30 (...expecting to be completely shot down). Just don't suggest Rolex.

by hound dog on Feb 11, 2008 1:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

bring on the Howitzer...

lol

just use the money list - it's not a world rankings list - it's an LPGA list.

of course, that sort of handicaps Stu - his top 30 list is limited to 29 with the Wie pick. That big naught in the official money column is a bummer.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Feb 11, 2008 2:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

new meme

Publicizing your first PakPicker picks:

http://mlyhlss.blogspot.com/2008/02/2008-lpga-preview-finally-first-event.html

MS and CG, you have until Wednesday to register and post!

I say each of us develops our own measure of judging these picks. HD can use his system, I'll use my Best of the LPGA BCS-style thing, you can pick yours, and we can all look at the Rolex Rankings and the money list. The real question is how to score it! We have to quantify this somehow or it'll start rather than end as a free-for-all!

If you check out how the PakPickers scoring system works for an individual event, I think we could customize its two-part scoring system (points for your top 30 actually getting in the top 30, based on how highly they finish and going down; and points for how closely the people end up ranked on the list[s] in question to the way you ranked them). But wait, that already sounds like a lot of work.

I nominate Hound Dog for the number crunching. No tag-backs!

by The Constructivist on Feb 11, 2008 2:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

my own system....my OWN system....

...hmmm - hotness factor ? (Grace Park better be ready to play !) May not work without Anna Rawson getting on a roll.

Most hideous outfit factor ? Christina Kim wears what would normally be nice clothes, but...

This could take some work.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Feb 11, 2008 3:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

curses! foiled again!

Money list works for me. It's part of my system anyway. Whatever money Wie wins, we just put her in the appropriate slot and move others down one.

TC, I was just looking for an easy solution already in existence not an exact point-by-point scoring system (although one might expect me to salivate at that!).

by hound dog on Feb 11, 2008 3:08 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

heh

yeah, money list makes the most sense. btw, MS, how did I rate Jane Park higher than you?! And WTF on Inbee Park beating out Seon Hwa Lee this year?! That is just cold! Oh, and just tell me what I owe you if Karrie, Cristie, and Suzann are all in the top 10 in money! I'll let you know what you owe me if none of them are....

by The Constructivist on Feb 11, 2008 4:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

ALL three ?

Interesting bet, there TC. I didn't even notice that you had Suzann outside the top 10. Are you predicting continued back problems ?

I'd take the bet on any two of the three, but 30% of the top 10 is tough.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Feb 11, 2008 4:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah, but....

...isn't it just as tough for none of them to make it? Or are you less confident in your top 10 than I am in mine?

Love the pre-season trash-talking!

by The Constructivist on Feb 11, 2008 4:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

hmmmm

I'm thinking it's more the number - in either direction. If one or two make it, the bet is a push.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Feb 11, 2008 5:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

too true

which suggests we ought to come up with real good things the loser ought to do in the hope that unlikely event happens!

by The Constructivist on Feb 12, 2008 1:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

red tee treatment ?

I'm guessing that a round trip ticket to St Andrews is out of the question - how about just a photo of the loser hitting his second shot from behind the red tees - pants around the ankles...WITH red silk boxers on, of course - we don't want to get the Golf Girl and Golf Chick TOO excited.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Feb 12, 2008 5:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

now I know what to ask for a Valentine's gift

just in case, that is.

by The Constructivist on Feb 12, 2008 8:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

valentines ?

You mean you want a round of golf from the red tees ????

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Feb 12, 2008 9:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I would take a round of golf from any tees

Do you know I haven't played more than 1 round a year since 2004? Why do you think I golf blog so much? This summer, my older daughter will be 4 and a half, so we'll head over to the local public course to putt and chip around. But I don't trust her yet to take a full swing with a real kids club! She's dangerous enough with those little plastic ones. And I don't want to provide any more weapons to her little sister, who already treats the plastic ones like samurai swords!

by The Constructivist on Feb 13, 2008 10:37 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

lol

now THAT sounds like a house that should have cameras and an internet link - watching those two little girls must be a trip. :-D

why only 1 round of golf a year ?

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Feb 13, 2008 12:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

1 is better than none

Which was my total last year in Japan. 1 is about the average number of times my dad comes into town and we can sneak off for a quick 18 since that first summer after onechan was born and I royally pissed off my wife by trying to maintain my normal competitive golfing schedule. not good.

by The Constructivist on Feb 14, 2008 3:36 AM EST reply actions 0 recs