I've been mouthing off a lot here and elsewhere in the golfosphere this month about the quality of competition on the LPGA tour, contra those who have been dazzled by the record-breaking living legends on tour or who don't bother to examine their assumption that it's made up of Ochoa, Sorenstam, and assorted chopped liver.  It just so happens it's time for my bimonthly attempt at a BCS-style synthesis of the top ranking systems in women's professional golf--the Rolex Rankings, the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, the LPGA Official Money List, and Hound Dog's Top 30--so you be the judge.  But hold onto your hats--a lot has changed since February!

Well, one thing hasn't changed!

1.  Lorena Ochoa:  #1 money ($1.44M), #1 RR (19.22), #1 GSPI (67.83), #1 HD.  Hall of Fame in 2012?  Check.  Senorita Slam?  All she needs is a hot June.  Grand Slam?  Not out of the question.  Surpassing the LPGA single-season victory record of 13 wins?  Why not?

But don't count out her closest competitors just yet.  The ranking systems are pretty clear on who they are and how far behind Ochoa they are, but no one can stay in the zone forever while her closest competition struggles to find it.

2.  Annika Sorenstam:  #2 money ($914.3K), #2 RR (10.49), #3 GSPI (69.41), #4 HD.  Would be celebrated for having a Player of the Year-caliber start to her season were it not for Ochoa's sublimity.
3.  Paula Creamer:  #3 money ($558.2K), #4 RR (7.47), #2 GSPI (69.38), #3 HD.  For the best player in her year and second-best in her generation, she has an inexplicable lack of confidence.  But I expect Karrie Webb would understand how she feels.
4.  Suzann Pettersen:  #5 money ($390.3K), #3 RR (8.35), #4 GSPI (69.52), #2 HD.  After going -11 on the weekend at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, she has raised expectations for a return to her 2007 form, but a lack of consistency still dogs her.

Surprisingly, there are only 2 players in the top 10 in 3 of the 4 systems, which helps account for the extent of Ochoa's dominance in 2008:

5.  Jeong Jang:  #8 money ($241.3K), #9 RR (4.47), #15 GSPI (70.77), #5 HD.  Even though she hasn't contended since Creamer chased her down in Hawaii, she's still been among the very best and most consistent of the LPGA's elite since last June.
6.  Jee Young Lee:  #15 money ($220.0K), #8 RR (4.55), #10 GSPI (70.51), #8 HD.  Despite a terrible start to her season, she has played brilliantly but has struggled with consistency since getting into contention at the Safeway International.

The main body of the lead pack can be found in the top 10 in 2 of the 4 systems and/or in the top 20 in all:

7.  Karrie Webb:  #10 money ($238.0K), #5 RR (6.66), #13 GSPI (70.60), #17 HD.  Awesome talent and incredible inconsistency make her very difficult to rank.
8.  Cristie Kerr:  #30 money ($143.3K), #6 RR (5.48), #8 GSPI (70.15), #12 HD.  Ditto.
9.  Seon Hwa Lee:  #12 money ($234.5K), #18 RR (3.75), #12 GSPI (70.58), #6 HD.  Once she starts to play well more consistently, watch out.
10.  Mi Hyun Kim:  #44 money ($81.2K), #11 RR (4.80), #9 GSPI (70.32), #9 HD.  Not all the way back from off-season knee surgery, but don't count out the defending SemGroup champion just yet--she's got the eye of the tiger in every photograph I've seen of her this year.
11.  Angela Stanford:  #18 money ($218.5K), #20 RR (3.52), #14 GSPI (70.68), #11 HD.  Continues her ascent to the stratosphere of women's professional golf.  Will she feel the pull of gravity or achieve escape velocity?
12.  Ya Ni Tseng:  #4 money ($445.3K), #36 RR (2.83), #5 GSPI (70.04), #22 HD.  The second-ranked rookie in the ROY race is first in her class in the POY race.  Go figure!

Even with early-season volatility, there are only a few golfers with a top 10 in 1 system and otherwise consistent stats.

13.  Momoko Ueda:  #25 money ($157.2K), #10 RR (4.39), #11 GSPI (70.51), #20 HD.  Playing in the final Sunday pairing with Annika Sorenstam for the second time this season helped her claw her way back into contention in the Rookie of the Year race.
14.  Hee-Won Han:  #17 money ($219.0K), #29 RR (3.13), #7 GSPI (70.08), #15 HD.  Coming off maternity leave and shooting up the rankings, but will need to get more top 10s to keep movin' on up.
15.  Morgan Pressel:  #39 money ($96.3K), #13 RR (4.10), #27 GSPI (71.19), #7 HD.  Like Creamer, working on some swing changes, but unlike her she missed the cut rather than a win by a single stroke at the Stanford International.
16.  Stacy Prammanasudh:  #24 money ($161.1K), #15 RR (3.88), #31 GSPI (71.39), #10 HD.  2 top 10s in a sea of mediocrity thus far is not what I expected from one of the best Americans on tour.
17.  Lindsey Wright:  #6 money ($244.4K), #40 RR (2.48), #38 GSPI (71.67), #29 HD.  The highest-ranked player of those with hot hands in the early season, she's shown she can go low and come back from bad rounds--the only question remaining is whether she can attain the kind of consistency needed to pass those ahead of her.

There are only a couple of golfers with top 20s in 2 of the 4 systems who are playing at all well this season.

18.  Maria Hjorth:  #22 money ($191.5K), #16 RR (3.87), #25 GSPI (71.13), #13 HD.  The only thing holding her back is inconsistency--not from finish to finish or even round to round, but hole to hole!
19.  Angela Park:  #28 money ($157.3K), #22 RR (3.38), #17 GSPI (70.83), #14 HD.  The Stanford International marked her first top 10 of the season since a slow-play penalty knocked her out of contention in Hawaii.  Maybe she's started focusing on her overall ballstriking rather than the quest for more distance that is the White Whale (and sometimes Albatross) of so many of the precision players this season.
20.  Natalie Gulbis:  #41 money ($87.9K), #21 RR (3.45), #20 GSPI (70.95), #19 HD.  Moved up only because those immediately ahead of her have played so badly thus far this season.
21.  Juli Inkster:  #47 money ($69.8K), #14 RR (4.07), #18 GSPI (70.86), #26 HD.  Showed some signs of life at the Safeway and Stanford, but on the verge of getting passed by a bevy of Young Guns this season.
22.  Se Ri Pak:  #80 money ($40.0K), #12 RR (4.17), #35 GSPI (71.49), #13 HD.  Is it time for this Hall of Famer's loyal fans to push the panic button?  Is her terrible play so far this season (except for a top 10 at the Kraft) due to a nagging shoulder injury?  Or is she just off?

I cover the next 11 (and it easily could have turned into the next 33!) over at Mostly Harmless--for confirmed LPGA otaku only.  We'll see in June if any of them can displace any of those listed here and how much the lead pack can close the gap on Ochoa.