Preview of the Jabra Ladies Open on the LET and the Pure Silk Championship on the LPGA & 4 to watch!
Jabra Ladies Open (Dual LETAS / LET)
Date: 23/05/19
Location: France
Course: Evian Resort Golf Club
Prize Fund: €150,000
Rounds: Three
Defending Champion: Astrid Vayson de Pradenne (Fra) (-7)
Below we look at 4 players that could see themselves top of the leaderboard come the end of the final round. It should be an exciting week and i am personally excited to fly out to France to be able to watch a few days golf. It is a beautiful course and should be a great event as usual. The winner will earn their place in this years Evian Championship.
Esther Henseleit (Germany)
Where else to start. The 20 year old German was so unlucky last week in Spain just loosing out by 1 shot as Celine Herbin birdied the last 2 holes to win. That was her 2nd runners up finish in a row after finishing 2nd in Dubai under the floodlights. It surely is only a matter of time before we see Esther win and she is really showing signs of turning into a top class player.
This season she has been inside the top 10 in all but 1 of her 7 starts Including two 2nd’s a 3rd and a 4th place finish. She sits 3rd on the Order of Merit and 1st in the rookie of the year. It will be a good event to win with qualification for the Evian Championship guaranteed. Now up to 245th in the world rankings.
Pauline Roussin Bouchard (Am) France
The French amateur is making an appearance on the LET this week. Currently Pauline is ranked 15th in the world and number 2 in Europe after a great 2019 so far. She won the Portuguese Ladies Amateur and then the Italian International before finishing runner up at the French amateur. She also finished 4th at the ANA Junior Championship in the USA.
It will be very interesting to see her compete against the pros this week and we think she should surprise a few players.
Olivia Cowan (Germany)
Cowan, has been playing some consistent golf that has seen her rise to 10th on the Order of Merit. She finished 13th last week in Spain after an opening round of 68. This was off the back of her best finish of the year in Dubai where she finished 2nd.
Oliva didn’t play here last year due to playing on the Symetra Tour in the States. Up to 191st in the world and could do with a good result here to boost her Solheim Cup points.
Carly Booth (Scotland)
Sitting 14th on the Order of Merit is Carly Booth from Scotland. She really struggled last year finishing 79th on the order of merit but has bounced back this year and is playing some good golf.
Carly has had 3 top 10’s this season and finished 13th last week at the La Reserva De Sotogrande. She missed the cut here last year but should do a lot better this week and could be top of the pack come the final round. Now 319th in the world.
LPGA- Pure Silk Championship
Date: 23/05/19
Location: Williamsburg, VA (USA)
Course: River Course
Prize Fund: $1,300,000
Defending Champion: Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand) -14 (54 holes)
There are a number of past champions in the field this week: Ariya Jutanugarn (2016, 2018), Lexi Thompson (2017), Minjee Lee (2015), Lizette Salas (2014), Cristie Kerr (2005, 2009, 2013), Karrie Webb (2006) and itr should be a good warm up for the US Open next week. Below we look at 4 players to watch this week.
Danielle Kang (USA)
It has been a great start to 2019 for Danielle which has seen her rise to 15th in the Rolex Rankings. She has had 5 top 10’s in her 8 starts so far with a best of 2nd at the KIA Classic at the end of March.
In her last event at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship before the break she finished 18th. Has good form at this event finishing 4th here last year and 18th in 2017. Stand s a good chance of getting her first win this year here this week. 11th in the Race to the Globe.
Brooke Henderson (Canada)
It has been another good season for Brooke so far, she successfully defended the Lotte Championship in Hawaii in April. The Canadian has had 4 top 10 finishes currently sitting 5th in the Race to the Globe.
She did miss the cut 3 weeks ago but looks like she will bounce back this week. She finished 14th here in 2018 and is in 3rd place this year for rounds in the 60’s.
Azahara Munoz (Spain)
Along with fellow Spaniard Carlota Ciganda they are both due a win this year as they have been playing so well and so constantly. Munoz is in 8th for the Race to the Globe after 5 top 10 finishes in her 10 starts with a best of 2nd at the KIA Classic.
Finished 8th in her last event a few weeks ago and has had good results here in the past with an 8th place finish in 2017. She is a birdie machine with a 141 so far this season, the 6th best on tour. Could go close this week to add to her 1 LPGA victory.
Lexi Thompson (USA)
Lexi has had a bit of up and down form so far this year. She was back to her best at the first major of the year, the ANA Inspiration where she was runner up. She then missed the cut at the LA Open before bouncing back to finish 4th at the LPGA MEDIHEAL 3 weeks ago.
Lexi is one of the defending champions here after winning the event in 2017, she also holds the tournament record of -20 set in 2014 where she had 3 rounds of 65. She would love to be back to that form this week and should keep up her recent good form. Currently 7th in the world and 22nd on the Race to the Globe.