[LPGA] Sorenstam, Ochoa to Vie for Top Ranking

Will the returning Annika Sorenstam of Sweden reclaim her title of the world’s best female golfer, or will Lorena Ochoa of Mexico stay at the top?

The two will compete against each other for the first time this season on the LPGA Tour at the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore. Until last year, the championship took the form of a match play, but will now be a 72-hole stroke event.

Ochoa, to make her season debut in Singapore, won eight of 25 tournaments last year. She also ranked in the top ten 21 times and earned the most prize money of 4.36 million dollars.

Sorenstam, however, was 0-for-13 in tournaments last year, earning just 532,718 dollars to finish 25th.

The Swede made her pro debut in 1994 and won three titles the next year. Between 1994 and 2006, she claimed at least one championship every year.

Predictions began coming out that she would soon retire. But she won the SBS Open this season, heralding a powerful return.

Moreover, Sorenstam finished fourth in the Fields Open last weekend and is the LPGA’s leader money winner this season. To boost interest, the Singapore tournament’s organizers have bundled Ochoa, Sorenstam and Kerry Webb in the same group.

Also hungry for a win are 31 Korean golfers on the LPGA Tour. They collectively won 11 championships in 2006 but only four last year. The last title won by a Korean was the HSBC World Match Play Championship in July last year by Lee Seon-hwa. Since her victory, Korean golfers have gone 0-for-15 in tournaments.

Jang Jeong will take on Paula Creamer of the United States in the same group this time. Creamer beat Jang late in the third round of the Fields Open.

Veteran Pak Se-ri will tee off along with Shin Ji-ae and Brittany Lincicome of the United States. Lee Jee-young and Kim Mi-hyun, who withdrew from competition for three months due to knee surgery, will also play.

why@donga.com