The Brawl Is On!

Since the Limerick Summary has been weather-delayed, I thought I'd bring you all up-to-date on the women's ranking shuffle I wrote about yesterday.

Yani Tseng did win the ISPS HANDA Australian Women's Open this past weekend and leap to #2 in the Rolex World Rankings.

Here's last week's Top 5 list as posted yesterday:

1. Jiyai Shin, 10.06
2. Cristie Kerr, 9.56
3. Suzann Pettersen, 9.55
4. Na Yeon Choi, 9.52
5. Yani Tseng, 9.24

And here's the updated list for February 7:

1. Jiyai Shin, 10.17
2. Yani Tseng, 9.80
3. Cristie Kerr, 9.41
4. Suzann Pettersen, 9.40
5. Na Yeon Choi, 9.39

Shin gained a meager .11 points for her second-place finish (a 3-way tie, btw) while Tseng gained .56 points. That's not a large amount, but it's more than enough to put her within a single tournament win of gaining the #1 spot -- which she has never held before. Perhaps even more interesting are the 3, 4, and 5 spots which are now only separated by .02 points!

Ai Miyazato, sitting in sixth with 8.92 points, actually gained .02 points while doing nothing. I assume she dropped a low finish off the back of the ranking period. She's going to have her work cut out for her if she expects to challenge for the #1 spot soon.

Perhaps the Constructivist or Hound Dog would like to comment about this interesting turn of events. But if I was doing a Ruthless Golf World Rankings for the ladies (which TC asked about in a comment a couple of days ago), I would certainly have to put Yani Tseng at #1 right now. She has 6 wins over the last year:

• 2010 Women's Australian Open (LET, ALPG)
• 2010 Kraft Nabisco Championship (LPGA)
• 2010 Ricoh Women's British Open (LPGA, LET)
• 2010 P&G NW Arkansas Championship (LPGA)
• 2011 Taifong Ladies Open (LPGA Taiwan)
• 2011 Women's Australian Open (LET, ALPG)

Yep, the Australian Open counts twice because it was played in March last year. How many players get to defend a tournament and have both wins count in a single year? You've gotta admit, that's pretty cool.

I couldn't find out if Tseng plans to play in the ANZ RACV Ladies Masters in Queensland this week, but I'll be surprised if she doesn't. After all, she's already there and warmed up. I think Yani would like my suggestion of changing the name of the Rolex to "the Brawl for #1." Whether you agree with me or not, one thing is certain...

The Brawl is definitely on!