I think it's safe to say that the big news this week is Inbee Park's return to action. But let's talk tournament details, shall we?
The event is the Honda LPGA Thailand, which will be played on the Pattaya Old Course at the Siam Country Club in Chonburi, Thailand. This is the 10th year the event has been played and its 8th time at this course.
This is a limited-field event with only 70 players. (Haru Nomura qualified at the last minute with her win in Australia last week.) According to Tony Jesselli's preview, this is a top-heavy event with 42 of the Rolex Top50, including defending champ Amy Yang (currently #12) and Inbee Park (#2).
And, as I said earlier, Park is probably the main story this week. She has played only one round this year, having withdrawn from the Bahamas tournament with a back problem. Presumably she's feeling okay or she wouldn't tee it up. But she has fallen farther behind Lydia Ko with each passing week and is certainly feeling some pressure to get back in the game.
While almost anybody could be a favorite in a field this small with this level of firepower, I still like HaNa Jang's chances to get her second win of the season. According to Tony, only HaNa and Haru have been in the Top15 of all three events this season... but I checked and only HaNa has two Top5 finishes (a win and a T4). So she's my pick for the week.
As I said earlier, GC's coverage starts at 1am ET tonight. I'll probably fall sleep with the TV on again...
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