LPGA: Women's British Open Preview

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Holylake, United Kingdom (September 12, 2012)-The Ricoh Women's British Open will begin tomorrow at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Defending champion is World No. 1 Yani Tseng who has yet to add to her five major championships since her win last summer at Carnoustie. This is the last opportunity to claim a major title in 2012 as we take a look at who has the best opportunity to lift the trophy on Sunday afternoon.

Yani Tseng: Tseng by her credit has been in a bit of a slump the past few months with her last top ten coming last May at the Sybase Match Play Championship. After missing three cuts in four events over the summer Tseng did finish 11th at the Safeway Classic in mid August. Flashes of the old Yani popped up that weekend in Portland with two rounds under par and only a sluggish finish on Sunday to keep her out of contention. She has switched caddies over the summer and has done her best to stay positive throughout this period.

"I've never been this consistently bad so it's a little weird for me," Tseng stated recently. "I started second-guessing myself and was always questioning myself, I have really learned a lot."

After winning two majors last year, to come away from 2012 with none would be a huge disappointment for Tseng in a year that is already been sub par for the Taiwanese player. In her favor-she has won the last two British Open's. 

Paula Creamer: Creamer arrived a day later than her LPGA peers due to the deadlock that she had with Jiyai Shin in the Kingsmill Championship this past weekend. Tied at the end of the fourth round the pair played eight playoff holes on Sunday before having to stop due to darkness. The playoff continued Monday morning when Shin won the first playoff hole after a Creamer three-putt. It was the longest playoff in LPGA history and without question will leave Creamer mentally and physically fatigued this week. However it might also just provide the right motivation as she is now still in a two year drought since her last win which took place at the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2010. Creamer tends to elevate her game when it matters most with a top ten at two of the three majors this year. Look for her to seek some retribution this weekend at Royal Liverpool.

Lydia Ko: The fifteen-year-old amateur said earlier this week that her goal was to simply make the cut this weekend. Normally we would take the young Ko at her word but she is coming off two pretty significant wins this past summer. First the U.S. Women's Amateur and then she became the youngest to ever claim an LPGA title when she won the Canadian Open just a few weeks ago. Perhaps very much a long shot to win her first major championship, but the number one ranked amateur thankfully has to yet to figure out just how good she is. I think she makes the cut and would not be shocked with a top ten finish. 

Stacy Lewis: She is ranked number two in the world and there hasn't been a golfer on tour this year with a better year than Lewis. She has two wins; eleven top tens, second on the money list and is leading the Rolex Player of the Year by almost thirty points over Tseng. She captured her first major championship last year at the Kraft Nabisco so she can handle the pressure of a Sunday afternoon with a major title on the line. As the top American in the field she has proven to be a grinder and can make birdies by the handful. A win this weekend would also cement her as the player of the year. 

Cristie Kerr: More than likely Kerr is already starting to look ahead towards 2013 since this year has been anything but successful on her part. No wins this year (and none in over two years) and only four top tens. She also saw her status as "Top American Player" replaced by the stellar play of Lewis. Kerr is a very emotional player and if she can get off to a good start on Thursday and Friday she may just be able to redeem 2012 by adding her third major championship to her resume. A respected veteran with a lot left to prove, my dark horse pick for the weekend. 

Catriona Matthew: The Scottish player has not had an exceptional year by her standards but won the Women's British Open in 2009 after playing for only part of the season due to the birth of her daughter. She will receive a lot of support for the fans looking for a winner to come out of the U.K. She knows links courses, she knows how to play in this type of weather and Matthew is a veteran that just might surprise us this week. 

*ESPN will be airing all four rounds of the Ricoh Women's British Open. Sept 13-16th 9:00am-12:00pm EST.

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