ROGERS -- So Yeon Ryu's biography and list of accomplishments take up two full pages in the LPGA's Player Guide.
The Korean star has won more than $9 million in her seventh year on the tour. She has won multiple majors, was the Co-Rolex Player of the Year in 2017, was the 2012 Rolex Rookie of the Year and posted a dozen top-10 finishes last season.
5 TO WATCH
INBEE PARK
ROLEX RANKING No. 1
CAREER WINS 19
MAJOR WINS 7
CAREER EARNINGS $14,458,719
2018 EARNINGS $863,286
WHY SHE COULD WIN Park is probably the most steady player on the LPGA Tour and has been for some time. She rebounded from a hand injury in 2016 to win an Olympic gold medal and has won 19 tour events including seven majors. … She won this event in 2013, the same year she won three majors championships. … In 10 starts here, Park has finished in the top 10 five times, including a tie for sixth last year. … She has only played in eight events this season, but has finished in the top 10 in five of those. … Finished tied for ninth at the U.S. Women’s Open.
LYDIA KO
ROLEX RANKING No. 14
CAREER WINS 15
MAJOR WINS 2
CAREER EARNINGS $9,109,621
2018 EARNINGS $549,277
WHY SHE COULD WIN HERE Ko took the LPGA by storm in 2013 and has consistently been among the top money winners each year since. … Ko won this tournament in 2016, firing a 196. … In four starts here, she has been in the top 10 three times. … She tied for fourth in 2013 as an amateur and tied for sixth in 2015. Last year she tied for 25th. … Finished third last week at the Maijer LPGA Classic, so she enters this week with a lot of momentum.
LEXI THOMPSON
ROLEX RANKING No. 3
CAREER WINS 9
MAJOR WINS 1
CAREER EARNINGS $7,768,531
2018 EARNINGS $474,982
WHY SHE COULD WIN HERE Was sensational in 2017 with two wins and six runner-up finishes. … Became the first American to win the CME Race to the Globe. … Has only played this event three times, finishing tied for 43rd in 2012 and tied for 22nd in 2015. She missed the cut in 2014. … She’s had back-to-back top 10 finishes including a tie for fifth at the U.S. Open and tied for ninth last week at the Meijer LPGA Classic.
MORIYA JUTANUGARN
ROLEX RANKING No. 8
CAREER WINS 1
MAJOR WINS 0
CAREER EARNINGS $3,380,266
2018 EARNINGS $741,847
WHY SHE COULD WIN HERE Moriya may not get a much notice as her younger sister Aryia, but her game is among the best on the tour. … Missed just one cut last season en route to earning $1,320,900. … Earned her first LPGA win this season. … Has played consistently well at this event in the past. She has finished tied for fourth (2016) and tied for second (2017) here. … Jutanugarn was the 2013 Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year.
SHANSHAN FENG
ROLEX RANKING No. 4
CAREER WINS 9
MAJOR WINS 1
CAREER EARNINGS $10,166,180
2018 EARNINGS $430,792
WHY SHE COULD WIN HERE Won three events last year and rose to No. 1 in the world, the first from China to attain the No. 1 ranking. … She ended 2016 with a surge, finishing in the top 10 in seven straight starts and that momentum carried over into 2017. … She has had four top 10 finishes this season, but has fallen back a little in her last three starts and did not make the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open. … She has never finished higher than tied for 13th here and has not played in this event since 2014.
Today’s Tee Times
Tee 1
Time^Group
7:30 a.m.^Peiyun Chien, Bronte Law, Aditi Ashok
7:41 a.m.^Laetitia Beck, Kelly Shon, Gemma Dryburgh
7:52 a.m.^Chella Choi, Tiffany Chan, Alison Lee
8:03 a.m.^Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Benyapa Niphatsophon, Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong
8:14 a.m.^Wei-Ling Hsu, Su Oh, Amy Yang
8:25 a.m.^Inbee Park, Charley Hull, Azahara Munoz
8:36 a.m.^Lydia Ko, Michelle Wie, Brittany Lincicome
8:47 a.m.^Stacy Lewis, Moriya Juntanugarn, Shanshan Feng
8:58 a.m.^Celine Herbin, Hannah Green, Jing Yan
9:09 a.m.^Paula Reto, Sandra Changkija, Ayako Uehara
9:20 a.m.^Kris Tamulis, Pannarat Thanapolbooyaras
9:31 a.m.^Erynne Lee, Haeji Kang, Leticia Ras-Anderica
12:30 p.m.^Kassidy Teare, Daniela Iacobelli, Sun Young Yoo
12:41 p.m.^Joeng Eun Lee, Vicky Hurst, Perrine Delacour
12:52 p.m.^Amuy Olson, Brittany Lang, Yu Liu
1:03 p.m.^Alena Sharp, Lee-Anne Pace, Mo Martin
1:14 p.m.^Nasa Hataoka, In-Kyung Kim, Austin Ernst
1:25 p.m.^Carlota Ciganda, Sung Hyun Park, Catriona Matthew
1:36 p.m.^Ariya Jutanugarn, Minjee Lee, Anna Nordqvist
1:47 p.m.^So Yeon Ryu, Jessica Korda, Lexi Thompson
1:58 p.m.^Mariah Stackhouse, Sandra Gal, Beatriz Recari
2:09 p.m.^Maria Fassi (a), Jaye Marie Green, Madelene Sagstrom
2:20 p.m.^Gaby Lopez, Christina Kim, Morgan Pressel
2:31 p.m.^Dylan Kim (a), Mariajo Uribe, Cheyenne Woods
Tee 10
Time^Group
7:30 a.m.^Jessy Tang, Maria Torres, Dani Holmqvist
7:41 a.m.^Luna Sobron, Daniela Darquea, Natalie Gulbis
7:52 a.m.^Sydney Michaels, Camila Lennarth, Brianna Do
8:03 a.m.^Emma Talley^Kim Kaufman^Robynn Ree
8:14 a.m.^Mirim Lee, Yani Tseng, Katherine Kirk
8:25 a.m.^Lizette Salas, Eun-Hee Ji, Jin Young Ko
8:36 a.m.^Angela Stanford, Pernilla Lindberg, Sarah Jane Smith
8:47 a.m.^Jenny Shin, Nelly Korda, Caroline Masson
8:58 a.m.^Katie Burnett, Rebecca Artis, Giulia Molinaro
9:09 a.m.^Lauren Coughlin, Cindy LaCrosse, Lee Lopez
9:20 a.m.^Lauren Kim, Amelia Lewis, Joanna Klatten
9:31 a.m.^Olafia Kristinsdottir, Anne-Catherine Tanguay, Jane Park
12:30 p.m.^Cydney Clanton, Jackie Stoelting, Ally McDonald
12:41 p.m.^Maude-Aimee Lablanc, Caroline Hedwall, Brittany Altomare
12:52 p.m.^Emily Pedersen, Jacqui Concolino, Ashleigh Buhai
1:03 p.m.^Brittany Marchand, Nicole Broch Larsen, Celine Boutier
1:14 p.m.^Lindy Duncan, Marina Alex, Paula Creamer
1:25 p.m.^Juli Inkster, Mi Hyang Lee, Megan Khan
1:36 p.m.^Hyo Joo Kim, Annie Park, Cristie Kerr
1:47 p.m.^Danielle Kang, Jennifer Song, Haru Nomura
1:58 p.m.^Julieta Granada, Mel Reid, Mi Jung Hur
2:09 p.m.^Ryann O’Toole, Wichanee Meechai, Tiffany Joh
2:20 p.m.^Hee Young Park, Thidapa Suwannapura, Emily Collins
2:31 p.m.^Pornanong Phatlum, Karine Icher, P.K. Kongkraphan
Yet despite all her accolades and success, the soon-to-be 28-year-old Ryu still battles periods of self-doubt and the high expectations she places on herself to be a consistent winner on the LPGA Tour.
"I think if I look back over my entire professional career, I have always struggled with the expectation level," Ryu said Thursday. "I think this year, I've definitely had to fight against myself and I've felt overwhelmed.
"I was like, 'OK, you have to play consistent all the time.' And then when you really can't play consistent, you question yourself and ask, 'What's wrong with you?' Even if you finish in the top 20, you are still not satisfied with that and you still try and find the problem and fix it. To be top five, top 10 all the time is great, but when you don't, you lose a lot of confidence."
Ryu heads into today's first round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on a wave of momentum. She is the defending tournament champion after scorching Pinnacle Country Club last year with a record-setting 18-under, 195 to win by two shots.
She won her first tournament of the season last week at the Meijer LPGA Classic, which vaulted her to No. 5 in the Rolex rankings and boosted her 2018 winnings to $576,600.
"To be honest, I've struggled with my game this season," she said. "I was expecting my game to just slowly progress instead of just winning right away, but I was very fortunate to win last week. When you come to defend your title, you have a lot of pressure, but after I won last week, I started to think maybe I have a chance to defend my title. So I've got total confidence after last week."
Ryu has enlisted the help of a sports psychologist to help her with the mental aspects of the game. She also has a new caddie who she credits with helping to keep her grounded.
But when she needs a dose of reality from a player who has walked in her spiked shoes, she knows exactly where she can get an honest assessment -- Inbee Park.
The longtime friends share a special bond, and that relationship extends well beyond the lush greens and fan-packed galleries of the pro golf tour.
"When I talk to her I was like, 'Oh my god, I'm not doing this right or I'm doing this wrong,' and she's always like, 'Just get over it,'" Ryu said. "She just tells me, 'You know what to do. You've done it. Just do what you do and don't worry about it.'
"She's definitely a great adviser for me for my professional life as well as my personal life."
Park is the No. 1 player currently in the Rolex rankings and is a past winner of this event. The 2016 Olympic gold medalist is one of the most consistent golfers on the LPGA Tour.
But even Park had to take a step back away from the game after a series of injuries threatened her career in 2016. She took several months off that year to recover and made a triumphant return to the course with the Olympic gold medal. Since then, she has limited her LPGA Tournament schedule, but remains as dominant as ever.
"I just had to listen to my body and try to stay healthy," Park said. "This has been a good strategy for me. When I come to a tournament, I am ready to play. Even when I feel good, I still try to rest and take care of myself."
Park said she told Ryu to embrace all that she has accomplished on the LPGA Tour and focus on that.
"I tell her she just stresses too much. Sometimes even when she's playing great golf, she just pushes herself so hard," Park said of Ryu. "I try to tell her, 'Look, even if you don't do anything from now on, you have already accomplished so many things. You need to just take it a little bit easier on yourself.'
"She just needs to relax a little bit and I think that's what she did last week. I was really happy to see her win this year."
Ryu opens tournament play at 1:47 p.m. on No. 1 in a grouping that also includes Jessica Korda and Lexi Thompson, all ranked in the top 11 on the tour.
As the defending champion and a fan favorite, she has consistently played well in this tournament. Besides the win last year, she also has four additional top 15 finishes, including four top-five finishes.
"This golf course is always in good shape," Ryu said. "The putting greens are awesome and I know that they are always pure, and as long as I have confidence the greens are pure, I know I can make them. And I love the big crowds here. I always feel like I have a thousand people rooting for me. I love this atmosphere."
Sports on 06/22/2018