LPGA scrap Tres Marias Championship

Fears about violence linked to the Mexican drug trade has forced the LPGA to scrap this year’s renewal of the $1.3million Tres Marias Championship.

Tournament officials scrapped the event, which had been due to be played between April 21-24th in Morelia, after the ongoing in-fighting between rival drug gangs showed little sign of abating in the north-central region of the country.

The Morelia region of Mexico is home to the bloody La Familia cartel, which reportedly is responsible for killing at least 12 federal police officers since 2009.

“We hope to return next year, but would need to see significant improvement from a safety perspective,” an LPGA spokesman said, adding that the tour was concerned about the safety of the players.

It had been rumoured for some time that the LPGA were likely to delay, or even shelve, the event due to the troubles although the event is contracted to be staged until 2012.

With the LPGA anxious to grow its circuit after losing several events to a lack of sponsorship, losing any tournament is a huge blow, and so the Tour may yet look to resurrect the event later in the season.

The 2010 event was won by Japan’s Ai Miyazato, and also saw the retirement of then-world number one, Lorena Ochoa.

Jiyai Shin regains women’s top spot

It seems the accolade of being the women’s world number one golfer is something of a hot potato, after another change in ownership this week. Ever since Lorena Ochoa called time on her professional career, the top spot in the women’s ranking has been passed around a host of players.

In the same week that Lee Westwood deposed Tiger Woods as world number one, Jiyai Shin knocked Christie Kerr off the top spot in the women’s rankings after a tied-fourth place finish in South Korea.

Kerr had taken the number one spot the previous week from Ai Miyazato, but couldn’t hold onto the top spot after a tied-12th finish in the Hana Bank Championship, which saw her drop to second place.

It’s not the first time that Shin has been number one, however. Her latest rise to the top of the women’s pile will be her third stint this season and she was first crowned women’s world number one golfer after Ochoa’s retirement.

Sweden’s Suzann Pettersen climbs to third place in the rankings, with Ai Miyazato dropping to fourth place.

No fairytale ending for Ochoa as Miyazato wins again

There was no fairytale end to Lorena Ochoa’s competitive career as the Mexican women’s number one failed to bow out with a win in the Tres Marias Championship. Ochoa, who is retiring from the sport to spend more time with her family, had won the event three time in the previous four renewals, but finished in sixth place this time after a closing 71 to finish on 12-under par.

The tournament honours went to Japan’s Ai Miyazato, who was winning for the third time on the LPGA this season. Miyazato closed with a six-under par 67 to finish the tournament on 19-under par and the player broke down in tears during the trophy ceremony as she paid tribute to Ochoa.

Wiping away tears, Miyazato said of Ochoa:

“I want to say thanks to Lorena … I really appreciate what she did for the LPGA and what she did for her country here in Mexico.”

“She is one of my best friends. I’m going to miss her.”

Miyazato won by one shot from Stacy Lewis, who finished with a 66 while Michelle Wie finished with a 68 to take third place.

Wie had started the final day one shot behind Miyazato but climbed into the lead – one shot ahead of Miyazato and Lewis – with an eagle on the par-4 ninth, but she couldn’t hold on and a double bogey on the par-3 13th dropped the young American player back to third place.

Despite Miyazato’s win, the day belonged to Ochoa, who played to the crowd throughout her final round. Ochoa won 27 tournaments during her career, including two majors and was Player of the Year on the LPGA four years running. She will bow out of the sport in top spot, but LPGA projections will place Ochoa behind Jiyai Shin this week, after Shin won in Japan on Sunday.

Miyazato moves to world number 3 rank following Malaysia success

After starting the 2010 LPGA as world number 8, Ai Miyazato’s back-to-back successes in the season’s first two events has catapulted the Japanese player up to number 3 in the women’s world rankings.

Miyazato won last weekend’s HSBC Women’s Champions tournament in Malaysia with a last-round 69 to defeat United States’ Cristie Kerr. The week before, Miyazato had won the season-opening Honda PTT in Thailand.

Miyazato had had one prior LPGA Tour win before the 2010 season got underway; having won 2009’s Evian Masters but had won 15 tournaments on the Japanese LPGA.

Miyazato displaced Norwegian player and European Solheim Cup team member Suzann Pettersen, who drops to number 4 in the rankings. Pettersen had finished runner up to the Japanese in Thailand. Christie Kerr, who finished runner up in Malaysia also moved up a spot to fifth, swapping placings with Taiwanese player Yani Tseng.

World number one Lorena Ochoa of Mexico held onto her top spot despite finishing down the field in the first two tournaments. Ochoa finished in a tie for 18th in Thailand, and tied for 38th in Malaysia. South Korea’s Jiyai Shin, who tied for third in Malaysia behind Miyazato and Kerr remains in the number two slot.

The bottom end of the top 10 hasn’t changed, with Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist remaining in seventh place, followed by American trio Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie and Angela Stanford.

Miyazato wins again on LPGA Tour

Japan’s Ai Miyazato made it two wins from two tournaments when capturing the $1.3million HSBC Women’s Champions tournament in Singapore. Miyazato, who last week won the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand, was joint overnight leader with United States’ Juli Inkster but saw off that rival and the remainder of the field with a final round 69.

Miyazato’s round gave her a 10-under par total of 278 and claim the winner’s cheque of $195,000. But for a sticky start where she bogeyed the first two holes, Miyazaot could have been well clear of the field early as Inkster faltered but the Japanese star sound found her range and birdies at the fourth, fifth and ninth saw her back in the hunt.

Miyazato then bogeyed the tenth before after a trio of consecutive birdies put her back in front.

American Cristie Kerr became Miyazato’s closest challenger but a pair of bogeys on the last two holes put paid to any chance and she eventually finished alone in second place, two shots behind the Japanese to collect the runners-up cheque of $123,739.

South Korea’s Shin Ji-Yai, the tournament defending champion and world number two put up a brave fight in defence of her title with five birdies to finish at seven-under par 281 and tie for third place with Yani Tseng, Jim Song-Hee and Suzann Pettersen.

Inkster, after sharing the lead going into the final round, fell away as the veteran America carded a two-over par round of 74, while Lorena Ochoa will be cursing a disastrous second round 79 which effectively ended all chance for the world number one. Ochoa finished on even-par for the tournament and a share of 38th place alongside United States’ Morgan Pressel and others.

Michelle Wie held slim hopes of adding to her sole LPGA win, having got to within six strokes of the lead going into the final round. It was a mountain too big for the young American to climb, however, and a final round 70 saw her tie for 15th place.

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