Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis will get a head start on Inbee Park in the Big Three’s bid to dominate another LPGA season.
Rolex world No. 1 Park won’t be teeing it up in the season-opening Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic at Paradise Island next week, but No. 2 Pettersen and No. 3 Lewis are among commitments scheduled to make their 2014 starts there. So is No. 4 Lydia Ko, the 16-year-old star from New Zealand who will make her debut as an LPGA rookie member.
Park, Pettersen and Lewis combined to win 13 LPGA titles last year, including all of the major championships.
Five of the top 10 in the world rankings are scheduled to play at the Bahamas’ Ocean Club Golf Course, but a number of Asian players, like Park, will wait to make their LPGA starts when the tour makes its first Far East swing in three weeks. Park, No. 5 So Yeon Ryu, No. 6 Shanshan Feng, No. 10 I.K. Kim and former world No. 1 Yani Tseng are among Asians waiting for the tour to head to Australia and Asia next month.
Michelle Wie and Hall of Famers Juli Inkster and Se Ri Park will join Rolex No. 7 Na Yeon Choi, No. 9 Lexi Thompson and No. 13 Paula Creamer in the Bahamas. So will Beatriz Recari, Angela Stanford, Morgan Pressel, Ai Miyazato and Lizette Salas.