Stacy Lewis sorted through a load of congratulatory messages after rising to No. 1 in the Rolex rankings, but the one from Yani Tseng really stood out.
Lewis ended Tseng’s 109-week run at No. 1 by winning the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup Sunday in Phoenix.
“The coolest one I think is the one I got from Yani,” Lewis said. “I know she may have said that she wanted to lose that spot to kind of help her, but I know she didn’t want to lose No. 1, and she was just very nice to me, and congratulatory, ‘You played awesome,’ and kind of added at the end that she was coming after me now and to watch out. We kind of have a cool relationship built over the last few years and I think it’s something that’s going to continue.”
Yani Tseng is the defending champ at this week’s Kia Classic, but she won’t be able to defend. She was withdrawn from the tournament after missing her pro-am tee time Wednesday. Tseng issued a statement saying she felt ill Tuesday night and that she regrets missing her pro-am tee time. Lewis is in this week’s field.