The USGA will conduct the 68th U.S. Women’s Open this week at Sebonack Golf Club in Southhampton, New York.
Na Yeon Choi will defend the title that she won last year at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin. It was her first major victory on the LPGA Tour and she defeated Amy Yang by four strokes.
Here are five players who could challenge for the big trophy this year.
Lydia Ko is a 16-year-old golfing prodigy from New Zealand. She is still at least one year away from full-time professional status on the LPGA Tour and already has won four professional events.
She also won the 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur and is the No. 1 ranked women’s amateur golfer in the world.
Ko has a proven track record competing against the best women players, is rated at 25/1 odds to win by Ladbroke’s and is a true threat to win a U.S. Women’s Open while still an amateur.
So Yeon Ryu won the 2011 U.S. Open and is one of the most consistent players on the LPGA Tour. She has had five top-10 finishes this year and earned over $592,000. She is ranked No. 5 in the Rolex rankings and No. 4 on the 2013 LPGA Tour money list.
Ryu is rated at 20/1 odds and is coming off a good tournament last week. She lost a playoff and finished runner-up to Inbee Park in the WalMart NW Arkansas Championship.
Christie Kerr is having a very good year and with her putting ability could be a factor at Sebonack. She collected her 16th career win at Kingsmill in May and is ranked eighth on the LPGA Tour money list.
Kerr has the experience to win majors. She won the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2010 LPGA Championship. She is rated as a 20/1 favorite to win this week.
Stacy Lewis was ranked No. 1 on the Rolex rankings earlier this year. Her first official win on the LPGA Tour came at the 2011 Kraft Nabisco, a major event on the LPGA Tour. She has since won six tournaments, with two of her wins coming this year.
The 2012 LPGA Player of the Year is rated at 10/1 odds to win the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open.
Inbee Park is the most dominant player currently on the LPGA. Her win last week in a playoff at the WalMart NW Arkansas Championship was her fifth win this year.
Park is the No. 1 ranked player in the world and is also No. 1 on the LPGA money list. She leads the LPGA statistics in putts per GIR and rounds in the 60’s.
Her putting has been absolutely phenomenal this year. She has three major victories on her resume’ and could add another this week.
She is rated as the clear favorite at 5/1 odds.
Suzann Pettersen, Na Yeon Choi, Paula Creamer and Jiyai Shin should all be considered strong contenders to win this week and Sebonack should be a great venue to host the 2013 U.S. Open.