Ariya Jutanugarn in traditional Korean dress gives the 3 sign (click to enlarge)
It was May’s day yet again at the 2016 LPGA Volvik Championship. With a 15-under 5 shot victory in Ann Arbor, Ariya Jutanugarn, or May if you will, swept all three LPGA events this month. In less than 30 days, she went from just another player with potential to a Player of the Year contender. It’s still a young season and a lot can happen but after earning her first 3 tournament wins in 3 consecutive events, which had never been done before in LPGA history, the bar is now sky high for the 20-year old Thai rising star. The last player to win 3 consecutive tournaments was Inbee Park in 2013. Before that, the two most recent players to pull the hat trick were Lorena Ochoa, who accomplished the feat 3 times, including a 4 in row stretch, and Annika Sorenstam , who had a stretch of 5 wins. Any time you put your name into a conversation that includes Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa and Inbee Park it’s special. To be the only player in LPGA history to go from zero wins to 3 wins in 3 consecutive events is more than I ever dreamed for Ariya. Believe me, I’ve dreamed big for May. I hope her dreams for herself far exceed mine.
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1 ARIYA JUTANUGARN (-15)
2 CHRISTINA KIM (-10)
T3 JESSICA KORDA (-9)
LEADERBOARD
| Pos | Name | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Today | Thru | Total | Strokes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ariya Jutanugarn | 65 | 68 | 73 | 67 | -5 | F | -15 | 273 |
| 2 | Christina Kim | 64 | 71 | 72 | 71 | -1 | F | -10 | 278 |
| T3 | Brooke Henderson | 72 | 67 | 72 | 68 | -4 | F | -9 | 279 |
| T3 | Jessica Korda | 72 | 65 | 70 | 72 | E | F | -9 | 279 |
| 5 | Belen Mozo | 72 | 68 | 70 | 70 | -2 | F | -8 | 280 |
| T6 | Lexi Thompson | 74 | 68 | 72 | 67 | -5 | F | -7 | 281 |
| T6 | Azahara Munoz | 69 | 69 | 74 | 69 | -3 | F | -7 | 281 |
| T6 | Marina Alex | 68 | 67 | 75 | 71 | -1 | F | -7 | 281 |
| T6 | Hyo Joo Kim | 71 | 68 | 70 | 72 | E | F | -7 | 281 |
| 10 | Angela Stanford | 71 | 70 | 72 | 69 | -3 | F | -6 | 282 |
| T11 | Brittany Altomare | 70 | 72 | 73 | 68 | -4 | F | -5 | 283 |
| T11 | In Gee Chun | 72 | 69 | 72 | 70 | -2 | F | -5 | 283 |
| T11 | Gaby Lopez | 71 | 68 | 73 | 71 | -1 | F | -5 | 283 |
| T11 | Lindy Duncan | 73 | 69 | 70 | 71 | -1 | F | -5 | 283 |
| T11 | Sadena Parks | 69 | 75 | 68 | 71 | -1 | F | -5 | 283 |
| T16 | Sei Young Kim | 71 | 72 | 73 | 68 | -4 | F | -4 | 284 |
| T16 | Jennifer Song | 75 | 66 | 74 | 69 | -3 | F | -4 | 284 |
| T16 | Lydia Ko | 71 | 71 | 72 | 70 | -2 | F | -4 | 284 |
| T16 | Mariajo Uribe | 73 | 71 | 70 | 70 | -2 | F | -4 | 284 |
| T20 | Ryann O’Toole | 75 | 68 | 71 | 71 | -1 | F | -3 | 285 |
| T20 | Charley Hull | 70 | 70 | 73 | 72 | E | F | -3 | 285 |
| T20 | Min Lee | 71 | 69 | 72 | 73 | +1 | F | -3 | 285 |
| T20 | Minjee Lee | 68 | 70 | 73 | 74 | +2 | F | -3 | 285 |
| T20 | Amy Yang | 73 | 71 | 67 | 74 | +2 | F | -3 | 285 |
| T20 | So Yeon Ryu | 68 | 67 | 75 | 75 | +3 | F | -3 | 285 |
| T20 | Suzann Pettersen | 71 | 68 | 70 | 76 | +4 | F | -3 | 285 |
| T27 | Pornanong Phatlum | 73 | 73 | 75 | 65 | -7 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T27 | Mi Hyang Lee | 72 | 72 | 74 | 68 | -4 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T27 | Moriya Jutanugarn | 73 | 73 | 72 | 68 | -4 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T27 | Se Ri Pak | 73 | 70 | 74 | 69 | -3 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T27 | Cristie Kerr | 72 | 69 | 75 | 70 | -2 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T27 | Ashleigh Simon | 73 | 71 | 72 | 70 | -2 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T27 | Eun-Hee Ji | 73 | 73 | 70 | 70 | -2 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T27 | Lee-Anne Pace | 72 | 71 | 72 | 71 | -1 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T27 | Jodi Ewart Shadoff | 72 | 73 | 70 | 71 | -1 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T27 | Caroline Masson | 71 | 70 | 72 | 73 | +1 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T27 | Kim Kaufman | 71 | 73 | 69 | 73 | +1 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T27 | Pannarat Thanapolboonyar | 72 | 72 | 67 | 75 | +3 | F | -2 | 286 |
| T39 | Ayako Uehara | 72 | 70 | 75 | 70 | -2 | F | -1 | 287 |
| T39 | Annie Park | 75 | 70 | 72 | 70 | -2 | F | -1 | 287 |
| T39 | Shanshan Feng | 74 | 69 | 72 | 72 | E | F | -1 | 287 |
| T39 | Giulia Molinaro | 70 | 67 | 77 | 73 | +1 | F | -1 | 287 |
| T43 | Beatriz Recari | 71 | 71 | 76 | 70 | -2 | F | E | 288 |
| T43 | Celine Herbin | 74 | 70 | 73 | 71 | -1 | F | E | 288 |
| T43 | Katherine Kirk | 77 | 69 | 70 | 72 | E | F | E | 288 |
| T43 | Nontaya Srisawang | 74 | 72 | 69 | 73 | +1 | F | E | 288 |
| T43 | Sakura Yokomine | 69 | 75 | 70 | 74 | +2 | F | E | 288 |
| T48 | Julie Yang | 71 | 71 | 78 | 69 | -3 | F | +1 | 289 |
| T48 | Prima Thammaraks | 73 | 70 | 76 | 70 | -2 | F | +1 | 289 |
| T48 | Dori Carter | 70 | 71 | 77 | 71 | -1 | F | +1 | 289 |
| T48 | Catriona Matthew | 70 | 75 | 73 | 71 | -1 | F | +1 | 289 |
| T48 | Lisa Ferrero | 72 | 70 | 75 | 72 | E | F | +1 | 289 |
| T48 | Sarah Jane Smith | 72 | 73 | 72 | 72 | E | F | +1 | 289 |
| T48 | Ssu-Chia Cheng | 75 | 70 | 72 | 72 | E | F | +1 | 289 |
| T48 | Lee Lopez | 73 | 73 | 70 | 73 | +1 | F | +1 | 289 |
| T48 | Austin Ernst | 70 | 70 | 75 | 74 | +2 | F | +1 | 289 |
| T48 | Jennifer Johnson | 74 | 68 | 73 | 74 | +2 | F | +1 | 289 |
| T48 | Brittany Lincicome | 70 | 67 | 77 | 75 | +3 | F | +1 | 289 |
| T48 | Jane Park | 74 | 67 | 70 | 78 | +6 | F | +1 | 289 |
| T60 | Samantha Richdale | 69 | 74 | 75 | 72 | E | F | +2 | 290 |
| T60 | Casey Grice | 74 | 72 | 71 | 73 | +1 | F | +2 | 290 |
| T60 | Sandra Changkija | 75 | 70 | 71 | 74 | +2 | F | +2 | 290 |
| T60 | Sarah Kemp | 71 | 75 | 70 | 74 | +2 | F | +2 | 290 |
| T60 | Sydnee Michaels | 73 | 68 | 71 | 78 | +6 | F | +2 | 290 |
| T65 | Anne-Catherine Tanguay | 74 | 71 | 75 | 71 | -1 | F | +3 | 291 |
| T65 | Karine Icher | 74 | 69 | 76 | 72 | E | F | +3 | 291 |
| T65 | Pernilla Lindberg | 74 | 72 | 73 | 72 | E | F | +3 | 291 |
| T65 | Daniela Iacobelli | 75 | 69 | 74 | 73 | +1 | F | +3 | 291 |
| T65 | Laetitia Beck | 73 | 68 | 76 | 74 | +2 | F | +3 | 291 |
| T70 | Haeji Kang | 75 | 71 | 75 | 71 | -1 | F | +4 | 292 |
| T70 | Laura Davies | 72 | 74 | 74 | 72 | E | F | +4 | 292 |
| T70 | Cheyenne Woods | 73 | 73 | 73 | 73 | +1 | F | +4 | 292 |
| T70 | Mi Jung Hur | 71 | 71 | 74 | 76 | +4 | F | +4 | 292 |
| T74 | Benyapa Niphatsophon | 77 | 69 | 77 | 70 | -2 | F | +5 | 293 |
| T74 | Megan Khang | 73 | 71 | 75 | 74 | +2 | F | +5 | 293 |
| T74 | Marion Ricordeau | 77 | 68 | 73 | 75 | +3 | F | +5 | 293 |
| T77 | Jiayi Zhou | 74 | 70 | 79 | 72 | E | F | +7 | 295 |
| T77 | Becky Morgan | 73 | 73 | 75 | 74 | +2 | F | +7 | 295 |
| T77 | Brianna Do | 73 | 73 | 73 | 76 | +4 | F | +7 | 295 |
| 80 | Stephanie Kono | 72 | 72 | 72 | 80 | +8 | F | +8 | 296 |
| WD | Perrine Delacour | WD | WD | WD | WD | WD | – | WD | WD |
| WD | Haru Nomura | WD | WD | WD | WD | WD | – | WD | WD |
| T81 | Amy Anderson | 75 | 72 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Christel Boeljon | 76 | 71 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Chella Choi | 74 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Cydney Clanton | 73 | 74 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Caroline Hedwall | 74 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Vicky Hurst | 74 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Tiffany Joh | 74 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Candie Kung | 71 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Mirim Lee | 72 | 75 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Xi Yu Lin | 74 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Ai Miyazato | 73 | 74 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Ji Young Oh | 74 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Su-Hyun Oh | 77 | 70 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Giulia Sergas | 76 | 71 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Budsabakorn Sukapan | 74 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T81 | Kris Tamulis | 75 | 72 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 147 |
| T97 | Heather Bowie Young | 75 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 148 |
| T97 | Ayeon Cho | 77 | 71 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 148 |
| T97 | Paula Creamer | 77 | 71 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 148 |
| T97 | Alejandra Llaneza | 75 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 148 |
| T97 | Kelly Shon | 75 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 148 |
| T97 | Yani Tseng | 75 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 148 |
| T97 | Angel Yin | 73 | 75 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 148 |
| T104 | Katie Burnett | 73 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 149 |
| T104 | Jaye Marie Green | 74 | 75 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 149 |
| T104 | Ginger Howard | 72 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 149 |
| T104 | Nicole Jeray | 75 | 74 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 149 |
| T104 | P.K. Kongkraphan | 78 | 71 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 149 |
| T104 | Ilhee Lee | 77 | 72 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 149 |
| T104 | Amelia Lewis | 76 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 149 |
| T104 | Ashlan Ramsey | 76 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 149 |
| T104 | Demi Runas | 75 | 74 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 149 |
| T113 | Victoria Elizabeth | 71 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T113 | Nannette Hill | 77 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T113 | Sarah Hoffman | 76 | 74 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T113 | Dani Holmqvist | 79 | 71 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T113 | Meena Lee | 75 | 75 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T113 | Sherman Santhiwiwatthan | 81 | 69 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T113 | Alena Sharp | 73 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T113 | Bertine Strauss | 77 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T113 | Alison Walshe | 71 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T113 | Caroline Westrup | 77 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T113 | Jing Yan | 75 | 75 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T113 | Sun Young Yoo | 76 | 74 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 150 |
| T125 | Wei-Ling Hsu | 78 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 151 |
| T125 | Jaclyn Jansen | 78 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 151 |
| T125 | SooBin Kim | 78 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 151 |
| T125 | Cyna Marie Rodriguez | 78 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 151 |
| T125 | Rachel Rohanna | 75 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 151 |
| T125 | Dewi Claire Schreefel | 74 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 151 |
| T125 | Christine Song | 75 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 151 |
| T132 | Felicity Johnson | 79 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 152 |
| T132 | Jane Rah | 77 | 75 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 152 |
| T132 | Michelle Wie | 76 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 152 |
| 135 | Samantha Troyanovich | 77 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 153 |
| T136 | Karlin Beck | 81 | 75 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 156 |
| T136 | Grace Na | 79 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | – | 156 |
| 138 | Maude-Aimee Leblanc | 76 | WD | WD | WD | – | – | – | 76 |
| T139 | Simin Feng | 81 | WD | WD | WD | – | – | – | 81 |
| T139 | Briana Mao | 81 | WD | WD | WD | – | – | – | 81 |
| 141 | Paula Reto | 82 | WD | WD | WD | – | – | – | 82 |
| 142 | Inbee Park | 84 | WD | WD | WD | – | – | – | 84 |
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As Jessica Korda said who played with Ariya Sunday, “That was amazing.” So “May” is taking off next week in New Jersey. Better to prepare for the next major, the KMPG the following week where she has a great chance to win. (She should have won the first one this year.) Good luck to her!
I hope she wins a Major sooner rather than later. She has all the physical tools. Now, working with Gary Gilchrist, she seems to have the mental tools as well. Actually, she had the strong mental game as an amateur. Perhaps that Honda LPGA Thailand episode stayed with her longer than we thought.