After missing last week’s Drive On Championship, World No.1 Lydia Ko returns for the DIO Implant LA Open.
A tie for 31st in the HSBC Women’s World Championship earlier in the month aside, Ko’s performances have consolidated her standing at the top of the world rankings in recent months. Since the turn of the year, she has had three top-10 finishes across the LET and LPGA Tour, including victory in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International in February.
While she will be up against another high-quality field this week, including defending champion Nasa Hataoka, the New Zealander will surely be confident of taking her excellent form into the tournament as she bids for her 20th LPGA Tour title.
World No.12 Nasa Hataoka returns to defend her DIO Implant LA Open title
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The event is taking place at a new venue, Palos Verdes Golf Club, after it had been held at Wilshire Country Club for the previous four years. This year’s venue was the host of last May’s Palos Verdes Championship. Back then, Marina Alex claimed victory, and she’ll surely be confident of another strong display this week given her relatively recent success there.
Like Ko, another player hoping to build on recent momentum will be Georgia Hall. The World No.13 missed out on her third LPGA Tour win last week when she was defeated in a playoff by Celine Boutier, but that display will have offered her plenty of encouragement as she looks for her first win on the Tour since the 2020 Cambia Portland Classic.
There are plenty more of the world’s best in this week’s field, not least World No.2 Nelly Korda. The American could only manage a tie for 57th last week, but her runner-up finish at the HSBC Women’s World Championship suggested she is not far away from her best form as she goes in search of her first win since November’s Pelican Women’s Championship.
World No.3 Jin Young Ko is in the field too. She beat Korda to that title in Singapore three weeks ago and followed that up with a tie for fifth last week. All the signs are that she has put her injury ravaged 2022 firmly behind her.
Thai World No.4 Atthaya Thitikul also plays. She has been on an impressive run of her own, with 10 top-10 finishes in her last 12 starts. However, she wasn’t quite at her best last week and could only manage a tie for 16th.
Two more players in the world’s top 10 also appear, World No.9 In Gee Chun and World No.10 Hyo-Joo Kim. Beyond that elite group, Honda LPGA Thailand winner…
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