Yani Tseng and 5 Players That Will Shine in the ShopRite LPGA Classic

The LPGA is back in business after a one-week hiatus and with a star-studded field. World number one Yani Tseng will seek to secure her fourth victory of the season, while other top contenders will try to stop her.

The ShopRite LPGA Classic is the 11th event of the 2012 schedule, it takes place in Galloway, New Jersey and it’s a 54-hole tourney. It was held from 1986 to 2006 and returned to the schedule in 2010.

Who are the players to follow in this traditional event? Let’s find out…

Na Yeon Choi

She has won five times in the LPGA and seven times in the Korean LPGA. Na Yeon has hoisted a trophy at least once every year since 2009, but has yet to win this season to keep that record.

Choi knows how to score low— in 2010 she won the LPGA Vare Trophy with a 69.87 average, and this season she has finished in the top 10 in half of her tournaments.

Her recent success has put her in second place of the Rolex Rankings, the highest spot she’s been in the world classification.

At the ShopRite LPGA Classic, Choi must display an accurate short game if she wants to contend and keep making birdies—she ranks sixth in that category with 106.

Stacy Lewis

At age 27, American Stacy Lewis has won a major—the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and she sits seventh in the Rolex Rankings.

This season, Lewis has finished inside the top 10 in 66.7 percent of her tournaments and is fifth on the official money list.

The strongest part of her game is the irons; she's very accurate from the 100-yard mark, which gives her a lot of birdie opportunities.

Stacy has already won this season—the Mobile LPGA Classic, and has advanced to the Sybase Match Play Championship quarterfinals, before losing to the tournament winner Azahara Muñoz.

Ai Miyazato

Ai Miyazato has become one of the most consistent players since 2010. She has won eight times in the LPGA and currently leads in stats like putts per GIR—1.72, putting average—28.13 and sits third on the official money list.

The Japanese star has proved that succeeding in golf isn't just about crushing drives; she currently averages 245 yards with the driver but her short game is so good that it's arguably more impressive and effective than a 283-yard tee shot from fellow LPGA member Brittany Lincicome.

The Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club has very undulating greens, which will benefit Miyazato.

Yani Tseng

SportsProMedia listed Yani Tseng as the most marketable female athlete in the world and it's no wonder why. The 23-year-old Taiwanese star has won 15 LPGA events since she became a member of the tour in 2008 and leads women’s golf like Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa did.

She’s also the youngest golfer ever—male or female, to win five majors and is just missing a victory in the U.S. Women’s Open to complete the Career Grand Slam.

Tseng is atop the Rolex Rankings, leads the Official Money List at $976,876, leads the Player of the Year Race by 39 points, and has finished inside the top 10 in every LPGA tournament she’s played in this season.

Yani has never won the ShopRite Classic but by the way she’s playing she can change this.

Sun-Young Yoo

The 2012 Kraft Nabisco champion is looking to grab her third LPGA title and the ShopRite Classic seems like a good fit.

She had a rocky start to the season,  missing the cut at the ISPS Handa Australian Open. But the 25-year-old South Korean cleaned up her act and posted a runner-up finish at the Kia Classic, and a week later she won the first major of the schedule.

Currently, Sun-Young Yoo trails only Yani Tseng in the Player of the Year race and the Official Money List. She also sits second in greens hit in regulation—76.8%.