There’s no reason why Lorena Ochoa won’t continue her strong play. But, Suzan Petterson, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel will be strong, as well.
The LPGA season starts this week, February 14-17, with SBS Open at Turtle Bay in Kahuku, Hawaii. Paula Creamer is the defending champion.
Creamer will continue to rise up the star chart. She closed out the 2007 season in good fashion, finishing no lower than 12th in her final eight starts and a win at the Mitchell Company LPGA Tournament of Champions in November.
Following an off-season that included a physical training program and practice on her game, Suzan Petterson looks to improve upon a great 2007, where she finished second on the money list behind Ochoa. She also garnered five wins in 2007, placing her second; again, behind Ochoa’s eight wins. Her third-place scoring average, behind Ochoa (1st) and Creamer (2nd) will need to improve, because they won’t be giving up any ground.
Lorena Ochoa certainly exorcized the Major demons with her win at the Women’s British Open at St. Andrews; not that she felt as much pressure to win as some in the media thought she should have, or wanted her to. She ran away with the money list title, scoring average, top-10 finishes, birdies and other titles. With her attitude, outlook and youth, there’s no reason for her not to continue her great play. Petterson, Creamer and others, however, will have something to say about her overall success.
Annika Sorenstam is the real wild-card this year. Her lack of wins last year called into question whether she's on the back side of her career. At this point, that doesn't seem like a good call. She battled a back problem last year, which derailed her season. Whether she again reaches her former greatness is not certain, especially with the rise of the three mentioned above.
