Women’s British Open Top 10 Power Rankings

With five of the ten players in my power rankings under 25, the 2016 Ricoh Women’s British Open is shaping up to contain an epic youth battle. The top of the British Open field could be dominated by a cadre of high-powered 20-somethings eager to take control of Woburn’s Marquess Course and hoist the Open trophy on Sunday. But some experienced veterans in the field aren’t going to sit back and let the youngsters take control without a fight.

Let’s get started by taking a look at the top of the field this week.

Ariya Jutanugarn is just about at hot as you can get right now and she’s in my #1 spot in the power rankings. With top-5 finishes at two of the 2016 majors – ANA Inspiration and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – and that tear she went on in May, this could well be Jutanugarn’s week. Now that she’s gotten control of her mental game, if she maintains her pace Jutanugarn could eclipse both Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson.

So far as the oddsmakers are concerned, Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson – I’ve ranked then at #2 and #3 respectively – will lead the field and these two outstanding young athletes will have a distinct advantage over many others who will take the tee at Woburn. Neither of them competed last week at either the LPGA’s International Crown or the LET’s Ladies Scottish Open. They’re rested and ready and they’re each bringing a 2016 major championship title to Woburn.

Ko’s game of finesse and precision will contrast sharply with Henderson’s power-driven style, but both are superb athletes who will certainly figure in the 72-hole contest. There’s no doubt that both will be in contention. It will be interesting to see how their quite different games play out on Woburn’s parkland track.

Although they’re coming to the Open after an exhausting week of match play at the International Crown, I’m looking for  Sei Young Kim and Lexi Thompson – who at #4 and #5 respectively round out the youth cadre in my power rankings this week – to also get in the mix and stay there.

Kim’s game is strong and trending in the right direction – she was the standout for the Korean team last week at the International Crown – but she’s not performed well in the majors. Thompson, who already owns a major championship title, is more experienced at managing the pressure of a major but, like Sei Young Kim, can get a bit wild with her long game. Still, they’re both solid and will bring their A games to Woburn.

#6, Cristie Kerr, and #7, Gerina Piller, feel like exceptions to the prevailing youth rule in this set of power rankings, but they both have game and they’re coming to Woburn from a fantastic comeback win at the International Crown. They’re both mentally calibrated to notch another win this week and they’re bringing very different kinds of motivation to the tee.

The 38-year old Kerr is running out of time to complete a grand slam – she already holds US Women’s Open and LPGA Championship titles and she needs to add a Women’s British Open victory to her resume. Woburn’s parkland style suits Kerr’s game perfectly and I think she may be the best suited to take the measure of the Marquess greens.

Could 31-year old Piller notch her first pro victory this week at Woburn? Could there be another Mo Martin moment at the Women’s British Open? Don’t count Piller out. Like Ariya Jutanugarn, Gerina Piller has delivered some suburb golf at this year’s majors, finishing inside the top-10 at the ANA Inspiration and the US Women’s Open and T12 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

The Korean Juggernaut didn’t look quite so strong last week in Chicago. The top-seeded Koreans finished in 4th place at the International Crown, well behind the underdog Chinese Taipei team. So Yeon Ryu, who get #8 in this week’s power rankings, delivered round after round of championship-level play and I’m looking for her to continue her solid, competitive golf this week.

The 2011 US Women’s Open champion, Ryu has finished inside the top-11 in all three 2016 majors. She knows how to manage a major and close the deal. I’m looking for Ryu, whose game is definitely trending in the right direction, to be in the mix at Woburn.

If any English player is a favorite this week it has to be #9 in my power rankings, Mel Reid. I know I’m taking a bit of a risk with Reid. While she finished the 2015 Women’s British Open inside the top-10, she’s also missed the cut at all three 2016 majors. But keep in mind that Reid plays on the LET, so her appearances at the LPGA majors were outside her usual routine.

Playing for Team England last week at the International Crown, Reid proved that she can scramble with the best of them and that she plays golf with her heart and soul as well as her body. With teammate Charley Hull sidelined by an asthma attack, Reid singlehandedly took her fourballs match against Japan’s Haru Nomura and Mika Miyazato to the 18th hole and on Sunday she put Cristie Kerr on the ropes more than once in their singles match. If she plays golf with the same passion and skill at Woburn that she showed last week at the Merit Club she’ll be a critical factor come Sunday afternoon.

At #10 Anna Nordqvist rounds out my top ten favorites for the Ricoh Women’s British Open power rankings. Nordqvist, like Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson, is coming in rested. She was posting Instagram pictures of her Swedish vacation.

No place like home but 3 days just doesnt seem enough to soak in a perfect swedish summer. Happy 4 the time I got!💙💛 pic.twitter.com/EzMrbzOwJe

— Anna Nordqvist (@ANordqvist) July 24, 2016

With an 8th place finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and that painful runner-up at the US Women’s Open – that came with the penalty she incurred for grounding her club during the playoff against Brittany Lang – Nordqvist seems poised to claim redemption this week. She has the steady kind of long game that should suit Parkland in tee to green play and that will get her to the putting surface in time to compete.

Watch for my Ricoh Women’s British Open sleeper picks. They’re coming next.

Cover Image via Twitter