Guess who is returning to captain the U.S. Solheim Cup team this year?

Solheim Cup is the women’s match equivalent of the Ryder Cup, which happens to be a team match-play event in which the United States faces Europe every year. The event has gained momentum in recent years, in part because of the growing contentiousness between the two teams.

It now happens that Juli Inkster is returning to captain the U.S. Solheim Cup team.

Inkster, who has a previous experience in playing in nine Solheim Cup, became only the fourth American captain in the United States, for a second time.

Her re-election was revealed on Friday in a press conference in Iowa.

This year, the United States arranged an impressive final-round rally – which is the biggest comeback in Solheim history to win. The Americans, followed by 4 points entering the singles session, then rose to earn a 14-to-13 victory.

“Even if we had lost, I would have done it again,” Inkster said. “It was so much fun. It was an amazing experience for me. I grew as a person doing it, and some of the leadership skills I didn’t think I had, I found out that I could.”

The LPGA does not release the names of the other former american Solheim Cup players that may have been considered for the captain. Major championship winners Sherri Steinhauer and Dottie Pepper have brought the best resumes to the table. Both have served as assistant captains – Steinhauer to Rosie Jones in 2011, and Pepper and Meg Mallon in 2013.

The American team leads Europe 9-5 all-time in the Solheim Cup, a match following their historic comeback victory in the month of September in St. Leon-Rot Golf Club in Germany. US players trailed 10-6 heading into Sunday with the match and won the largest deficit in the history of the event, winning 8 points in the final singles session. Team USA won with a score of 14 to 13, which is the closest score in Solheim Cup’s history.

What’s the update on the 2016 LPGA tour qualifying rounds?

Three former LSU women’s golfers will be going on to the second stage of the qualifying tournament for the 2016 LPGA Tour on Sunday following a 72-hole event at Florida’s Plantation Golf and Country Club.

The LPGA tournament is divided into three qualifying phases, with the top performers in each round securing their places in the next round. The top 60 players go through to the second stage.

Madelene Sagstrom, who was named the SEC Player of the Year at the end of her All-American LSU career, had a strong four rounds which meant that she eventually finished the first qualifying stage in fifth position at 2-over 290 to take her into the second qualifying stage.

Her game this weekend has also secured her a point on the Symetra Tour, which was previously known as the LPGA Futures Tour, and which serves as the LPGA Tour’s official developmental golf tour.

Lindsey Gahm, who had played on the Symetra Tour last year, will also have the opportunity to play to advance to the LPGA, as she ended the first qualifying stage one stroke above the number in 14-over 302.

Su Oh’s route to qualification, however, was not so straightforward. The Melburnian member of Golf Australia’s rookie team bogeyed the 14th hole. This left her one shot over the projected cut line of 15-over, potentially meaning that she would not make the cut.

However, a spectacular birdie on the last hole brought her back inside the top 80 and resulted in her progressing to the second qualification stage.

Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic heats up!

Originally called the Navistar LPGA Classic, the now-called Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic has been around for 8 years. However, in 2013, there was no tournament. But now that Yokohama has the sponsorship, there will be more games. As for wins, Lorena Ochoa has two – 2008 and 2009 – currently holding the record.

This week, in Auburn, Alabama, four former players will compete in the Yokohama Classic. The four women will be at the RTJ Capitol Hill Complex in Prattville, from Thursday to Sunday.

Mi Jung Hur took a five-year period without a win last year in the tournament.

Taking the first-round lead in the tournament is Brittany Lang who despite windy conditions managed to birdie five of the first seven holes and shoot a 7-under 65.

“I’m in a very nice place right now,” Lang said. “I had one of my best years … and the Solheim pick. I am in a really comfortable place, so I feel really relaxed.”

Conditional status holder Marta Sanz is starting for the fourth time in the LPGA Tour this year. In Europe, where she spent most of the season, she ranks 58th on the LET Order of Merit and holds a top-10 finish of the season.

On the other hand, Ryann O’Toole had five birdies out of seven hole stretch in her morning round.

O’Toole said she’s been expecting that since it’s been windy all week and that the greens were even faster than the last few days. So it took her five holes to realize that she just had to tap it when she’s above the hole.

Remembering Louise Suggs – you’ll be missed

Louise Suggs who has been considered as one of the pioneers of the women’s game and co-founder of the LPGA with 12 other people in 1950 has passed away at the age of 91.

Hailing from Lithia Springs, Georgia, Suggs won her first two major golf titles in 1946, the Titleholders Championship and Women’s Western Open, and then went on to become LPGA’s president nine years later.

Suggs is recognized to be one, if not the most, influential player in LPGA history. In addition to being one of the 13 founders, she became president of the LPGA three times and was included in the World Golf Hall of Fame and the LPGA Teaching and Professional Hall of Fame. She sits third in the list of the big winners, behind Patty Berg (15) and Mickey Wright on (13).

It was early this year when Louise was invited by the Royal and Ancient GC of St Andrews as an honorary member, with Lally Segard, Annika Sorenstam, Dame Laura Davies, and others.

What’s more, she is the current record holder for the highest margin of victory at the U.S. women’s Open, and finished 14 shots clear with a score of 291 over her rival Babe Zaharias. The LPGA Tour rookie of the year award is named after Suggs. She has won every season of her professional career and was the first player to win the grand Slam in 1957, LPGA Championship.

“I wish like hell I could have played for this kind of money,” Suggs had said of the win. “But if not for me, they wouldn’t be playing for it, either.”

Could Chella Choi hold her nerves to defeat Na Jang in the playoff?

Chella Choi has defeated Na Jang in a hole of a playoff Sunday to take victory in the LPGA Marathon Classic. Choi parred the par-5, 532-yard, 18-hole golf course at Highland Meadows Golf Club to take the win, while Jang opted for a bogey.

The 24-year-old South Korean player beat her fellow countryman, Na Jang, with a birdie on the very first hole of the playoff in Highland Meadows while American Brittany Lang signed with a 68 (and no bogies) to take a share off fifth place at 11 under par with Koreans Kim Hyo-joo (67) and Q Baek (70).

Choi finished 72 holes on 14-under. That’s an aggregate score of 270 and tied her with Jang – a rookie in search of her first LPGA title. Her three-under par 68 was tainted by a double bogey six at the par-four 11th.

Inbee Park, the world’s No. 1 player, scored 70 in the last round and ended up finished at 10-under 274. That means she tied for eighth place at 10 under.

Choi opened with a 73, but it was her rounds of 66 and 65 that helped her move into contention. However she dropped a shot at 13. Ko finished with a 67 to 271, equal third with the Chinese Shanshan Feng, who also carded a 67.

The result is the ninth finish in the top 10 for Ko on the tour this year.

“I’m happy that I could give it a run for it to defend the title,” Ko said. “Seeing as the average on my first day, with a score that, to be a top five or whatever, I think that is a good finish for the week.”

2015 Meijer LPGA Classic: Will Salas snatch her second LPGA title?

American golf star Lizette Salas, who is bidding for a second LPGA title, made a fast start and strong finish to take a commanding four-shot lead after the third round of the Meijer LPGA Classic in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday.

The 26-year-old from California birdied three of the first four holes, and three in a row in the last five, to fire a sizzling seven-under-par 64 in bright sunshine at the tree-lined Blythefield Country Club.

The 2014 Kingsmill champion posted a 16-under total of 197 to end the day four ahead of Lexi Thompson (68) who posted a three-under 68 and shares second place with another American, Kris Tamulis (67), at 12 under.

Joint leader overnight with Thompson and Lee, Salas made a rousing start with four birdies in her opening nine holes giving her an outward nine of four-under 32 and a two-shot advantage.

Though the 20-year-old Thompson briefly cut the lead to one with birdies at 10 and 11, Salas responded with a hat-trick of birdies from the par-three 14th, where she hit her tee shot to within two feet, to storm four ahead and never relinquished her grip.

The long-hitting Thompson, who won her first major title at last year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship, was let down by inconsistent driving.

Brittany Lincicome, South Korean Ryu So-Yeon and Caroline Masson, of Germany, all shot six-under 65 to move into a tie for fourth at 10-under-par 203.

World No 1 In-bee Park is among a group of four players in a tie for 10th following a five-under 66 to end three rounds on 204.

Hurry and take advantage of Meijer LPGA Celebrity Chef Cook-off!

The Meijer LPGA Classic is coming up starting Monday, July 21.

Presented by Kraft, the tournament will host a full field of 144 players in the 72-hole, four-day competition being held Tuesday through July 26 at Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The LPGA tourney does more than bringing the best female pro-golfers to town; it also helps drive hunger out of communities in Michigan.

This is because nationally-acclaimed celebrity chef Mario Batali and culinary expert Gail Simmons will be at the Grand Rapids Public Museum to participate in this year’s Meijer LPGA Celebrity Chef Cookoff. The event will be on July 24 at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

Batali and Gail Simmons will cook and judge Michigan bakers during the interactive cook-off. They will prepare an appetizer and main course while interacting with guests throughout the evening.

The proceeds of the events will benefit the Meijer Simply Give program which replenishes the shelves of food pantries throughout the Midwest.

Last year, more than $600,000 in proceeds was raised for the charity.

“Grand Rapids is a city that is passionate about great food, which is why we think this specific event is such a highlight of tournament week,” Meijer President J.K. Symancyk said. “After the success of last year’s event, we are excited to open up more tickets to the general public while still maintaining the museum’s unique atmosphere.”

If you want to attend the LPGA Classic, tickets are $15 for a one-day pass for adults while kids age 17 and under are free. A weekly ticket is just $35. Tickets can be purchased at any Meijer store.

For those who can’t attend the tournament, but still want to help, you can purchase a “Simply Give” donation card for $10 at your local Meijer.

Guess the Canadian golfer who asks LPGA community to support injured friend

Golfers at this year’s LPGA Marathon Classic are wearing blue ribbons to show support for a Maumee 19-year-old who has been injured in a car accident.

The community support has been spearheaded by the Canadian player Alena Sharp, the long-time friend of the injured Erin Lynch.

The LPGA golfer has been staying with the Lynch family for the ninth time since she was a tour rookie in 2006.

During her tee off, everyone can see Alena wearing a golf shirt that has this embroidery: “#TeamErin” – a hashtag that has been repeated on social media channels.

Also, inside of her yardage book, Sharp keeps a photo of her friend that she carries with her at the LPGA Tour.

Lynch’s parents, Tami and Ken, said they appreciate the support from Sharp and the rest of the community.

Along with cards, calls and texts, the Lynches told the public have shown support through a GoFundMe page, as well as by checking in on Erin’s progress on the website Caring Bridge.

“There’s been about 33,000 hits on that, so every day people go in, take a look, see what’s happening,” said Ken Lynch.

Lynch was involved in a head-on car collision on State Route 15 near Vanlue, Ohio in May. Sharp’s friend has been at a rehabilitation facility in Waterville for two months, continuing to recover from a May car accident in which she‘s sustained a brain injury.

Meanwhile, the 34-year-old Sharp chose to forgo the Pan Am Games in her native Canada to participate in this week’s LPGA Marathon Classic.

The Ontario native finished the opening round of the LPGA Marathon Classic with a 3-under-par 68, and will tee off at 7:15 a.m. today.

Lancaster Country Club: the shortest course to host the 2015 U.S. Open

The third major of the year on the LPGA Tour is on tap this week.

The Women’s U.S. Open is taking place at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania this week, from July 9 to July 12.

The host course this year is Lancaster Country Club. And reportedly, the country club will have a different look to it this year as ball strikers won’t be at much of a disadvantage.

Lancaster Country Club clocks in at 6,460 yards – the shortest course that has hosted the U.S. Open since 2004 when the 6,473 yard Orchard Golf Club was the host.

Last year, Pinehurst No 2 (6,649 yards) hosted the tournament while Sebonack Golf Club (6,821 yards) hosted in 2013, Blackwolf Run (6,954 yards) in 2012, and the Broadmoor in 2011 which came in at a whopping 7,047 yards.

Aside from the shortest course, the total prize money up for grabs at the LPGA major also catches the attention of the public. U.S. Women’s Open will give away $4 million wherein the champion will earn at least $720,000; the second place is worth at least $432,000; and the third place at $271,373.

Moreover, many of the biggest names in women’s golf today will gather in a stellar field like the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open champion Michelle Wie, the current World No. 1 Park In-Bee, New Zealand’s pride and top-ranked player Lydia Ko, the 2013 Women’s British Open winner Stacy Lewis, and Lexi Thompson – the youngest golfer ever to qualify to play in the U.S. Women’s Open.

Will Wie rise up in the rankings with her first win of the year, or will we see Park and Ko duke it out Sunday in a battle for the world’s top ranking? We’ll learn the answer to those inquiries after what promises to be a compelling 72 holes of golf in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The tournament will be televised via Fox Sports 1 Channel, at 2-7 p.m. ET, every Thursday and Friday and 2:30-6:30 p.m every weekend.