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ROGERS, Arkansas : Shin Jiyai will try to gain ground on number one Ai Miyazato in the world rankings this week as the South Korean defends her title in the LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championship.
Shin goes into the two million-dollar, 54-hole event that starts on Friday ranked third in the world.
She'll have plenty of competition in a field that includes 14 of the top 15 players in the world.
Shin lifted the title here last year in a sudden-death playoff with Angela Stanford and Sun Young Yoo. Shin had played her way into the playoff with a final-round 64.
Shin, current number two Cristie Kerr and Miyazato have all held the number one ranking since Lorena Ochoa retired earlier this year, with Norway's Suzanne Pettersen also challenging for the top spot.
Miyazato, winner of five LPGA tournaments this season, regained the summit with her latest triumph, in Portland, Oregon, on August 21.
The Japanese star has spent a total of five weeks atop the rankings this year.
Shin said her first priority is winning. If she can do that, the ranking will take care of itself.
"I really just focus on the tournament," she said. "World rankings are really important for me, too, but I just want to win this week or other tournaments because I still have lots of chances for number one."
American Michelle Wie is coming off her second LPGA victory with a win at the Canadian Women's Open.
Wie jumped five spots to seventh in the world rankings and will be trying to join Miyazato as the only winners of back-to-back tournaments this season.
The Rookie of the Year race is also heating up. Spain's Azahara Munoz is the leader with seven top-20 finishes in 2010. She'd like nothing better than to cement her status by becoming the first rookie this year to win a title. The last LPGA rookie to capture Rookie of the Year honors without a victory was Angela Park in 2007.
Heavy rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine forced the cancellation of the pre-tournament pro-am scheduled for Thursday.
The tournament issued a statement saying the rounds were canceled to ensure the safety of those involved and to maintain playing conditions on the Pinnacle Country Club course.
Weather issues are nothing new for this tournament and Shin said some wet weather might work to her advantage.
"Rain makes greens soft, ground soft, so I can hit the more aggressive shot. I think sometimes the rain helps my play because when I came this week on Monday (the course) was so firm, the greens were so firm, I was shocked.
"But today it's getting soft."
- AFP /ls
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