Shin draws Bae, Miyazato faces Jang in LPGA matches

GLADSTONE, New Jersey - World No. 1 Shin Ji-yai will face fellow Korean Bae Kyeong and Japan’s Ai Miyazato will square off against Korean Jang Jeong in today’s opening matches of the LPGA Sybase Match-Play Championship.

The top 32 seeds in the $1.5 million event took part in a blind draw to decide the final pairings for the 64-woman field.

Shin, 10 strokes off the pace last week, hopes to live up to the ranking she took from Lorena Ochoa when she retired, while Miyazato hopes to win for the fourth time in seven LPGA events this season.

American eighth-seed Michelle Wie drew compatriot Stacy Prammanasudh, while Norway’s Suzann Pettersen will meet U.S. Hall of Famer Juli Inkster.

Fourth-seeded Yani Tseng of Taiwan will play American Wendy Ward.

Swedish sixth-seed Anna Nordqvist drew Korean Ahn Shi-hyun, while seventh-seed Karie Webb of Australia will meet Korean Yi Eun-jung. Korean ninth-seed Choi Na-yeon will play France’s Karine Icher.

In all, there are 26 Koreans in the field of 64, Shin being in one of four first-round matches between Korean rivals.

AFP