Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic preview

Here's our preview of this week's LPGA Tour event, the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic

Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic
Lydia Ko plays her first event as number one at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic
(Image credit: Getty Images)

This week's LPGA Tour event is the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, where Jessica Korda defends her title, with new world number one Lydia Ko also in the field.

The LPGA Tour heads to Paradise this week at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, where Jessica Korda defends her second title on the tour. Lydia Ko, Inbee Park and Michelle Wie will also compete.

This tournament first started in May 2013 and was won by Ilhee Lee who finished two shots ahead of Irene Cho, but the tournament was reduced to 36 holes and played in 12 hole rounds due to flooding. Last year Stacy Lewis finished in second place, one stroke behind Korda. Wie and Creamer will be hoping to have a better finish this week after they both finished outside the top 20.

Korda got her season off to a strong start after finishing tied second at the season opener, the Coates Golf Championship. She nearly forced a playoff but her putt for a birdie at the 18th lipped out. She will be playing alongside seven of the top 10.

Brooke Henderson, the world's top ranked amateur in December, will also be making her first start as a pro this week after qualifying on Monday. Last year Henderson was the lowest ranked amateur at the Women's U.S Open and runner-up at the Women's U.S Open Amateur. Last season she made four appearances on the LPGA and made the cut in all four events.

In her short career she's won three professional events, the first in 2012 on the Canadian Women's Tour where she was just 14 years old. And like Ko, she's only 17. This will be Ko's first tournament as the new world number one, but she is only ahead of Park by a margin and could lose her top ranking by the end of the week.

Many of the LPGA Tour rookies got their season's off to an impressive start last week in Ocala, the most notable of which is South Korea’s Ha Na Jang. She finished tied for second and held the overnight lead after the second round.

The Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic won't be aired in the UK. The weather is mostly expected to be fine with some cloud but dry on Thursday, Friday it is expected that winds could reach up to 25mph and showers. Over the weekend the wind is supposed to die down and to be sunnier.

Venue: Ocean Club Golf Course, Paradise Island, Bahamas. Date: 5-8 February. Course Stats: Par 73, yardage 6,644. Purse: $1,300,000. Winner: $195,000. Defending Champion: Jessica Korda (-19)

Key hole: Hole 16 - par 4. This hole marks the start of a final stretch that could prove to be an exciting finale. Down the right side of the fairway there is water that can look intimidating from the tee. There's also a left-to-right wind to take into account, and a green that is surrounded by water on three sides.

Skills required: One of the difficult parts of playing this course will be trying to not get distracted by the spectacular views. The course is made for some clever shot making which can be rewarded, especially on the par 5's.

Player watch

Michelle Wie - She was tied for second at this tournament last year. Her long drives will help her take advantage of the longest par 5's. The fairways are quite wide so she won't be punished if her tee shots are a little wayward. Plus the stinger that she plays off the tee will come in handy with the cross winds.

Mo Martin - Her ball striking is peaking at the moment,  with her driving accuracy running at an amazing 96% last week.

Stacy Lewis - After finishing in second place last year and finishing in the top 10 last week, she'll be building momentum. But watch out for the rookies again this week as they started strong.

Currently studying Sports Journalism at Huddersfield University. Frustrated golfer