Golf Australia and Karrie Webb have announced the creation of The Karrie Webb Series” and the introduction of a Karrie Webb Scholarship program as part of Australia&aposs elite golf development program for young Australian women golfers. Australia&aposs most successful female golfer, Karrie Webb said, “The development of our young talent is extremely important to me and for the future of the game in Australia. I was humbled to have Golf Australia approach me to lend my name to this initiative and pleased to have this opportunity to give back through the Series and the introduction of a new scholarship program. “It&aposs an exciting time for women’s golf in Australia and I look forward to being able to give some advice and being an active part of the elite development future.” Tony Hallam, CEO, Golf Australia said, “Karrie has taken an active interest in the development of the concept during our discussions and having Karrie&aposs support and ideas integral to both the Series and scholarships will add to the inspiration for our young women golfers. “The creation of this opportunity for young women golfers is another step in building a platform to both promote the game of golf and ensure Australia continues to produce world-class athletes” he added. The Karrie Webb Series The Karrie Webb Series has been designed to provide a highly-competitive environment for young women golfers as well as to add an incredible promotional boost by having Australia s number one female golfer lend her name and financial support. The Series will comprise 12 events annually and will form part of the Golf Australia National Ranking System. Each Member State&aposs 72-Hole Stroke Play championship will be included in the Series along with the Australian Stroke Play Championship, the MFS Women’s Australian Open, the ANZ Ladies Masters, the LG/Bing Lee NSW Women&aposs Open and other four-round selection events. Players will compete among the best, in order to become the best, as the points rewarded for each championship will be based on the importance of the event and the relative strength of the field. National events attract the most points followed by state events and as a result, Golf Australia believes the standard of elite Australian women&aposs golf will continue to improve. Peter Knight, Director of National Elite Development with Golf Australia said: “One of the aims of the Series is to increase the level of competitive play by having stronger fields for women&aposs amateur tournaments. This is part of the preparation these players need as they consider progressing to the professional ranks and competing internationally. The inaugural event in the Karrie Webb Series was be the South Australian Women&aposs 72-Hole Stroke Play held 30-31 July 2007 at Kooyonga Golf Club and won by Cecilia Nha by two strokes from Frances Bondad. Karrie Webb Scholarship Alongside the Karrie Webb Series is a scholarship program funded by the world champion herself. Scholarship recipients will receive international travel assistance, greater playing opportunities and training and mentoring support from Karrie Webb. The scholarships will be awarded to the two best female amateurs who will have competed in at least seven events from the new Karrie Webb Series, performed well overseas as an Australian ambassador, showed outstanding demeanour both on and off the course and assisted the community, either inside or outside golf. Recipients will be announced yearly in May following the completion of each Series. “On behalf of golf I&aposd like to thank Karrie for her commitment and support and look forward to her involvement with women&aposs elite development in Australia”, concluded Hallam. Click here to download the 2007-08 Karrie Webb Series Event Schedule