(10 June 2009 – Havre de Grace, Maryland)
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Eight ALPG Members will tee it up when the 2009 McDonald&aposs LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola begins this Thursday at the Bulle Rock Country Club in Havre de Grace, Maryland. This year’s event marks the final year that the tournament will be held at Bulle Rock and also brings McDonald’s long standing title sponsorship to a close.
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rnThe Championship is to be played from 11 to 14 June, with 150 professional golfers, representing 22 countries, competing for a purse of $US2million. The event which began in 1955 as the McDonalds Kids Classic was elevated to major status when it was played at the Du Pont Country Club in 1994. From 2010 the LPGA will own and operate the tournament, marking the first time in its history the LPGA will own its Championship.
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rnRolex World Ranked No. 10 Karrie Webb will again lead the Australian contingent. Webb, who won this championship in 2001 will be joined by Katherine Hull, Lindsey Wright, Rachel Hetherington, Wendy Doolan, Michelle Ellis, Sarah-Jane Smith, and Sarah Kemp.
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rnRolex World No. 2 Taiwan’s Yani Tseng will defend the title she won last year in a playoff over Sweden’s Maria Hjorth. Tseng has been in superb form in 2009, posting six top-10 finishes from 10 starts, securing her second LPGA title three weeks ago at the LPGA Corning Classic.
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rnTseng will not have it her own way with World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa looking to add to the two Majors she has under her belt, along with World No. 3 Cristie Kerr and World No. 4 Jiyai Shin looking to add to their list of majors.
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rnWebb, a seven time Major champion and winner of the 2009 J Golf Phoenix LPGA international in late March, has an impressive record at the LPGA Championship. In 2001 she won the title, finished runner-up in 2006 when she lost to Se Ri Pak in a playoff and finished runner-up again in 2007 when she fell one shot short of Norway’s Suzann Pettersen.
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rnQueensland&aposs Katherine Hull continues to impress in 2009. The current ANZ Ladies Masters champion has recorded two top-10 finishes thus far on the LPGA including her best finish in a Major, tied 8th at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Hull will be hoping to take this form to Bulle Rock, where she is making her fifth appearance, with her best finish to date tied 62nd.
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rnAlbury’s Lindsey Wright, makes her fifth appearance and has consistently performed well at this Championship. In four appearances to date, she has finished in the top-20 on every occasion, with her best finish being outright fourth in 2007. Last year, Wright led half way through the third round, but succumbed to a shoulder injury to finish tied 18th. Wright , who was in contention for her first title four weeks ago at the Michelob ULTRA Open, is feeling very confident heading into this week, said “I’m feeling great, I have such fantastic memories of the tournament, I can’t wait to for it to start. I’ve been working hard on my short game over the last few weeks which is one of the keys to contending in majors."
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rnSarah Kemp and Sarah Jane-Smith are both making their second appearance at the tournament. Kemp who is playing on a conditional card this year has capitalised on her limited opportunities, making the cut in her six events so far this year, and thus securing her place in this week&aposs field. Smith has made four cuts from eight tournaments this year.
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rnRachel Hetherington makes her 13th appearance at a tournament where she has not enjoyed much success recording just one top-10 finish back in 2003. Wendy Doolan also makes her 13th appearance at the Championship, where her best finish was in 2004 where she tied 8th. So far this season Wendy’s best result is tied 31st. Michelle Ellis is a late addition to the field following the withdrawal of two players.
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rnAll four rounds of The McDonalds LPGA Championship will be shown on Foxsports with daily updates available on www.alpg.com.au
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rnFor further information, contact ALPG Media Coordinator, Sandy Lonergan on 0427 023 140