The number eight could be a special one for LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb this week. The 38-year-old is seeking her eighth career major victory at the Wegmans LPGA Championship. Webb captured career victory No. 39 last week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic. She now ranks 11th in all-time LPGA Tour victories and has the most wins of any active player on Tour right now. Last week s win was her first LPGA Tour victory in more than two years and it was an emotional one for the Australian, who dedicated the win to her grandmother, Marion Webb. She talked to me on the phone and said she didn&apost want me to come home, and that I had to win one for her,” a teary-eyed Webb said after the victory. Webb is one of six LPGA players to complete the Career Grand Slam and she holds the distinction of being the lone LPGA player to complete the Super Career Grand Slam, which is to capture all five majors that were available for her to win throughout her career. Of her seven major titles, only one came at the LPGA Championship. Webb won this event back in 2001 when she defeated Laura Diaz by two strokes at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware. The second major of the year kicks off this week at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York. The Wegmans LPGA Championship is the second-longest running tournament in LPGA history, surpassed only by the U.S. Women’s Open. This year, the LPGA Tour has five majors on the schedule as The Evian joins the major lineup in September. Prior to closing out the majors schedule in France, players will have two additional chances for major titles at the U.S. Women’s Open held at Sebonack Golf Club on Long Island in June and at the RICOH Women’s British Open at St. Andrews. The Tour will return to the birthplace of golf for the second time in August and will be the last event before the focus shifts to the sixth major event of the 2013 LPGA season the Solheim Cup. All eyes will be focused on women’s golf in August for the 13th playing of The Solheim Cup. The U.S. and European teams will square off at Colorado Golf Club outside Denver on Aug. 16-18 to see if on home soil, the Americans can dramatically reclaim the Cup after losing in a tight match to Europe in Ireland two years ago. A year ago, Rolex Rankings No. 8 Shanshan Feng became the first player from China to win on the LPGA Tour at the Wegmans LPGA Championship. The native of Guangzhou, China overcame a three-stroke deficit in last year s final round on Sunday, firing the low round of the week with a 5-under 67 to claim a two-shot victory over Japan s Mika Miyazato. Feng looked to put herself on a good track for her title defense following a strong performance at last week s ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer. The 23-year-old carried a three-shot lead into Sunday s final round and despite a disappointing 4-over 75 on the final day of the event, she still managed to finish runner-up — her best finish so far in 2013. Feng s major victory in 2012 made an immediate impact on her home country of 1.3 billion people. For the first time in her career, Feng was nominated for an award that honors the top Chinese athlete in a non-Olympic sport and she won it. With golf set to be a part of the Olympics in 2016 and the success of 14-year-old Guan Tianlang, who is from the same hometown as Feng, the expectation is that the interest in the sport will only grow in China.
Author: LPGA