1. Wegmans LPGA $2 million purse awaits defending champion Ochoa, LPGA Tour
Second half of LPGA Playoffs 2008 underway, event will boast first-ever automatic qualifier as Winner Event
2. This Week – Wegmans LPGA, Locust Hill Country Club, Pittsford, N.Y., $2,000,000, June 19-22, 2008, GCSAA  Course Information
3. 2008 American Express® Women’s Golf Month Highlight:  GolfTEC-Arrowhead, Coldwater Golf Club
4. Next Week – U.S. Women’s Open, Interlachen Country Club, Edina, Minn., $3,100,000, June 26-29, 2008
5. Hurst wins on Duramed FUTURES Tour
6. Pipeline to the LPGA Tour
7. LPGA News and Notes

1. Wegmans LPGA $2 million purse awaits defending champion Ochoa, LPGA Tour
Second half of LPGA Playoffs 2008 underway, event will boast first-ever automatic qualifier as Winner Event
 
PITTSFORD, N.Y., June 16, 2008 – World number one Lorena Ochoa will attempt to successfully defend her third title of the season this week at the Wegmans LPGA at Locust Hill Country Club.  Ochoa is two-for-two in title defenses this season, first at the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola and most recently at the Sybase Classic Presented by ShopRite.

With more than $1.95 million in earnings already this season, the 26-year-old Ochoa—with six wins in 10 starts in 2008—has the opportunity to become the fastest LPGA Tour player to cross the $2 million mark in season earnings this week.  Annika Sorenstam, who is making her first appearance at the Wegmans LPGA since 2004 when she tied for seventh, set the record that same year, earning $2 million in her first 15 events.
            
Ochoa and Sorenstam most recently dueled at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola two weeks ago, where the pair finished tied for third place, one stroke behind 19-year-old champion Yani Tseng and Maria Hjorth, whom Tseng defeated in a four-hole, sudden-death playoff.  Sorenstam has never won at the Wegmans LPGA, while rookie Tseng is making her first appearance at the event.  If history repeats itself, Tseng could easily be in the hunt for the title on Sunday as 2007 Tour rookie In-Kyung Kim forced Ochoa into a two-hole, sudden-death playoff against Ochoa last year.  Ochoa has two victories at Locust Hill, the first in 2005 by four strokes over a then 18-year-old Paula Creamer and last season against Kim, which marked Ochoa’s first-ever career playoff victory.
            
Creamer joins Ochoa and Sorenstam as the only multiple winners on Tour this season.  A fan favorite in Rochester, the 21-year-old is returning to the $2 million Wegmans LPGA for the fifth consecutive year.
            
Boasting its highest purse in the event’s 30-plus years on the Tour schedule, the Wegmans LPGA is the first of five Winner Events in the second half of LPGA Playoffs 2008.  This week’s champion will automatically qualify for the season-ending ADT Championship with the rest of the field starting anew in their race to earn coveted ADT Points, from which the remaining 10 second-half positions will be filled.    

Past champions in the field include Ochoa, Jeong Jang (2006), Rachel Hetherington (2003), Laura Davies (2001) and Nancy Lopez (1978, 1980, 1981).  Lopez, who plays a very limited Tour schedule, is playing in just her second event of the season, but one with a lot of sentimental ties.  Locust Hill Country Club was the site where Lopez, in her rookie year on Tour (1978), became the first player in LPGA Tour history to win five consecutive events entered.
 
 
2. This Week – Wegmans LPGA, Locust Hill Country Club, Pittsford, N.Y., June 19-22, 2008, GCSAA  Course Information
 
Par:  35-37, 72
Yardage: 6,328
Purse: $2,000,000
            Winner: $300,000
            Runner-up: $182,650
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Field: 144 players
Defending champion: Lorena Ochoa, 280 (-8)
Victory margin:  Defeated In-Kyung Kim on the 2nd hole of sudden death
Media center:  585-427-7665
LPGA media contacts:  Ashley Cushman and Mike Scanlan

TV Times

ESPN2
June 20             12-2 p.m.
June 21-22        2-4 p.m.
 
All times Eastern.
 
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Locust Hill Country Club
Pittsford, N.Y.
 
GCSAA Class A Golf Course Superintendent, contact: Richard W. Slattery, 585-427-7060
Course architect, date:  Seymour Dunn, 1927
Redesign/renovation:  Ron Prichard, 1997-2000
 
Course grasses
Tees – Bentgrass
Fairways – Bentgrass
Greens – Bentgrass
Rough – Kentucky bluegrass; perennial ryegrass; fine fescue
 
For more information, access GCSAA Fact Sheets at GCSAA.org

 
3.  2008 American Express® Women’s Golf Month Highlight:  GolfTEK-Arrowhead, Coldwater Golf Club
 
Editor’s note:  This is the third in a five-part series featuring LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals (T&CP) who are hosting Women’s Golf Month activities.
            
Time is flying by as the third week of the 2008 American Express® Women’s Golf Month (Women’s Golf Month) is underway.  On June 5th, Class A LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Peggy Gustafson, director of instruction and store manager of Golftec-Arrowhead in Peoria, Ariz., hosted a putting clinic to kick-off the month.  A larger event on June 30th is still open for participants to register.  Hosted at Coldwater Golf Club in Avondale, Ariz., the day will start off with a free clinic by Gustafson and fellow Class A LPGA T&CP Marilyn Wilson from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.  At 10:45, participants have the chance to hit the links for nine holes of golf, followed by lunch, then a fashion show, sponsored by Nike.  Gustafson said there will also be Nike equipment set up on the range, which will be available for women to test.  The only fees for the day are $25 for nine holes of golf and lunch.
            
As a participant in Women’s Golf Month since 2005 when it was only for one week, Gustafson said she is excited about the expansion of the program, which allows facilities the chance to promote women’s golf all month.  Gustafson has been a teaching professional since 1981 and currently averages about 200 lessons per month.  She noted that the growth of the game among women over the past two decades has been notable—and exciting—which is why she has organized events each year.

“It (Women’s Golf Month) is a good networking opportunity, where women can meet other women golfers,” Gustafson said.  “I was excited to see it go from one week to American Express sponsoring for a month.  It shows us that the industry and corporate America is taking a harder look at women as viable consumers.”
            
Women and girls interested in attending the clinic can register at www.PlayGolfAmerica.com under the Arizona links for either Coldwater Golf Club (Avondale) or GolfTEC-Arrowhead (Peoria), or call Joe Edwards, PGA professional and director of golf at Coldwater Golf Club, at 623-932-9000.
            
More than 68,000 women across the country have been introduced or reintroduced to the game since 2005 during American Express® Women's Golf Week. Due to the overwhelming success of the promotion since its inception, organizers extended 2008 to the entire month of June. Events include networking receptions; golf rules and etiquette seminars; club fitting and equipment demonstrations; golf apparel fashion shows; luncheons; and playing experiences.
            
American Express® Women's Golf Month is part of the national Play Golf America campaign coordinated by industry-leading organizations, including the EWGA, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) and The PGA of America (PGA).
 
 
4. Next Week – U.S. Women’s Open*, Interlachen Country Club, Edina, Minn., June 26-29, 2008
 
Par:  36-37, 73
Yardage: 6,789
Purse: $3,100,000
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Field: 156 players
Defending champion: Cristie Kerr, 279 (-5)
Victory margin:  Defeated Lorena Ochoa and Angela Park by two strokes
Media center prior to event:  908.234.2300
* denotes not LPGA Tour co-sponsored
 
TV Times

ESPN2
June 25             5-5:30 p.m. (preview)

ESPN
June 26             12-4 p.m.
June 27             3-7 p.m.
 
NBC
June 28-29        3-6 p.m.
 
All times Eastern.
 
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Interlachen Country Club
Edina, Minn.
 
GCSAA Class A Golf Course Superintendent, contact: Matthew J. Rostal, 952-924-7420
Course architect, date:  Willie Watson, 1909
Redesign/renovation:  Donald Ross, 1920
 
Course grasses
Tees – Bentgrass; poa annua
Fairways – Bentgrass; poa annua
Greens – Bentgrass; poa annua
Rough – Bentgrass; Kentucky bluegrass; perennial ryegrass
 
For more information, access GCSAA Fact Sheets at GCSAA.org
 
 
5. Hurst wins on Duramed FUTURES Tour
 
Hurst wins on Duramed FUTURES Tour.  Vicky Hurst, of Melbourne, Fla., (69-70-68-65=272, -8) overcame a four-stroke, third-round deficit with a final-round 5-under-65 to win the $115,000 Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Player Championship by four strokes over Sarah Jane Kenyon, of Queensland, Australia (70-71-70-65=276, -4).  For the 17-year-old Hurst, it was her second professional win on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, after a victory at the Jalapeno Duramed FUTURES Golf Classic on April 27.  The Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Player Championship is the only 72-hole event on the 2008 schedule and Hurst earned $16,100 for her efforts, which puts her atop the Duramed FUTURES Tour money list and in the lead for both Player and Rookie of the Year honors.

 
6. Pipeline to the LPGA Tour - June 16, 2008
 
The players finishing in the top five on the final 2008 Duramed FUTURES Tour money list will receive exemptions onto the 2009 LPGA Tour.
 

Next tournament:  $110,000, The Duramed Championship, The Golf Center at Kings Island, Mason, Ohio, June 20-22, 2008
 
Charity:  Ronald McDonald House of Cincinnati

www.duramedfuturestour.com
 
 
7. LPGA News and Notes
 
CN, RCGA announce purse increase for 2009 event.  CN and the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) announced that the purse for the 2009 CN Canadian Women’s Open at Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has been increased to $2.75 million.  This is a $500,000 increase from the 2008 purse.  The announcement was made last week during an event at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, host of the 2008 CN Canadian Women’s Open.
            
“CN is committed to ensuring that the CN Canadian Women’s Open is the finest event on the LPGA Tour.  Increasing the purse will help us to continue attracting the world’s top women golfers and to organize an event that all Canadians can be proud of,” said Hunter Harrison, CN’s president and chief executive officer. “At CN we are confident that this announcement will make a great event even better, which in turn will mean more support for our communities and children’s hospitals through the CN Miracle Match program.”

“Hunter Harrison and his team at CN have been tremendous supporters of women’s golf in Canada,” said LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens.  “From their title sponsorship of the Canadian Women’s Tour to Future Links, the nation’s junior golf development program, to the Canadian Women’s Open on the LPGA schedule, CN has demonstrated its commitment to nurturing golf from the seeds of youth to the most accomplished level displayed by world-class professionals.

“The CN Canadian Women’s Open is a premiere event on the LPGA schedule,” Bivens continued.  “We are thrilled with the $500,000 purse increase to $2.75 million for the 2009 event. With more than a $1 million purse increase since becoming title sponsor in 2006, CN continues to raise the bar of excellence in women’s professional golf and display the same leadership in sports as they have so effectively applied in the world of business. We are extremely proud to partner with CN, as well as the RCGA; they help us and all of our partners continue to elevate the sport, while showcasing some of the best athletes the world has to offer.”

This increase for the 2009 event represents a $1.45 million jump since CN came on board as title sponsor. On Nov. 14, 2005, only one month after becoming title sponsor of the CN Canadian Women’s Open, CN Canadian Women’s Tour and CN Future Links, CN announced an increase of the 2006 purse to $1.7 million and, in 2006, announced that the 2007 event would host a purse of $2.25 million.
 
STAT OF THE WEEK:  Ochoa, Sorenstam in the same event.
There were 15 events in the first half of LPGA Playoffs 2008.  Of those events, Lorena Ochoa (six) or Annika Sorenstam (three) won nine events.  In the remaining six, Paula Creamer won two; three were Rolex First-Time Winners, including two rookies:  Louise Friberg and Yani Tseng (Leta Lindley was the third); and 2006 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Seon Hwa Lee won her third LPGA event.
            
Of the five season winners other than Ochoa and Sorenstam, Tseng is the only player to have won an event when both the current Rolex Rankings’ number one and her immediate predecessor were in the field.
 
Hurst gains entry into LPGA State Farm Classic.  In addition to earning her second professional victory at the Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Player Championship, 17-year-old Vicky Hurst has secured her spot in the LPGA State Farm Classic, July 17-20. Hurst now leads the Duramed FUTURES Tour money list with $39,101 in six events on the strength of her two wins and one additional runner-up finish.
            
Earlier this season, Hurst tied for 21st at the SemGroup Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons and will compete as a sponsor exemption at this week’s Wegmans LPGA.

Seven golfers sign with Wilhelmina Artist Management.  Wilhelmina Artist Management, a division of Wilhelmina Models, has formed a new division titled W7 - Wilhelmina 7 – which is comprised of seven Tour members:  Minea Blomqvist, Kim Hall, Johanna Head, Mikaela Parmlid, Stacy Prammanasudh, as well as Sandra Gal and Anna Grzebien. W7 will seek out women with the game, the beauty and the personality to create a major presence in women's sports, both on and off the course.