1. World's best players travel to Springfield for 34th edition of LPGA State Farm Classic
2. This week: LPGA State Farm Classic, Panther Creek Country Club, Springfield, Ill., $1,700,000, June 4-7, 2009; TV Times; GCSAA Course Information
3. Carner to be celebrated as 2009 Honoree at the Memorial Tournament
4. American Express Women's Golf Month kicks off today
5. Next week: McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, Bulle Rock Golf Course, Havre de Grace, Md., $2,000,000, June 11-14, 2009; TV Times
6. Race for the Cup
7. Sorenstam to design Chinese course
8. LPGA T&CP Western Section Championship starts today
1. World's best players travel to Springfield for 34th edition of LPGA State Farm Classic
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - After a one-week break from competition, the LPGA Tour returns to the course for the LPGA State Farm Classic. The event is in its 34th year and will celebrate its third year at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, Ill.
This week's field is considered to be one of the strongest the LPGA State Farm Classic has ever had, with 19 of the top-20 players from the LPGA Official Money List going for a share of the $1.7 million purse.
Ji Young Oh, who enters this week ranked ninth on the LPGA Official Money List, returns to the Panther Creek Country Club to defend her 2008 title. Oh outlasted 2008 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Yani Tseng in a one-hole, sudden-death playoff to become a Rolex First-Time Winner. Now, Oh has two career victories on the LPGA Tour, as the South Korean captured the 2009 Sybase Classic Presented by ShopRite.
If Oh is successful in her title defense, she would be just the fifth player to win the LPGA State Farm Classic twice and fourth to earn back-to-back victories in its 34-year history. Oh is not alone this week, however, as five other competitors know what it takes to finish in the winner's circle in Springfield, Ill: Pat Hurst (2005), Cristie Kerr (2004), Candie Kung (2003), Mi Hyun Kim (1999) and Michelle McGann (1996). And of those, two - Hurst (MasterCard Classic Honoring Alejo Peralta Presented by Nextel) and Kerr (Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill) - have already notched a win in 2009.
Kerr's victory last month - the 12th in her 13-year LPGA Tour career - also helped boost her to the top of the LPGA Official Money List with more than $700,000.
Others in the top-10 of the season earnings category who are still without a win in 2009 are fourth-ranked Suzann Pettersen, number six Paula Creamer and In-Kyung Kim (eighth). But it's a trio where each has finished in the runner-up spot this year at least once, and are hungry for a win.
A total of eight out of nine season winners are in the field. Oh, Kerr and Hurst, as well as Angela Stanford (SBS Open at Turtle Bay), Jiyai Shin (HSBC Women's Champions), Karrie Webb (J Golf Phoenix LPGA International Presented by Mirassou Winery), Brittany Lincicome (Kraft Nabisco Championship) and Tseng (LPGA Corning Classic).
Accompanying all this veteran leadership, Shin leads the way in the rookie category as one of 12 who are traveling to Springfield this week, with the chance of proving themselves as a winner. Shin, a 21-year-old out of South Korea, has the most experience in this group as she already has four wins on the LPGA Tour. Three of those wins came last year before she even earned her Tour membership (RICOH Women's British Open, Mizuno Classic, ADT Championship), while her first official victory as a member came at the HSBC Women's Champions event this year in Singapore.
2. This week: LPGA State Farm Classic, Panther Creek Country Club, Springfield, Ill., $1,700,000, June 4-7, 2009; TV Times; GCSAA Course Information
Par: 36-36, 72
Yardage: 6,608
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Winner: $255,000
Runner-up: $156,242
Field: 144 players
Defending champion: Ji Young Oh
Victory margin: Defeated Yani Tseng in a one-hole, sudden-death playoff
Media center: 217-793-2501
LPGA media contact: Jason Taylor
● TV Times
ESPN2
June 5 12-2 p.m.
June 6 5-7 p.m.
June 7 1-3 p.m.
NBC
June 6 3-5 p.m.
June 7 4-6 p.m.
All times Eastern
● GCSAA Information
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Panther Creek Country Club
Springfield, Ill.
GCSAA Golf Course Superintendent: William T. Smith, 217-546-1469
Course architect, date: Hale Irwin, 1990
Course grasses
Tees - Bentgrass; poa annua
Fairways - Bentgrass; poa annua
Greens - Bentgrass; poa annua
Rough - Kentucky bluegrass; perennial ryegrass; fescue
For more information, access GCSAA Fact Sheets at http://www.gcsaa.org/news/TournamentFactSheets.aspx
3. Carner to be celebrated as 2009 Honoree at the Memorial Tournament
Is the eighth woman to receive the honor
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., June 1, 2009 - LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Famer JoAnne Carner and PGA Tour veteran Jackie Burke, Jr., are the 2009 Honorees at the Memorial Tournament in Colombus, Ohio. They will be honored tomorrow during a 3 p.m. ceremony at the 34-year-old event.
Each year, the Memorial Tournament is themed around a person(s), living or dead, who has contributed to the game of golf - the annual Honoree. The Honoree(s) is/are selected by the Captain's Club, a group of statesmen who act independently of the tournament organization, but who also advise on player invitations and the conduct of the event generally.
By earning the nod from the Captain's Club in 2009, Carner represents the eighth woman to be recognized and, along with Burke, are the 52nd and 53rd Honorees of the Memorial Tournament, which was created under the direction of golfing great Jack Nicklaus. Carner earned 43 victories on the LPGA Tour during a career that spanned five decades. Her first win came as anamateur at the 1969 Burdine's Invitational, followed by a playoff victory over LPGA Founder Marilynn Smith at the 1970 Wendell-West Open during her rookie season - the first of 10 playoff victories in 20 career LPGA playoffs.
The first Honoree was in 1976 with Robert Trent Jones, Jr. A woman was first honored in 1982 with Glenna Collett Vare, the namesake of the LPGA's Vare Trophy, which is annually awarded to the player who has the lowest season scoring average. LPGA Tour members who have been recognized to-date include: Patty Berg, 1988; Babe Zaharias, 1991; Mickey Wright, 1994; Kathy Whitworth, along with Bobby Locke, 2002; Betsy Rawls, along with Cary Middlecoff, 2005; and, most recently, Louise Suggs, along with Dow Finsterwald, 2007.
4. American Express Women's Golf Month kicks off today
The promotion celebrates its fifth anniversary in June
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - Throughout the month of June, women will call the shots on the links, as American Express Women's Golf Month celebrates its fifth anniversary in 2009. A nationwide initiative, American Express Women's Golf Month seeks to provide people with the opportunity to learn or re-learn the game of golf in a fun and friendly environment, while also increasing the participation of women in golf.
During June, participating facilities will offer complimentary golf instruction to people 14 years of age and older as well as activities such as networking receptions, golf rules and etiquette seminars, club fitting and equipment demonstrations, golf apparel fashion shows, luncheons, playing experiences, and contests. Each activity is designed to provide a fun and inviting atmosphere for all involved.
LPGA/PGA Professional Suzy Whaley, LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame member Nancy Lopez, and world-renowned fitness expert and philanthropist Donna Richardson Joyner are the American Express Women's Golf Month Spokeswomen Team for 2009.
Donna Richardson Joyner, along with more than 15 LPGA/PGA Professionals from the Midwest PGA Section, will host a national kick-off event to celebrate the beginning of American Express Women's Golf Month at Tiffany Greens Golf Club in Kansas City, Mo., June 3 from 3-7 p.m.
American Express Women's Golf Month is a part of the national Play Golf America campaign. It is coordinated by industry-leading organizations, including the Executive Women's Golf Association (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).
More information regarding American Express Women's Golf Month, including a list of participating facilities, can be found at PlayGolfAmerica.com.
American Express Women's Golf Month by the numbers:
105,000 - People since 2005 who have been introduced or re-introduced to the game through American Express Women's Golf Month;
37,350 - Attendees in 2008 at 1,208 American Express Women's Golf Month host facilities;
32 - Percentage of participants in 2008 who were new golfers;
$3,320 - Median revenue generated at host facilities by participants who continued to pursue the game after attending an event.
5. Next week: McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, Bulle Rock Golf Course, Havre de Grace, Md., $2,000,000, June 11-14, 2009; TV Times
Par: 36-36, 72
Yardage: 6,633
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Winner: $300,000
Runner-up: $183,814
Defending champion: Yani Tseng
Victory margin: Defeated Maria Hjorth on the 4th hole of a sudden-death playoff
Tournament information: 302-428-1681
● TV Times
Golf Channel
June 11-12 12:30-3:30 p.m.
June 13-14 4-7 p.m.
All times Eastern
6. Race for the Cup
Davies on Rich Harvest Farms. Ten-time European Solheim Cup Team member Laura Davies spent several days at Rich Harvest Farms last week preparing for the 2009 Solheim Cup. In addition to playing the golf course numerous times, the four-time major champion took in some of the local sites, including Wrigley Field, where she saw the Cubs play the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"I think [the course] is just going to be extraordinarily tough," she said. "I've played from the [Solheim Cup] tournament tees and it's not necessarily that long but you have to hit the fairway. If you miss the fairway by an inch, you're probably laying up, I'd say, because if you miss the greens in the wrong spot, you're not going to get up and down."
U.S. Solheim Cup race heats up. U.S.-born players in this week's LPGA State Farm Classic will earn 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup points for top 20 finishes. At next week's McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, U.S.-born players will receive double points toward a spot on the 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup team. Paula Creamer continues to lead the race with Cristie Kerr and Angela Stanford on her heels. The race for the other seven points' spots and two captain's picks is still heated with seven events left before teams are announced following the RICOH Women's British Open.
The Solheim Cup is a biennial, trans-Atlantic team match-play competition featuring the best U.S.-born players from the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour and the best European members from the Ladies European Tour (LET). The U.S. Team leads the competition, 7-3, and has never lost The Solheim Cup on home soil.
Tickets are on-sale for the biennial event with options including the Weekly Grounds ticket, the PING Pavilion ticket and the Solheim After Sundown ticket. For tickets and more information about the 2009 Solheim Cup as well as lodging options in the Sugar Grove, Ill. area, log on to www.SolheimCup.com.
2009 Solheim Cup countdown:
13 days until double points are awarded at the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola
62 days until U.S. and European teams are announced following the RICOH Women's British Open
81 days until matches begin at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.
7. Sorenstam to design Chinese course
Annika Course Design will design an 18-hole course in Beijing, China - Chateau Laffitte Golf Course. Headed by LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Famer Annika Sorenstam, it will be her second course design project in China. Her first course design assignment was Mission Hills in Shenzhen, China. Since then, she has taken on projects in Mount Pleasant, S.C. (Patriot Point Links); Limpopo Province, South Africa (Euphoria Golf Estate & Hydro); Rossland, British Columbia, Canada (The Golf Club at Red Mountain); and Selangor, Malaysia (Mines Golf City).
8. LPGA T&CP Western Section Championship starts today
The 36-hole LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Western Section Championship is underway June 1-2, 2009, at Lincoln Hills Golf Club in Lincoln, Calif. The winner of the Championship Division will earn entry into this year's 2009 McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, June 11-14 at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Md.