DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA, August 6, 2013 – Beatriz Recari’s performance at the Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning & O-I earned her the third LPGA Tour win of her career and the Kia Most Compelling Performance Award for July. The 26-year old Spaniard shot round of 69-65-67-66 and outdueled American and nine-time LPGA winner Paula Creamer on Sunday for a one-shot victory.
“I am thrilled to win the Kia Most Compelling Performance for July,” said Recari. “It has been a very special first half of the season for me, winning both the Kia Classic and Marathon Classic, and I hope I can carry this momentum through the Solheim Cup and the rest of the season.
“Thank you to Kia Motors for your continued support of the LPGA and especially for my brand new 2014 Cadenza that I received as a result of winning the 2013 Kia Classic – I love it!!”
Previous Kia Most Compelling Performance Award winners in 2013 include Yani Tseng (February), Stacy Lewis (March), Inbee Park (April & June) and Jennifer Johnson (May).
The 2013 Kia Most Compelling Performance Award winner will be announced at the season-ending 2013 CME Group Titleholders following an online fan vote (fan voting period is October 1-21, 2013). Performances may include a single tournament, multiple tournaments, single-round accomplishments or record-breaking performances. Winners of all the 2013 Kia Performance Awards will receive an all-new 2014 Kia Cadenza, premium sedan.
”At Kia, we are fans of the game of golf, and we are thrilled to see that Beatriz Recari has continued her outstanding play since winning the 2013 Kia Classic to earn this month’s Kia Performance Award for Most Compelling Performance,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president of marketing and communications, Kia Motors America. “With this award she is now in the running to win a second 2014 Kia Cadenza premium sedan which is the most powerful and technologically-advanced vehicle we have ever introduced in North America.”
Recari’s triumph in Toledo was her second win of the 2013 season after clinching a playoff victory against I.K. Kim at the Kia Classic in March. It also marked the first time in her four-year career that she earned two wins in a single season. Recari was coming off her first missed cut in 46 consecutive starts at the U.S. Women’s Open.
With her victory, Recari jumped from 26th to 18th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. The move helped solidify Recari’s spot on the European Solheim Cup Team and currently holds the highest rank in the Rolex Rankings criteria. She’s set to make her first appearance at the biennial team event in August in Parker, Colo.
The 2013 Kia Performance Awards are:
- Kia Power Drive – Won in 2012 by Brittany Lincicome; awarded to the player with the longest average driving distance
- Kia Drive to the Top – Won in 2012 by Stacy Lewis; awarded to the player with the most top-10 finishes
- Kia Most Compelling Performance – Won in 2012 by Inbee Park; recognizing a player with exceptional performances throughout the year; this award will be chosen by fans through an online vote
- Kia Community Assist – Won in 2012 by Angela Stanford; recognizing a player who makes exceptional contributions to charity organizations or community programs
Tseng earned the February Kia Most Compelling Performance Award for her Sunday surge at the Honda LPGA Thailand, where she fell just two strokes short of a “three-peat” following a final-round 63. Lewis was the March award winner on the heels of consecutive victories at the HSBC Women’s Champions and the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, where she took over as No. 1 on the Rolex Rankings. Park earned the April award for her victories at the Kraft Nabisco Championship – where she took over as No. 1 from Lewis – and the North Texas LPGA Shootout and claimed the honor in June for sweeping all three LPGA Tour events staged that month. Johnson earned the accolade in May by becoming a Rolex First-Time Winner at the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic, holding off a group of players that included LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame member Karrie Webb and LPGA winners Jessica Korda and Anna Nordqvist.