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Paula Creamer To Play In Atlanta Charity Championship Hosted By Nancy Lopez

(Stockbridge, Georgia, March 1, 2006) — Paula Creamer, a landslide choice as LPGA Rookie of the Year in 2005 thanks to a pair of wins and year-long consistent performance, will compete in the 15th annual Atlanta Charity Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez. Scheduled for April 17-23 at Eagle’s Landing Country Club in Stockbridge, Georgia, the tournament offers a purse of $1.6 million and a first-place check of $240,000. Here are facts and figures about Creamer:

  • Creamer enjoyed one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent memory, winning both the Sybase Classic and the Evian Masters. She won the former four days before her high school graduation and, at 18 years, 9 months and 17 days, became the youngest winner of a multi-round event in Tour history.
  • Her level of consistency as a first year player was extraordinary. In 25 events, she missed just one cut and had 11 top-10 finishes. In addition to her wins, she also had four seconds and a pair of thirds. One of the thirds was at the LPGA Championship, her highest finish in the 2005 majors. Her win at the Evian Masters enabled her to become the youngest player to reach the $1 million mark in career earnings.
  • Her 2005 money total of $1,531,780 was the highest ever for a rookie, surpassing the record set by Karrie Webb in 1996. Only Annika Sorenstam had a higher total for the year.
  • In the Tour’s statistical categories last year she ranked first in putts per green hit in regulation (1.75), third in rounds in the 60’s (29/85), fourth in both greens in regulation (72.7%) and birdies (322) and sixth in rounds under par (45/85).
  • Creamer compiled an extraordinary amateur career and was the top ranked amateur in the country in 2003 when she was just 16. She won 11 American Junior Golf Association events and was named AJGA player of the year in 2003. In both 2003 and 2004 she reached the semi-finals in the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Junior Girl’s Championship. In those two years she also played in 10 LPGA events, finishing in the top 20 in half of them. At the 2004 ShopRite LPGA Classic she finished one shot behind winner Cristie Kerr.
  • At the 2004 LPGA Qualifying Tournament she competed as an amateur, leaving open the option of staying in the amateur ranks had she not been successful. That became a very moot point after she won by five strokes. She turned professional immediately after the final round.
  • Ironically, Creamer’s only miss last year was at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez where she fired rounds of 72-75 to miss by a single stroke.

    Proceeds from the Atlanta Charity Championship benefit the Henry Medical Center; Dayton, Ohio-based AIM for the Handicapped, the favorite charity of Nancy Lopez; and the East Lake Foundation.

    Contact:
    John Marshall

    Marshall & Associates

    (770) 436-2643

    Torrey Gane

    Atlanta Charity Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez

    (770) 474-4653

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