(Stockbridge, Georgia, March 28, 2006) — Christina Kim and Rachel Hetherington, two of the LPGA’s brightest stars, will compete in the upcoming Atlanta Charity Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez. Kim will be seeking her third career victory while Hetherington will attempt to become the tournament’s second two-time champion. Along with defending champion Annika Sorenstam, Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Morgan Pressel and tournament host Nancy Lopez they will comprise one of the best fields in tournament history. The 15th annual event will be played April 17-23 at Eagle’s Landing Country Club in Stockbridge, GA. Golfers will compete for a first-place check of $240,000 and a total purse of $1.6 million. Here are additional facts and figures about Kim and Hetherington:
Christina Kim:
The charismatic Kim is just 22 years old but she is now in her fourth full year on the Tour. And she continues a steady climb up the LPGA ladder capping her 2005 season with a rock solid performance on the victorious U.S. Solheim Cup team. In her first appearance on the squad she compiled a 2-1-1 record while adding an equally important contribution with her engaging exuberance.
She also added to her reputation for being a tireless competitor playing in all 30 of the 2005 events for which she was eligible. In those she missed just three cuts and collected a half dozen top 10s including a big win at the Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions. During the year she became the youngest player in Tour history to cross the $1 million mark in career earnings, a record later broken by Paula Creamer.
In the Tour’s statistical categories last year, she ranked second in birdies with 300, seventh in greens hit in regulation with 71.8%, ninth in rounds under par (51/102) and thirteenth in eagles with five.
She also won the 2004 Long Drugs Challenge where she fired four consecutive rounds in the 60s.
In the early going so far in 2006, she has played in four events with a best finish of a tie for 13th at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay.
Rachel Hetherington
During her nine year career Hetherington has been a consistent performer, never finishing lower than 53rd on the money list and peaking at seventh in 2003. Over the past five years she has played in 131 events and missed only 13 cuts. Among those strong performances were 31 top 10s and five of her eight career wins.
She won the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in 1999 when she defeated Lorie Kane on the first hole of a playoff. Other solid performances in the Atlanta event were a sixth place tie in 2002 and a tie for seventh in 2004. She has banked nearly $240,000 in the tournament.
The Australia native and resident, who ranks 20th in career LPGA earnings with more than $4.7 million, has always been a terrific performer in the extreme pressure of playoffs with an impressive 4-1 mark. In one of these she topped the world’s top-ranked player, Annika Sorenstam, at the 2002 Ping Banner Health.
In 10 rounds so far this year, five have been in the 60s highlighted by a 66 at the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola where she finished tied for 12th. The 50% mark for rounds in the 60s ranked third on the Tour.
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
