168 hopefuls set to tee off at Mission Hills Country Club, Sept. 19-22
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Sept. 13, 2007 – The first of two LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournaments begins next week when 168 players start their quest toward membership on the 2008 Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour. Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., hosts the first of two sectional qualifiers Sept. 19-22.
Consistent with the LPGA’s history of being a true world Tour, the 168-player field features 69 international players from 22 countries outside the United States, as well as one player from Puerto Rico. Australia is represented by the most international players with 15, followed by Canada (10), South Korea (10) and Thailand (7). Remaining countries include Mexico (3), Sweden (3), Taiwan (3), China (2), Columbia (2) and England (2). One player represents each of the following countries: Czech Republic; France; Germany; Japan; Malaysia; New Zealand; Norway; Paraguay; Russia; Spain; South Africa; and Switzerland.
Within the United States, 34 states are represented in the first LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament as California leads the way with 22 entrants. The next closest is Texas with 11 players, followed by Florida with 10; and Arizona and North Carolina with five each. Oregon has four representatives, while Hawaii, Nevada and Utah each have three.
The 72-hole sectional will be played on the Palmer and Dinah Shore Courses at Mission Hills Country Club. The Dinah Shore Course is the host site of the Tour’s first major of the season, the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The field will be cut to the low-70 players and ties after 36 holes. After four rounds, the top-30 players and ties will advance to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, on Nov. 28-Dec. 2 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The second LPGA Tour Sectional Qualifying Tournament will be Oct. 2-5 at Plantation Golf and Country Club’s Bobcat and Panther courses in Venice, Fla. The top-30 finishers and ties from the Venice qualifier will join the top-30 players and ties from next week’s sectional qualifier at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. Making up the rest of the field in Daytona Beach will be current LPGA Tour members attempting to improve their status and the 10 players finishing sixth through 15th on the 2007 Duramed Futures Tour season-ending money list.
All media interested in covering the upcoming LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament in Rancho Mirage, Calif., should contact Mike Scanlan in the LPGA Communications Department at 386-274-6200 or at mike.scanlan@lpga.com.
About the Ladies Professional Golf Association
Featuring the world’s best women golfers, the LPGA’s membership includes touring, teaching and club professionals. The LPGA Tour in 2007 features 35 events, with total prize money of nearly $55 million. Since 1981, the LPGA and its tournaments have raised approximately $180 million for charity. From the dreams of its 13 founders in 1950, the LPGA has evolved into the world’s pre-eminent women’s professional sports organization. The LPGA has grown from its roots as a playing tour into a non-profit organization involved in every facet of golf. The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information, log on to www.LPGA.com
Final Field
LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament
Mission Hills Country Club, Palm Springs, Calif.
Sept. 19-22, 2007
Jennifer Ackerson – Texas
Katie Allison – South Carolina
(a) Lili Alvarez – Mexico
Sofie Andersson – Sweden
Heather Angell – North Carolina
Lori Atsedes – New York
Kim Augusta – Rhode Island
Yun-Yan Bai – China
Rachel Bailey – Australia
Taya Battistella – Oregon
(a) Meghan Bolger – New Jersey
Chris Brady – North Carolina
Elise Brandt – Canada
Vanessa Brockett – California
Tasha Browner – California
Jaclyn Burch – Florida
Angela Buzminski – Canada
Emma Cabrera-Bello – Spain
Charlotte Campbell – Florida
Jessica Carafiello – Florida
Kelly Cavanaugh – California
Kuan-pei Chen – Taiwan
Lauren Cheves – Texas
Misun Cho – South Korea
Esther Choe – Arizona
Song Yi Choi – South Korea
Porani Chutichai – Thailand
Amie Cochran – California
Alana Condon – Arizona
Tanya Dergal – Mexico
(a) Priscilla Duffield – Australia
Stephanie Dukes – Texas
Bridge Keala – Hawaii
Lauren Espinosa – Texas
(a) Shanshan Feng – China
Jeannine Fiorito – Nevada
Danah Ford – Indiana
Louise Friberg – Sweden
Kelly Froelich – France
Hiroko Fujishima – Japan
Nikki Garrett – Australia
Adrienne Gautreaux – Texas
Megan Godfrey – Illinois
Ashley Gomes – California
Jennifer Greggain – Canada
(a) Benedikte B. Grotvedt – Norway
Anna Grzebien – Rhode Island
Russy Gulyanamitta – Thailand
Nicole Hage – Florida
Shinah Ham – California
Leah Hart – Australia
Britney Hayes – Idaho
Samantha Head – England
(a) M.J. Hur – South Korea
Sim Hyun Hwa – South Korea
Sabina Imboden – Switzerland
(a) Dana Je – South Korea
Hannah Jun – California
Hanna Kang – South Korea
Corina Kelepouris – Canada
Nicole Keller – Oregon
Sarah Kemp – Australia
Sarah-Jane Kenyon – Australia
Erin Kerr – Colorado
Alice Kim – California
Jin Hyun Kim – South Korea
Mindy Kim – California
Yoo Lee Kim – Paraguay
Yoora Kim – South Korea
Ashley Knoll – Texas
Anastasia Kostina – Russia
Kim Kouwabunpat – California
Jennifer Kovach – Georgia
Elena Kurokawa – California
Kelly Lagedrost – Florida
Christina Lecuyer – Canada
Hwan Hee Lee – Nevada
Jeehae Lee – South Korea
Stella Lee – South Korea
Cindy Lee-Pridgen – Malaysia
Marcela Leon – Mexico
Meghan Little – South Dakota
Ulrika Ljungman-Smith – Sweden
Carolina Llano – Colombia
Kwan-Chih Lu – Taiwan
(a) Courtney Mahon – Arkansas
Mo Martin – California
Kiran Matharu – England
Catherine Matranga – Texas
Amanda McCurdy – Arkansas
Filippa McDougall – Australia
Randi Meadows – Texas
Sasha Medina – Puerto Rico
Nicole Melton – Texas
(a) Gerina Mendoza – New Mexico
Joanne Mills – Australia
Shayna Miyajima – Hawaii
Mary K. Moan – Connecticut
Anja Monke – Germany
(a) Miho Murata – Florida
Salimah Mussani – Ontario
Johnna Jae Nealy – Oregon
Rachel Newren – Utah
Chris Newton – Montana
(a) Tracy Nichols – California
Helen Oh – Australia
(a) Sarah Oh – Australia
(a) Stefanie Page – Texas
Rungthiwa Pangjan – Thailand
Eom Ji Park – Canada
Jenna Pearson – Florida
Jana Peterkova – Czech Republic
Pornanong Phatlum – Thailand
Anna Rawson – Australia
Cortney Reno – Michigan
(a) Jean Reynolds – Georgia
Samantha Richdale – Canada
Seema Sadekar – Nevada
Walailak Satarak – Thailand
Kelly Schaub – Colorado
Amy Schmucker – Minnesota
(a) Jenny Schneider – Missouri
Krystal Shearer – California
Jessica Shepley – Canada
Ashleigh Simon – South Africa
Maggie Simons – North Carolina
Michelle Simpson – Florida
Deanna Slaman – California
Libby Smith – Vermont
(a) Kristie Smith – Australia
Nontaya Srisawang – Thailand
Jamie Stevenson – Utah
Jenny Suh – Virginia
(a) Jaclyn Sweeney – Florida
Perry Swenson – North Carolina
(a) Emily Tankey – Australia
(a) Stacey Tate – New Zealand
Tiffany Tavee – Arizona
Anna Temple – California
Sarah Tiller – Idaho
Lauren Todd – Arizona
Meghan Trainor – North Carolina
Polly Travica – Australia
Yani Tseng – Taiwan
Eileen Vargas – Colombia
Bri Vega – Massachusetts
Whitney Wade – Kentucky
D’Rae Ward – Texas
Karlie Ward – California
Kim Welch – California
Julie Wells – Oregon
(a) Lynette West – Mississippi
Adrienne White – Canada
Sam White – Washington, DC
Leah Whiting – Hawaii
Whitley Whitley – Arizona
Leah Wigger – Kentucky
Caryn Wilson – California
Andia Winslow – Washington
Angela Won – California
Grace Woo – California
May Wood – Tennessee
Sukjin Lee Wuesthoff – New Jersey
Amy Yang – Australia
Tiranan Yoopan – Thailand
Annie Young – Utah
(a) Hana Young – Florida
(a) Reana Yun – California
(a) denotes amateur
Players in the field: 168
Countries represented: 22
United States represented: 34
Contact:
Mike Scanlan, 386-274-6200, mike.scanlan@lpga.com
