LPGA.com

Monday, April 24, 2006

Annika falters; Sung Ah Yim takes advantage for win
By The Associated Press | More at ESPN.com>>

Sung Ah Yim picked her first LPGA Tour victory in the most unlikely way possible: a final-round collapse by Annika Sorenstam that allowed the 22-year-old South Korean to win by two strokes Sunday.

After three straight rounds in the 60s gave Sorenstam the lead going to the final day of the Florida's Natural Charity Championship, she slumped to a 3-over 75 that left her in a three-way tie for second with Karrie Webb and Cristie Kerr.

"It was not a very good day for me,'' Sorenstam said. "I didn't play well at all. I just want to forget about this day as quickly as possible." More>>

Sunday, April 23, 2006

LPGA still has to battle swimsuit syndrome
By Mark Bradley, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | More at ajc.com>>

My first assignment at my first LPGA tournament --- the year was 1984, the site Brookfield West in Roswell, the event the oddly named Potamkin Cadillac Classic --- was to write about the new wave on tour. I interviewed four women who were seen as rising stars --- Juli Inkster, Chris Johnson, Laurie Rinker and Lauri Peterson --- and how they were about to transform the LPGA. Well, Inkster turned out to be a really splendid player and the other three less so, but here it is 22 years later and the talk around the circuit is ...

The new wave of players about to transform the LPGA. More>>

Sorenstam seizes lead with a 64
By, Stan Awtrey, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | More at ajc.com>>

Was that Annika Sorenstam's approach shot in the bunker by the 17th green? Sand granules sticking to Sorenstam's Callaway golf ball? Unthinkable. And what was that tree doing by sticking a branch in front of her approach shot to No. 18? Call the arborist and order up an overnight trim.

Such matters must be taken care of before this afternoon, when Sorenstam's fans and followers at the Florida's Natural Charity Classic at the Eagle's Landing Country Club have a coronation planned. The tiara is expected to be placed on the Swede's head for the second straight year sometime around 6 p.m. More>>

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Big dreams
By Steve Hummer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | More at ajc.com>>

The landscape of the LPGA is molten, still-evolving. For the regular visitor to Atlanta's ladies event, this can be confusing.

Stockbridge, Ga., is now the site of an orange juice-driven tournament, the Florida's Natural Charity Championship. Someone failed either geography or botany. And now, with Chick-fil-A out of the picture, fans at Eagle's Landing Country Club in Stockbridge no longer will have the majestic giant inflatable cow to guide them to the No. 18 tee box.

Largely because of the unsettled sponsorship, none of this weekend's action will be televised, the first LPGA event this year not to land one of many available channels. More>>

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Karrie Webb wants back in LPGA spotlight
By Paul Newberry, Associated Press | More at The Mercury News.com>>

Welcome back, Karrie Webb. On Wednesday, the Aussie was actually summoned to the interview room BEFORE a tournament, which goes with the territory when you're coming off a major championship but hasn't been a regular part of her routine the past few years.

And get this: the media-shy Webb didn't even seem to mind sitting down with reporters.

"I still don't like how much time it takes up," she said. "But I will handle things a lot better if I'm able to put myself in the spotlight again."

Heading into the Florida's Natural Charity Championship at Eagles Landing Country Club south of Atlanta, Webb is again a player to be reckoned with on the LPGA Tour. More>>

HEAD SET TO EXTEND SUCCESSFUL RUN
By Sporting Life.com | More at SportingLife.com.com>>

Johanna Head is easily the most improved British golfer on the women's LPGA Tour this year - and she aims to continue her run in the Florida's Natural Charity Championship in Georgia.

The 33-year-old, whose twin sister, Samantha, is playing on the US Futures Tour, has not missed a cut in six tournaments, and the string includes a top 10 at the SBS Open in Hawaii.

"It's been great to make such a good start," said Head, who is lying 44th on the money list - her career best is 63rd. "I was in Florida in the winter and worked hard on my fitness and my game and it is really paying off. More>>

Matthew back on the up in LPGA
By Elspeth Burnside, Scotsman.com | More at Scotsman.com>>

NORTH BERWICK'S Catriona Matthew has risen three places to No.18 in the Ladies PGA rankings following her top-15 finish in Las Vegas last Sunday - and she is hoping for another good tournament this week.

The rather bizarrely-named Florida Natural Charity Championship is not taking place in Florida, but at Eagles Landing near Atlanta in Georgia, and it is a course where Matthew has come close to victory in the past.

"I have had a couple of chances to win here and it's always good to come back to somewhere that seems to suit your game," said Matthew, who only needs to make the cut to break through the $100,000 barrier in earnings this year. More>>

Two-time champion Sorenstam is back to defend her crown in Atlanta
By The Sports Network | More at PGA.com>>

One of the finest fields of the season has assembled this week in suburban Atlanta, as 48 of the top 50 on the LPGA money list will battle it out at the Florida's Natural Charity Championship. This event long was known as the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship.

The purse this week totals $1.4 million, with the winner receiving $210,000. The runner-up will get $127,855, with the third-place finisher pocketing $92,750.

Though the event has a new name, it returns as always to Eagle's Landing Country Club. Prominent course architect: Tom Fazio created the 6,394-yard, par-72 layout in 1988. Eagle's Landing has hosted this event since its inception in 1992. More>>

Pressel standing out in the LPGA crowd
By Stan Awtrey, Cox News Service | More at Middletown Journal.com>>

When J.T. Williams, an executive with Florida's Natural Charity Championship, arrived home Sunday night, his house guest for the week was busy wearing out the family treadmill.

Spotting her host enter the room, Morgan Pressel hopped off the exercise equipment, ran across the room and gave Williams a big embrace.

"Then she asked me if I ever used that treadmill, and I told her I did," Williams said. "She says, 'You must not use it much. There was quite a bit of dust on it.'"

Williams, president of Metro South Golf Charities, poked his own paunch and laughed when recounting the story. He'd been Presseled. More>>

Monday, April 17, 2006

This Week in Golf - April 20-April 23
By Gerard Gallagher, The Sports Network | More at The Sports Network.com>>

The previous sponsor of this popular tournament, Chick- Fil-A, ended its 11-year financial support following last year's event, and so orange juice maker Florida's Natural stepped in as the new donor.

Whatever the name, the event always attracts a good field. Annika Sorenstam will be back after taking a week off, and she comes in as the defending champion after her 10-stroke victory over Candie Kung last year. Sorenstam, who also won this title in 2001, set a new tournament record with her 23- under-par 265 total last year.

There are a host of other top players in the field this week. More>>

Sunday, April 16, 2006

LPGA Tour Notebook: Pressel will receive the Lopez Award this week
By PGA.com news service | More at PGA.com>>

In 2005, Morgan Pressel enjoyed one of the best performances in women's amateur golf in recent memory. And now, she has been rewarded for her achievements as the recipient of the seventh annual Nancy Lopez Award.

The award is presented annually to the world's most outstanding female amateur, and is a key facet of the long-time relationship between Nancy Lopez and the LPGA's Atlanta tournament. Lopez will present the award to Pressel at a banquet on Thursday.

Along with the award comes a sponsor invitation to compete in the tournament. But because Pressel is now a rookie on the LPGA Tour, she won't need it to participate. More>>