1. Pak looks to make record-tying splash in Ohio

SYLVANIA, Ohio - Se Ri Pak will attempt to become only the second woman in LPGA history to win an event five times when she returns to defend her championship at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger this week. Her win at the event last year tied her with seven other LPGA legends as winners of the same event four times. LPGA Tour and World Golf Hall of Famer Mickey Wright holds the record for wins at one event with five, coming at the Sea Island Open in 1957-58, 1960-61 and 1963.

Pak won the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger in 1998-99, 2001 and 2003. She is the first player to win the same event four times since Patty Sheehan recorded her fourth victory at the Rochester International in 1995. Pak and Sheehan share four-time-winner status with LPGA greats Patty Berg, Laura Davies, Betsy Rawls, Louise Suggs, Babe Zaharias and Wright. Pak recorded her fourth victory at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger when she was 25 years old, making her the youngest of any four-time event winner.

Pak is currently ninth on this year's money list and in pursuit of her second title of 2004. Her first victory of the season came at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill, where she defeated Juli Inkster and Lorena Ochoa by two strokes.

Returning to the $1.1 million event to challenge Pak will be last year's second-place finisher Marisa Baena. Heather Bowie and Mi Hyun Kim also return after good performances last year, as they tied for fourth place, finishing three strokes behind Pak. The tournament field will also feature several previous winners from the 2004 season, including Moira Dunn, Meg Mallon, Weetabix Women's British Open champion Karen Stupples, Jennifer Rosales, Sherri Steinhauer, Karrie Webb and Ochoa.

After her 2001 victory at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger, Pak celebrated by jumping into the clubhouse pool. She made a splash in the pool again after her victory in 2003. If she wins again this year, fans can look forward to her continuing that tradition.

Most wins in a single event
5, Mickey Wright Sea Island Open (1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963)
4, Patty Berg Women's Western Open (1951, 1955, 1957, 1958)
World Championship (1953, 1954, 1955, 1957)
4, Laura Davies Standard Register PING (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997)
4, Se Ri Pak Jamie Farr Kroger Classic (1998, 1999, 2001, 2003)
4, Betsy Rawls U.S. Women's Open (1951,1953, 1957, 1960)
Tampa Open (1954, 1956, 1957, 1958)
4, Patty Sheehan Rochester International (1989, 1990, 1992, 1995)
4, Mickey Wright LPGA Championship (1958, 1960, 1961, 1963)
U.S. Women's Open (1958, 1959, 1961, 1964)
4, Louise Suggs Titleholders Championship (1946, 1954, 1956, 1959)
Western Open (1946, 1947, 1949, 1953)
4, Babe Zaharias Women's Western Open (1940, 1944, 1945, 1950)

2. LPGA T&CP National Team Championship finds new home in Carmel

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) National Team Championship will be held at the Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel, Calif., after two years at the Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix. An 18-hole pro-am will be held on Sunday Nov. 7, followed by the championship Nov. 8-9.

Carmel Valley Ranch is situated on the grounds of the Wyndham Resort and Hotel complex. Designed by Pete Dye in 1981, the course was voted by Golf For Women Magazine as one of the top 100 Women Friendly Courses. The par-70 course has also been called one of Monterey's "must plays" by Golf Magazine. In addition to these accolades, the course was ranked the 14th-best golf resort in the West/Northwest by Travel & Leisure magazine. It was also honored by Travel & Leisure in its "Best Golf Resort for a Golf Intensive Buddy Trip," "Best Golf Resort for a Family Trip" and "Most Underrated Golf Resorts" categories.

Last year's Championship Division winners, Dede Cusimano, of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., and Mary Enright, of Armonk, N.Y., took the victory over Julie Hennessy of Lewiston, Minn., and Marjorie Jones of Orlando, Fla. The two teams were tied at 137 (-7) at the end of regulation play, forcing a playoff. After a crucial putt by Enright on the second extra hole, the playoff continued for another three holes, where Cusimano and Enright were victorious after a clutch birdie putt.
Cusimano, a Class A member since 1989, works at Mohansic Golf Course in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Enright, also a Class A member, joined the LPGA T&CP membership in 1985. She works at the Whippoorwill Club in Armonk, N.Y.

Cusimano and Enright have both won the team championship title before, however, this was the first time they won it together. Cusimano won in 1998 with Linda Nevatt as her partner, and Enright won in both 1993 and 1997 with partner Kelly Spooner. After a playoff loss as partners in 2001, Cusimano and Enright finished fifth in 2002.

In a three-stroke victory over Leslie Van Syckle, of Newton, N.J., and Lorraine Klippel, of Camp Hill, Pa., Patty Snyder and Mardell Wilkins became three-time champions in the Senior Division. Snyder, of Sacramento, Calif., and Wilkins of Mission Viejo, Calif., shot a 140 (-4) two-day total to take home the title for LPGA T&CP members age 50 and over.

3. Britain's Stupples sets records, wins Weetabix Women's British Open

BERKSHIRE, England, Aug. 1, 2004 -- With the support of her homeland firmly behind her, England's Karen Stupples won the 2004 Weetabix Women's British Open in record fashion, earning her the first major title and second win of her career. Stupples became the first British player to win a major championship since Alison Nicholas won the 1997 U.S. Women's Open conducted by the USGA. Stupples won the event by five shots over Australia's Rachel Teske and tied the LPGA's 72-hole scoring record in a major championship (-19, Dottie Pepper, 1999 Nabisco Dinah Shore).

"When I stood on the 18th tee, having just birdied the 17th, I realized I had won," said Stupples after posting a final-round 64, the lowest by a winner in an LPGA major. "I thought, 'Steady play and it is all mine.' To win a tournament that I grew up watching, and it was the one I really wanted to win, this is just unbelievable."

Stupples started the final round at 11-under-par and one shot off the pace set by Heather Bowie and Teske. However, Stupples didn't stay in second for long. With a remarkable eagle-albatross start, Stupples took the lead after the second hole and although she shared the lead mid-way through the final 18, she never fully relinquished it. She followed the strong start with five birdies, nine pars and two bogeys to post the five-stroke win.

"I knew I needed to get off to a good start, maybe birdie-birdie," commented the now-major winner, whose family saw her win for the first time as a pro. She won the Welch's/Fry's Championship in Tucson, Ariz., earlier this year for her first LPGA victory. "But the eagle-albatross start was unbelievable. When the albatross went in I thought, 'Well today could be my day.' It was just one of those fantastic feelings that meant I could enjoy the rest of the day."

Teske put on an early charge with a birdie-birdie start, but birdies on the seventh and 10th holes were canceled out with bogeys on holes 12 and 15, and she had to settle for second place, her career-best finish in a major.

"I played pretty solid all day and stayed patient," commented Teske following her runner-up finish. "I felt like I was in control and all day and had just two bad holes.

"Obviously, Karen's round - you couldn't ask for anything better. Being British and being able to win in your home Open, that would be a dream for all of us I think."

Bowie carded a solid final 18 with a one-under-par 71, but was unable to capitalize on the birdie chances as she had the first three rounds. Bowie's tie for third marks the best finish for the 29-year-old Texan in a major championship; her previous best was a tie for sixth at the 2000 McDonald's LPGA Championship.

Lorena Ochoa finished fourth at 12-under-par 276, and the trio of Michele Redman, Giulia Sergas and LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame member Beth Daniel posted 11-under-par 277 to tie for fifth in the final major of the LPGA season.

4. This Week: Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger, Highland Meadows Golf Club, Sylvania, Ohio, $1,100,000, August 5-8, 2004

Par: 34-37, 71
Yardage: 6,408
Purse: $1,100,000
Winner: $165,000
Runner-up: $100,458
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Defending champion: Se Ri Pak, 271 (-13)
Victory margin: Defeated Marisa Baena and Hee-Won Han by two strokes
Media center: 419-531-3277
LPGA media contact: Paul Rovnak

TV times
ESPN2 Aug. 6 1-3 p.m.
ESPN2 Aug. 7 2-4 p.m.
ESPN2 Aug. 8 4-6 p.m.
All times listed are Eastern.

5. Next Week: Wendy's Championship For Children, Tartan Fields Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio, $1,100,000, August 19-22, 2004

Par: 36-36, 72
Yardage: 6,517
Purse: $1,100,000
Winner: $165,000
Runner-up: $100,458
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Defending champion: Hee-Won Han, 199 (-17)
Victory margin: Defeated Wendy Ward on third sudden-death hole
Tournament information: 614-764-4710

TV times
ESPN2 Aug. 20 12-2 p.m.
ESPN2 Aug. 21 2-4 p.m.
ESPN2 Aug. 22 5-7 p.m.
All times listed are Eastern.

6. LPGA News and Notes

Pepper to throw out first pitch. Dottie Pepper, who recently announced that 2004 will be her final season on Tour, will be throwing out the first pitch at the Toledo Mud Hens baseball game on Friday, Aug 6. The event is in association with the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger, which is being held at the Highland Meadows Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio, Aug. 5-8.

After 17 years on Tour and 17 victories, Pepper announced her retirement from the LPGA earlier this year.

Stupples posts double-eagle, second by a player in an LPGA major. Karen Stupples kicked off the final round of the Weetabix Women's British Open with an eagle-albatross start on the 485-yard, par-5 first hole and the 475-yard, par-5 second hole. Stupples posted the double-eagle with a 5-iron from 205 yards. Stupples' double-eagle is the 25th in LPGA history. She joins Asa Gottmo (2002 Weetabix Women's British Open) as the only players to record a double-eagle in a major championship.

Matthew, Fink record aces. Catriona Matthew, a nine-year LPGA Tour veteran, recorded her second career hole-in-one during the third round of last week's Weetabix Women's British Open. Matthew aced the eighth hole with a 6-iron from 164 yards. Matthew made the first hole-in-one of her career at the 2001 Weetabix Women's British Open, which was also played at Sunningdale Golf Club. That ace occurred on the 15th hole. Robe di Kappa Ladies European Tour (LET) member Natascha Fink aced the 168-yard eighth hole with a 5-iron during the final round.

Stupples ties 36-hole tournament record. Britain's Karen Stupples tied the Weetabix Women's British Open 36-hole record (par-72 course) with a 65-70=135 (-9). Stupples tied Karrie Webb's record of nine-under-par, which was set during the 1997 Weetabix Women's British Open, also held at Sunningdale Golf Club.

Blomqvist sets new record for lowest round in a major championship. Minea Blomqvist, a 19-year-old Robe di Kappa Ladies European Tour (LET) rookie from Finland, recorded the lowest round in LPGA major championship history with a third-round 10-under-par 62. Blomqvist made the cut right on the number after opening rounds of 68-78, but then moved into contention at 8-under-par heading into the final round. The previous low round in a major championship was a 63, a record held by four players. Blomqvist finished tied for eighth in the event.

Nicholas retiring from professional golf. After a successful 20-year professional golf career, Alison Nicholas has announced her retirement from professional golf at the end of the 2004 season. Nicholas, who joined the LPGA Tour in 1990 and won numerous titles worldwide, including the 1997 U.S. Women's Open conducted by the USGA, posted her last LPGA victory at the 1999 Sunrise Hawaiian Ladies Open.

LPGA T&CP Midwest Section Championship set. The 2004 LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) Midwest Section Championship presented by MasterCard will be played at Little Turtle Country Club in Westerville, Ohio, Aug. 3-4. A pro-am preceding the 36-hole event is scheduled for Aug. 2.

The winner of the Championship Division will earn an exemption into the 2005 McDonald's LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola, one of the LPGA's four majors. The winners in both the Championship and Senior Divisions earn an exemption into the 2005 Golf for Women Magazine LPGA T&CP Championship.

Players vie for more State Farm LPGA Series points. With wins in two of the eight State Farm LPGA Series events contested so far this season, Annika Sorenstam has earned 327 points and leads Lorena Ochoa by 29 points in the 2004 State Farm LPGA Series bonus pool. This week at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger, Ochoa will have ample opportunity to cut into Sorenstam's lead, as the Swede is not competing in the tournament. The winner of the bonus pool will receive $100,000 at the conclusion of the State Farm Classic, Sept. 2-5. Following the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger, the next event in the State Farm LPGA Series, which is an 11-event series consisting of LPGA events televised on ESPN and ESPN2, is the Wendy's Championship for Children, Aug. 19-22.

Ties to State. The following LPGA players competing in this week's Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger were born in Ohio.

Ohio
Tammie Green Somerset*
Kristal Parker-Manzo Columbus
Cable
Michele Redman Zanesville

Birthplace in plain text.
Current residence in italics.
*Denotes both birthplace and current residence.

LPGA birthdays. The following LPGA Tour players are celebrating birthdays this week.

Aug. 2
Michele Vinieratos (36)
Aug. 3
Moira Dunn (33)
Aug. 4
Jen Hanna (28)
Aug. 8
Candie Kung (23)