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Untitled Document
Talented field of 144 players set for 33rd staging of Wegmans LPGA
 PITTSFORD, N.Y. - The LPGA Tour is ready to hit the course this week for the 2009 Wegmans LPGA. The event will be celebrating its 33rd year at the Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, N.Y., as 144 of the world's best female golfers contend for a share of the $2 million purse.
Defending her title this week is South Korean player Eun-Hee Ji, who collected her first career LPGA win a year ago by holding off five-time Tour winner Suzann Pettersen by two strokes. Entering the third round in 2008, Ji was seven strokes back from the leader, Morgan Pressel, in a five-way tie for 12th. At the end of the day, Ji was just three strokes back after firing an 8-under-par 64, catapulting her into a three-way tie for second. As her momentum continued, a 5-under-par 67 final round allowed Ji to bring home the $300,000 winner's check, and become the season's fifth Rolex First-Time Winner.
So far this year, the 23-year-old has played in 11 tournaments, and has four top-10 finishes: the SBS Open at Turtle Bay (T10), MasterCard Classic Honoring Alejo Peralta Presented by Nextel (T6), J Golf Phoenix LPGA International Presented by Mirassou Winery (T7), and the LPGA State Farm Classic (T6).
 The strong cast of players who will be in Pittsford, N.Y., this week will represent 17 of the top-20 spots from the LPGA Official Money List, and 15 of the top-20 in the current Rolex Rankings. World number two Yani Tseng, third-ranked Paula Creamer, number four Jiyai Shin, fifth-ranked Cristie Kerr, eighth-ranked In-Kyung Kim, number nine Helen Alfredsson and 10th-ranked Karrie Webb are those players representing the top-10 positions in this week's Rolex Rankings. Of those, most have already notched a win this season: Shin (HSBC Women's Champions); Webb (J Golf Phoenix LPGA International Presented by Mirassou Winery); Kerr (Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill); Tseng (LPGA Corning Classic); and Kim (LPGA State Farm Classic).
Additionally, the two major championship winners of this year, Brittany Lincicome (Kraft Nabisco Championship) and rookie Anna Nordqvist (McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola) will be teeing it up; this week's marks Nordqvist's return to competition since becoming the season's second Rolex First-Time Winner just eight days ago. Other rookies in the field include: Chella Choi, M.J. Hur, Vicky Hurst, Haeji Kang, Mindy Kim, Jeehae Lee, Stacy Lewis, Mika Miyazato, Shiho Oyama, Shin and Michelle Wie.
In addition to defending champion Ji, four other past champions of the Wegmans LPGA are competing this week: Jeong Jang (2006), Rachel Hetherington (2003), Webb (1999, 2002) and Meg Mallon (2000). Webb and Se Ri Pak, of South Korea, will be the two representatives from the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame, combining for 26 years of LPGA Tour experience and 60 victories.
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