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Untitled Document
World's best gather for inaugural LPGA Tour Championship Presented by Rolex
HOUSTON, Texas - The final week of the 2009 LPGA Tour season is here and 120 of the world's best players are set for the inaugural LPGA Tour Championship Presented by Rolex. This week's season-ending event will take place at The Houstonian Golf and Country Club in Houston, Texas.
The world's top-ranked player, Lorena Ochoa, and 2009 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Jiyai Shin lead all others with three victories each this season, as the field plays for a share of the $1.5 million purse. Ochoa won the Honda LPGA Thailand, Corona Championship and Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco R.V, while Shin was victorious at the HSBC Women's Champions, Wegmans LPGA and P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons.
In addition to looking for the fourth victory of 2009, Ochoa and Shin are also playing for the prestigious Rolex Player of the Year honor. Should Ochoa surpass Shin in the year-end award standings, she would be named Rolex Player of the Year for the fourth-consecutive year. If Shin can clinch the award, she would become the first player to win both the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year and Rolex Player of the Year in the same season since LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Famer Nancy Lopez in 1978.
Joining the top-2 players in the current Rolex Rankings, Ochoa and Shin, are 25 of the 26 official tournament winners of 2009. Second-year player out of South Korea, Na Yeon Choi, became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the Samsung World Championship, and picked up her second title at the Hana Bank • KOLON Championship in her homeland. Choi, Ochoa and Shin are the only players to have multiple victories this year.
The four major champions of 2009 will also travel to The Houstonian Golf and Country Club to close out the 2009 LPGA Tour season. Florida's Brittany Lincicome (Kraft Nabisco Championship), Anna Nordqvist of Sweden (McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola), Scotland's Catriona Matthew (RICOH Women's British Open) and Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea (U.S. Women's Open) each earned their first major championship of their respective careers.
Juli Inkster, Se Ri Pak and Karrie Webb represent the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame members in the field, and bring a combined 91 wins (Inkster, 31; Pak, 24; Webb, 36) among them. Ten talented rookies will play for their share of the $1.5 million purse, with six of them looking to become Rolex First-Time Winners. M.J. Hur, Nordqvist, Shin and Michelle Wie have already registered wins in their young professional careers.
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