Inside the Ropes

Monday has arrived and Team VTech players are returning home from points around the globe.  Alena Sharpy and Amy Hung both made the cut at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, a nice way to start the LPGA season - nice work!  Karen Stupples and Becky Morgan did not travel to Hawaii for this event and will make their season debuts later at the HSBC Women’s Open in Singapore 3.5-8.09.  Diana D’Alessio aka Sweet D played the 2009 Australian Women’s Open and tied for 13th!  Great start to the season Sweet D, keep it up.  We hope they all travel safely, get some rest and gear up for their next events.  LPGA.com ran a nice promo last week after we announced this year’s line-up, looking forward to working with them more closely this year. FYI I will be referring some members of  Team VTech by their nicknames: Sharpy, Stups, Sweet D and Bec as we into the season. If you see them at an event, feel free to use the same nicknames and watch for the smirks you get back!

This week we announced the Team VTech line-up for the ‘09 season and for those of you have made it here; welcome to the new home for all things related to Team VTech.  We’re pleased to welcome Diana D’Alessio and Karen Stupples to the team, joining returning players Amy Hung, Becky Morgan and Alena Sharp.  We will be making another announcement about a new partnership with the LPGA in the coming weeks, say tuned.

As this is the first entry into our new blog, I thought it would be good to give you an idea of what you will find here throughout the season.  We will be providing you with a behind the scenes look at life on the LPGA Tour with our players; pics, videos, Q&A and much more. We will be promoting 2 sweepstakes throughout the season, giving you the opportunity to win trips to the US Women’s Open in July and the Kapalua LPGA Classic in October. We will also have tickets to giveaway to each tournament along the way, signed merchandise and the opportunity for meet-and-greets along the way.

Our involvement with sponsoring LPGA players goes back to 2005 and started with Kim Saiki-Maloney as our first player. Since then we have increased our sponsorships and involvement each year as we continue to be amazed at the support of our customers, fans and players.

This weekend we have 2 of our players, Alena Sharp and Amy Hung kicking off their seasons at the SBS  Open at Turtle Bay. Diana D’Alessio is starting her 3rd round of the Aussie Masters in Melbourne as well.  We wish them all a great tournament and off we go into the ‘09 season. We hope that you join us along the way and if you see one of our players at an event please show them your support, they love to hear it!

Sweet D smiles for the camera in her new VTech gear

Sharpy at Canadian Open last year....

on the course in Orlando with Logan - nice to have the course in your backyard!

Sharpy at US Women's Open '08 at Interlachen

more US Open '08

Amy was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Introduced to the sport by her father at the age of eight, Amy credits her family as the individuals most influencing her career. Some of Amy’s hobbies include wine tasting, art, good food, water sports, seeing shows in Las Vegas, movies and modeling. She is a spokesperson for the Marathon of Miracles (MOM) Foundation and the Survivor Celebration campaign.

Amy has won more than 50 amateur tournaments, including the junior world championship in San Diego. She won the R.O.C. Ladies Open (a professional event) as an amateur in 1997 and won the Queen Sirikit Cup in 2002. Also in 2002, she was a member of the fourth place team at the Asian Games. In Amy’s four years on the tour, she has a recorded five top ten finishes four of those recorded in the 2007 season.

Career

• In 2008 best finish was a tie for 23rd at the Longs Drugs Challenge.

• In 2008 carded a season-low 68 in the second round of the HSBC Women’s Champions. In 2007, recorded a career-best tie for fifth at the HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship; carded a career-low 63 in the final round of the Navistar LPGA Classic, where she finished sixth.

• In 2006, recorded a season-best tie for 13th at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

• In 2005, recorded a season-best tie for seventh at the Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi.

• In 2004, recorded a season-best tie for 11th at the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic; tied for 13th at the Sybase Classic Presented by Lincoln Mercury; returned to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, where she tied for 12th to earn exempt status for the 2005 LPGA season.

• In 2003, turned professional in October; tied for 42nd at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn non-exempt status for the 2004 LPGA season.

Becky was born in Abergavenny, Wales. Her grandfather introduced her to the game of golf when she was 12. In 1994, she enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and over the course of the next four years won 10 NCAA Division I titles. Becky was also named Big South All-American from 1995-1997 after winning three straight South Conference Championships. Becky finished 10th in the NCAA Championship in 1997. That same year she graduated with a B.S. in Geography.

Morgan returned to Wales and continued her amateur career, finishing runner-up at the Welsh Amateur Championship from 1998-1999 and second at the South Atlantic Amateur Championship in 2000. Becky turned professional in August of 2000. She qualified for the Ladies European Tour when she tied for sixth at the LET Qualifying School. She also earned nonexempt status on the LPGA Tour after finishing 14th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. In seven years on the tour, Becky has amassed 16 top ten finishes, 2 top three finishes and 2 top two finishes.

Career

• In 2007, best finish was a tie for seventh at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill.

• In 2006, best finish was a tie for fifth at the Corona Morelia Championship.

• In 2005, best finish was a tie for seventh at the Wegmans Rochester LPGA.

• In 2004, best finish was a tie for second at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez; finished third atthe Sybase Classic Presented by Lincoln Mercury; crossed the $1 million mark in career earnings at the Evian Masters.

• In 2003, finished second at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, the best finish of her career.

• In 2002, best finish was a tie for seventh at the ShopRite LPGA Classic; posted a career-low 63 during the first round ofthe State Farm Classic; also competed in four events on the Ladies European Tour (LET), where she posted two top-10 finishes.

• In 2001, posted a tie for seventh at the Longs Drugs Challenge, her LPGA professional debut; finished second to Hee-Won Han for Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors; competed in eight events on the LET and never finished lower than 17th.

• In 2000, turned professional in August and qualified for the Tour by tying for 14th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn non-exempt status for the 2001 LPGA season.

  Personal

Diana started playing golf at the age of 13. She credits Jennifer Shilington, David Glenz and her parents Anthony andBarbara D’Alessio as the individuals most influencing her career. Diana has five half-brothers: Joe, Pat, Bart, Tom and John…Majored in history at Furman University with a concentration in women’s studies…Enjoys movies, mountain biking and watching all sports. Qualified for the Tour on her second attempt. Amateur In 1994, D’Alessio was the New Jersey State Amateur champion and Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association (WMGA) Stroke Play champion, a title she captured again from 1995-96. She was named the WMGA Player of the Year from 1995-96. While at Furman University, D’Alessio was named the 1997 Most Valuable Player for the women’s golf team, earned 1997 Southern Conference champion honors and recorded seven top-10 finishes. Career

• Best finish was a tie for sixth at the LPGA Corning Classic, where she also recorded a career-low 65 in the final round.

• Recorded her first LPGA career hole-in-one in the second round of the Corona Championship and became the 14th player in LPGA history to card back-to-back eagles on the 12th (par 4) and 13th (par 3) holes.

• Also tied for 18th at the CN Canadian Women’s Open.• In 2006, recorded her career-best finish at the Honda LPGA Thailand 2006, where she finished second.

• In 2005, best finish was a tie for third at the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic, where she Monday qualified for the event; also Monday qualified for the State Farm Classic, where she tied for 15th.

• In 2003, best finish was a tie for 16th at the BMO Financial Group Canadian Women’s Open; returned to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, where she tied for fifth to earn exempt status for the 2004 LPGA season.

• In 2002, recorded her season-best finish at the Sybase Big Apple Classic Presented by GOLF MAGAZINE, where she tied for sixth.

• In 2001, best finish was a tie for seventh at the Michelob Light Classic.

• In 2000, placed fourth at the du Maurier Classic and tied for fourth at the Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open.

• In 1999, competed on the Futures Tour, where she accumulated three top-five finishes; tied for 46th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn non-exempt status for the 2000 LPGA season.

• In 1997, turned professional.

Personal
Karen started playing golf at the age of 11, she lists her parents as the individuals most influencing her career.
Gave birth to her son, Logan James, in 2007. Hobbies include cooking, watching movies and
football. Karen qualified for the Tour on her first attempt.

Amateur
Stupples represented Great Britain in the 1996 and 1998 Curtis Cup competitions. She also represented
England Juniors from 1989-91 and England Seniors from 1995-98. She played collegiate golf at Florida State
University, winning two events and being named a Second-Team All-American in 1995.

Career

• Played in only eight events after giving birth to son Logan James in April.

• Recorded a season-low tie for 10th at The Mitchell Company LPGA Tournament of Champions, where she carded a season-low 67 in the second round.• In 2006, best finish was fourth place at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, where she crossed the $2 million mark in career earnings; tied for 10th at the Weetabix Women’s British Open.

• In 2005, recorded a season-best tie for 10th at the U.S. Women’s Open; tied for 11th at the Weetabix Women’s British Open; was a member of the European Solheim Cup Team.

• In 2004, became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the Welch’s/Fry’s Championship, where she recorded a career-low 63 during both the first and last rounds to set an LPGA record for lowest four-day raw score total at 258 (-22); won the Weetabix Women’s British Open, where she became only the second player in history to record a double-eagle at an LPGA major championship (began the final round with an eagle, doubleeagle on the first two holes); crossed the $1 million mark in career earnings at the U.S. Women’s Open.

• In 2003, best finish was fourth place at the State Farm Classic.

• In 2002, best finish was a tie for third at the Safeway Classic.

• In 2001, recorded a season-best tie for ninth at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

• In 2000, best finish was seventh place at the Kathy Ireland Greens.com LPGA Classic.

• In 1999, best finish was a tie for eighth at the State Farm Rail Classic; returned to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, where she tied for 17th to earn exempt status for the 2000 season.

• In 1998, turned professional following the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship; qualified for the Tour by tying for 52nd at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn non-exempt status for the 1999 season.