Inside the Ropes

This past weekend, the LPGA and Team VTech returned to the Blackhawk Country Club for the  CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge. In-Kyung Kim was there to defend her championship title, which she earned by holding off Angela Stanford by three strokes in 2008. If she won a back-to-back, she would have joined Juli Inkster as the only player to do so. Unfortunately, other players had winning in mind as well. 

The opening round saw 132 of the world’s best playing for a purse prize of $1.1 million.  Tour veteran Sophie Gustafson took the lead in the first round shooting a 7-under-par 65. Finishing the 1st day two strokes ahead of Na Ri Kim, Angela Stanford, and Sophia Sheridan. Lorena Ochoa came back from a few disappointing starts in the past tournaments to fire off a 68 to finish 4-under-par to put her in a five-person tie for fifth. Defending champion In-Kyung Kim finished 1-over-par 73, 8 strokes back from the lead. Team VTech had some strong plays today as well. Both Alena Sharp and Diana D’Alessio finished tied for 20th at 2-under-par 70, Karen Stupples T64 at 1-over-par 73, and Becky Morgan and Amy Hung were T80 at 2-over-par 74.

On day two,  Gustafson maintained control of the leaderboard with 10-under-par 134 with a one stroke lead heading into round three. Close behind are Maria Hjorth, Lorena Ochoa and Shanshan Feng (the only tour players from China), each with 9-under-par 135. 

Sharpy was even today, remaining at 2-under-par 142, but moving down to T32. Stups shot 2-under-par moving up to 1-under-par, 143 and T39, along side Team VTech teammate, Dee, who shot 1-over-par but remains 1-under-par. Becky Boots stayed even to remain at 2-over-par 146 and T67. 

All four girls made the cut and moved into the final round during the weekend. They competed against 79 players this weekend for $1.1 million in prize money. 

At the end of day two saw the withdrawals of Johanna Mundy, Jane Park and Jiyai Shin. Shin, who is currently holding the top spots in three categories: money, Rookie of the Year and Rolex Player of Year may have hurt her chances of winning all three. To win Rookie of the Year and Rolex Player of the Year is something that hasn’t been achieved since Nancy Lopez in 1978 and would surely make her a household name. But we’ll wait and see.

On day three we saw number one ranked Lorena Ochoa go neck and neck with Gustafson as they finished tied for 1st with 16-under-par 200. Angela Stanford and Sun Young Yoo are 6 strokes behind in second with 10-under-par 206. Morgan Pressel, Leta Lindley, Amanda Blumenherst, and Christina Kim have moved up into the top ten. 

Team VTech’s Alena Sharp keeps consistent and is the sole person holding the 24th spot on the leaderboard with 5-under-par 211. Great job Alena!! Dee is T49 at even-par 216. Stups is T59 at 1-over-par 217, and Becky is T65 at 2-over-par 218.

And after four days of great golf, Sweden’s Sophie Gustafson comes out on top as the winner of this year’s CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge. She holds of Lorena Ochoa by 4 strokes to win at 20-under-par 268. Rounding out the top ten were Amy Yang, Sun Young Yoo who took part in the P&G sudden death shoot out with Angela Stanford and Jiyai Shin, Amanda Blumenherst, Maria Hjorth, Angela Stanford, Katherine Hull, Reilley Rankin and this year’s British Open winner Catriona Matthew. 

Team VTech’s Sharpy finished strong tied for 24th at 5-under-par 283. Dee finished T53 at 1-over-par 289, Becky Boots  at T64 at 3-over-par 291, and Stups rounding it out T67 ay 4-over-par 292. 

A great tournament, a great weekend and a great outing for our girls! This week they head to Alabama for the Navistar LPGA Classic. Check back to see how the girls do this weekend. 

Hi-ya! The chop has come down and the field has been cut from 145 to 75 for tomorrow’s final round.

Today we were promised thundershowers, and those with an afternoon tee time dreaded the idea of playing in mucky conditions. But thank goodness their prayers were answered and not a drop was seen. Though the winds grew stronger as the day progressed.

It was another great day out on the course, especially for the South Koreans. At one point, they were in a five way tie for the lead! But one broke away from the pack to claim the title of #1 after round two, three year LPGA tour member, Song-Hee Kim. She shot a 9-under-par 133 and is holding Angela Stanford at bay by two strokes. Stanford is at 7-under-par 135. Out of the top ten positions, 7 out of 1o are currently being held by South Koreans. Out of those 7 is recent Safeway Champion M.J. Hur who had a solid round of golf and maybe hungry for another title. 

Team VTech also had a great day with four of our players moving into the final round.  Karen Stupples was 1-over-par today to fall back just one stroke, but good enough to remain tied for 15th at 3-under-par 139. Amy Hung shot 3-under-par to move her into a tie for 24th, Becky Morgan shot 2-under-par today for a total of 1-under-par 141, and Alena Sharp shot 2-over-par to finish 1-over-par 143, beating the cut score of 2-over-par. Yesterday’s leader, Sandra Gal was 5-over-par and fell to 2-under-par 140. Maybe it was all the media attention and the sizable crowd that distracted her?

We’ll see what happens tomorrow at the Pinnacle Country Club Golf Course for the final round of the P&G NW Arkansas Championship as the weather channel still insists that rain is in our forecast. Let’s hope they’re wrong again the the storm stays south and the golf stays hot!

Today was a good day for golf. With the flag pins replaced with mini American flags to remember those we lost eight years ago, the mood was quiet yet upbeat amongst the golfers and the crowd. The weather was good, the wind minimal, and the course in excellent form. And though it was a Friday and technically still a work day, heaps of onlookers and fans showed up to cheer on their favorite players.

We had the usual herd of eager Michelle Wie fans cheering her on as she was paired with Natalie Gulbis and Brittany Lincicome. (Michelle finished tied for 21st at 2-under-par 69.) While others had local fans from long before they ever decided to turn pro. Though Team VTech’s Karen Stupples graduated from Florida State University, before she transfered she spent a year in Arkansas. During that year, Karen made an indelible impression on the people she met and they came out to support her today. One of them just happened to be her old coach, Coach Abel. (Karen finished in a five way tie for 4th at 4-under-par 67.)

As the day continued, it definitely felt like summer with the humidity and temperatures in the low 80’s, but as the cooling winds blew through the trees on the Pinnacle Golf Course, you could feel a change coming. Though the course was a vibrant shade of green, you couldn’t ignore the yellowing leaves scattered upon the ground. Two more months and the season will be over. But let’s not think about that, let’s focus on the golf.

At the end of the day, we find Germany’s Sandra Gal #1!, for now anyway. With a score of 7-under-par 64, she takes the lead with Song-Hee Kim a stroke behind. It was a day for ups and downs in scoring. A very frustrated Brittany Lincicome finished 6-over-par, while many top players are 1-over-par or higher. Tomorrow, 145 of the world’s best players will try again, hoping to make it to Sunday’s final round and a chance to win the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship and that $1.8 million purse. Last year’s defending champion Seon Hwa Lee faced a little difficulty and showed some frustration as she finished her day tied for 105th at 3-over-par 74. Team VTech’s Alena Sharp is T37 at 1-under-par, Amy Hung and Becky Morgan are 1-over-par and Diana D’Alessio is T138 at 6-over-par 77.

So let’s make a prayer to the putting gods to help our girls do their best and hopefully, those thundershowers that are suppose to show up around noon will decide to take the weekend off and give our girls some good golf weather.

Here’s to hoping for a dry tomorrow.

Tomorrow, in Rogers, Arkansas at the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons, South Korean and 2006 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Seon Hwa Lee and some of the world’s best players will play for $1.8 million purse. We’ll see if Lee has what it takes to defend her title for another year. 

The three day event will he held at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas on their lush, green course. And though the tournament has been held here before, we’ll see if any of the players notice the $6.2 million renovation that the course went through from August 2008 to June 2009 that changed playing surfaces and modified intricate parts of each hole. 

We’ve got an early tee in the morning, so let’s hope the weather stays clear and the golf is good tomorrow as the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship gets underway.

With a $2.75 million purse, players will be giving it their all this week (especially when facing wind gusts passing 30 mph!!) at the CN Canadian Women’s Open this week at Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Alberta, Canada. After the first round, we find second-year Tour member, Australian Anna Rawson at 7-under-par 64, giving her a course record. But right behind her is Norway’s Suzann Pettersen at 6-under-par 65, went bogey free this round, and is hungry for a victory since her sudden-death playoff defeat last weekend at the Safeway Classic in Oregon.

Karen Stupples

After a disappointing time at Safeway, Lorena Ochoa is back in action! She’s currently tied for third, with Amanda Blumenherst, after a strong finish at 5 -under-par 66. Paige Mackenzie, Anna Nordqvist, Team VTech’s Karen Stupples, last week’s Safeway Classic winner M.J. Hur, and several others are tied for 9th at 3-under-par 68. Team VTech’s Alena Sharp and Amy Hung are tied for 67th at 1-over-par 72, Becky Morgan is tied for 83rd at 2-over-par 73, and Diana D’Alessio is tied for 112 at 4-over-par 75.

Defending champion, fellow Australian Katherine Hull, is currently 2-over-par 73 and tied for 83rd.

Australia’s Katherine Hull returns to Canada to defend her 2008 title. But like Cristie Kerr last week at the Safeway, with a new course, will she be able to pull off a repeat? Kerr was unable to mustered a second victory and the Safeway went to rookie M.J. Hur, but we’ll see how the action plays out this week.

Team VTech: Karen Stupples, Diana D’Alessio, Becky Morgan, Alena Sharp and Amy Hung are up in Alberta already swinging away. We’ll be cheering on our girls and our friends this week during the Open. Check back to see what happens.

The sun was slow to show this morning on Ghost Creek at Pumpkin Ridge Golf course for the Finals of the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca Cola as our girls swept the dew. But when it did, another layer of sunscreen had to be applied and fast!

It was a hot day for some hot golf. The race was close and the play intense as Michelle Wie, Anna Nordqvist, Ai Miyazato, Suzann Pettersen and more were vying for the title of champion and the prize money that comes with it. There were some good pairings out on the field today. Last year’s champion and number one on the money list Cristie Kerr was paired with rookie and crowd favorite, Michelle Wie. (Wie has yet to win a major tournament). Sweden’s Sophie Gustafson, Christina Kim and South Korean’s M.J. Hur were lumped up together. Suzann Pettersen, Michele Reman and Natalie Gulbis had the herds following from one hole to another all day. And second day leader Anna Nordqvist was with Japan’s pride and joy, Ai Miyazato and South Korean Seon Hwa Lee.

The leader board showed no outright winner as lunch began this afternoon, but after a strong putt by Suzann Pettersen on the 12th hole, it seemed to many that she was on a roll and would be crowned winner. But, as it turned out, they assumed too quickly as Pettersen dropped from 15-under-par to 12-under-par when she bogeyed the 14th hole and then quickly double bogeyed the 15th, leaving her to birdie the 17th and finish at 13-under-par for the tournament. 18 year veteran Michele Redman, who was grouped with Pettersen, remained consistent throughout as she birdied 5 holes and failed to bogey once, tying her for 13th place. Rounding out the battle for the top of the leaderboard was South Korean M.J. Hur who had 7 birdies today, one of them being an eagle on the 10th hole, hitting a low 65. Hur, a first year rookie, had only a 13T as her career best finish before recording her first major victory today. She walks away with $255,000 in prize money today. 

Hur defeated Redman and Pettersen in a two-hole sudden death playoff. 1st round leader Beth Bader finished tied at 20th at 2-over-par, finishing at 5-under-par 211 with the likes of Sandra Gal, last year’s champion Cristie Kerr, Team VTech’s Amy Hung and more. Not a bad way to spend your birthday, right Betty? (Happy Birthday). Team VTech’s Becky Morgan finished tied for 65th, Karen Stupples tied for 49th (with Lorena Ochoa), and Alena Sharp tied for 45th. Anna Nordqvist finished at 7th with 10-under par. Michelle Wie, Ai Miyazato, and Seon Hwa Lee finished tied for 4th at 11 under par and Christina Kim, Angela Stanford and Paige MacKenzie finished tied for 8th at 9 under par. 

Next week our girls are off to Canada for the CN Canadian Women’s Open where Canadian favorite and Team VTech member Alena Sharp will go up against Katherine Hull and the rest of the field for a chance at the $2.75 million purse.

Though the weather said “sunny”, the skies opened up once more today on Ghost Creek to give attendees and players a little added bonus and rain play made things more interesting today for some.

After the end of the second round, the field has been cut today for the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola at the Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course in North Plains, Oregon. 70 of the world’s best players will advance to tomorrow’s final round of play and compete for $1.7 million purse.

The leader board finds fresh blood as Anna Nordqvist takes over the lead from yesterday’s leader, Beth Bader by 3 strokes. Anna currently leads with a score of 10-under-par 134. Right behind her is recent British Open Ai Miyazato at 9-under-par 135. The Japanese were out in full force cheering on there country’s top female golfer. It’s true what they say, “Wherever Ai goes, businesses benefit from the media frenzy who follow her every move.” South Korean Seon Hwa Lee is tied with Ai for 2nd. And never too far behind from the lead is Suzann Pettersen at 8-under-par 136. 18 year veteran Michelle Redman is tied with Pettersen. Both are just two strokes from striking distance. 

Yesterday’s leader Beth Bader is still in the running at 7-under-par, picking up a bogey today. 

Cristie Kerr is five strokes back from the top of the leaderboard. After hitting a few trees on hole 15 and then overshooting past the on-looking crowd on 16, it didn’t look like the defending champion would be making much progress up in the ranks. 

Team VTech has four players in the finals tomorrow. Karen Stupples, Becky Morgan, Amy Hung and Alena Sharp. They ended on a positive note, all carding under par to perform tomorrow.

*World Golf Halls of Famer Se Ri Pak withdrew prior to the start of the second round today. (Maybe she knew about the rain..?)

In Lancashire, England, the ladies of the LPGA just finished a rough day on the green (winds topping off at 30mph, 200+ bunkers, and dry greens) with the top spot being held by Germany’s Sandra Gal with five birdies and 2 bogies in the final major championship of the 2009 season, the RICOH Women’s British Open at the Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club. Gal was the only player to break 70 today, finishing at 3-under-par 69. Closely following behind are Texan Angela Stanford and South Korean Song-Hee Kim both at 2-under-par 70. Michelle Wie finds herself rounding out the top ten after the first round at 1-over-par 73, tied for 7th with three others. Sixty-seven players shot 80 or higher today

Recent Evian Masters winner Ai Miyazato is tied for 24th at 3-over-par 75 while last year’s championJiyai Shin is tied for 52nd at 5-over-par 77. Team VTech’s Becky Morgan is tied for 88th at 8-over-par 80, Karen Stupples is tied for 117th at 10-over-par 82, Amy Hung is tied for 123rd at 11-over-par 83, and Alena Sharp is tied for 139 at 14-over-par 86.

Soo-Yun Kang has been disqualified.

We’ll see if conditions continue to cause more difficulty on the fairway or if it’ll be smooth sailing from now on. Check back with VTech for more news on the RICOH.

This week, the ladies of the LPGA have moved on from France to the UK, Lancashire, England, for the RICOH Women’s British Open, the only Major played outside of the US and the final major of the 2009 season.

Defending champion Jiyai Shin returns to RICOH Women’s British Open to compete against a field of 144 women at the historic Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club. 23 nationalities will be presented in this event. Team VTech’s Alena Sharp, Amy Hung, Becky Morgan and Karen Stupples will be teeing off at the RICOH and we wish our ladies luck.

We’ll check back as play begins later this week.