Inside the Ropes

I had the pleasure of being invited out the to Jamie Farr Corning Classic for a quick trip this week.  The people of Toledo, like I have found at all stops on the Tour, love the Tour, the Players and were amazing. Well, everyone but the people at *&^%^$% airlines who lost my bags and made the trip a bit insane.

Tuesday night I met most of Team VTech and a number of the Players and Caddies and 21 West for a Pool tourney.  Brittany Lincicome was nice enough to Buy the bar for a few hours and the games began. Sharpy, Sweet D and Shorty where there, along with Audra Burks, Kristi McPherson, Katherine Hull, Meredith Duncan, Sarah “Kempy” Kemp, Paige MacKenzie, Brandi Jackson and many more.  Good times, many tiny beers and many laughs. Big thanks to the whole crew at 21 west and all the ladies for a fun filled eve.

See you next year Toledo!

South Korean and second-year LPGA player, Eunjung Yi wins the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic. Though Eunjung started the day with a 4-stroke lead, her inability to capitalize on gaining any additional birdies today prevented her from increasing her lead; she finished even. Fortunately for her, only one competitor was able to catch up to her score. Morgan Pressel shot 4-under-par to tie for 1st. The two finished tied which led Yi and Pressel to a playoff. Yi birdied the playoff hole at 18 to win the competition by one stroke and secure $210,000 in purse winnings. This win qualifies Yi for the US Open next week

Michelle Wie, Seon Hwa Lee, Song-Hee Kim, Suzann Pettersen, Yani Tseng, Lindsey Wright, Nicole Castrale and Lorena Ochoa rounded out the top ten finishers.

Se Ri Pak, though hoping to cement her place in tournament history as a six time event winner finished her run tied for 21st place at 11-under-par; 273.

Next week, the ladies of professional golf find themselves competing at the U.S. Women’s Open, the longest running event currently on the LPGA Tour. The 64th U. S. Women’s Open  Championship will be at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania this year. July6-12, 2009. Check back next week for your LPGA action here at Inside the Ropes and Team VTech.

Going into day two of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, three players held the top spot on the leaderboard. Laura Diaz, Morgan Pressel and Song-Hee Kim shot 7-uner-par for 64 in the opening round. While Morgan Pressel and Song-Hee Kim got their scores via birdies, Laura Diaz shot an eagle on the 17^th to get her 7-under-par.

Suzann Pettersen and Michelle Wie find themselves just one stroke off the lead. Both Pettersen and Wie are tied for fourth entering the second round at 6-under-par, 65. This is Suzann Pettersen’s return to the green after pulling out of the McDonald’s tournament; she missed Rochester last week.

Today, Laura Diaz remains atop of the leaderboard, but a new contender as emerged, Sarah Kemp. Kemp shot 8-under-par today for a two-day total of 11-under-par, shooting a career-low of 63.

After today’s round of play sixty-six players now have the chance to quality for the RICOH Women’s British Open. The top five players who have not already qualified will gain entry into the field. All sixty-six will be vying for five spots in the LPGA’s final major championship of the year.

*Paula Creamer pulled out due to injury.

As the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger celebrates 25 years on LPGA Tour and finishes up its first round of play today, last year’s champion Paula Creamer is unable to defend her title. Though Creamer prides herself on playing well even if she’s not, she was unable to overcome her injuries to compete and become the second back-to-back winner behind Se Ri Pak. Se Ri is the only back-to-back winner in the event’s 25-year history. If Se Ri wins, she’ll become the only player to win the same event six times.

After first round of play, Laura Diaz, Morgan Pressel and Song-Hee Kim currently reside on the top of the leaderboard. All three shot 7-under-par today for a total of 64. Just one stroke behind are Suzann Pettersen and Michelle Wie at 6-under-par. Five-time defending champion Se Ri Pak is currently tied for 66 at 1-under-par at 70 alongside Team VTech’s own Karen Stupples and Alena Sharp who’s also 1-under. Diana D’Alessio is tied at 87 at even total 71 while Becky Morgan is tied at 48 at 2-under-par at 69.

This week we find the lovely ladies of Team VTech out in Sylvania, Ohio on the Highland Meadows Golf Club for the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.

They’ll go head to head again five-time-champion Se Ri Pak, defending champion Paula Creamer, who is currently fighting off an injury, and number one Rolex ranked Lorena Ochoa. With a top-notch field of competitors and a million-plus dollar purse, we know where the action will be this weekend.

First round of competition starts tomorrow. Check back with Inside the Ropes at lpga.vtechphones.com for all your LPGA updates.