Inside the Ropes

With 16 countries being represented by 72 players in the finals rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open this year, South Korean Eun Hee Ji wins at the Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, PA, by landing her final shot of the day at the 18th hole. With Candie Kung waiting on the putting green hoping for the chance at a playoff, Ji sunk a 12 foot putt eliminating Kung’s chance and winning the 64th U.S. Women’s Open with an even par 284 (71-72-70-71). This is Ji’s second LPGA Tour victory and her first major championship. And what a championship to win. Ji walks away with $585,000, a 10-year exemption to the U.S. Women’s Open and guaranteed entry into the Samsung World Championship later this year.

Ji was always in contention to win. She started the tournament tied for 6th place in rounds one and two, slowly making her way up to second place in round three and capping off her weekend by fighting off a four-way tie between herself, Cristie Kerr, Candie Kung and In-Kyung Kim to win at even par. She also sank the most birdies during the entire event with 14.

Eun Hee Ji is the sixth South Korean to win an LPGA major championship.

Team VTech’s Karen Stupples finished tied for 52nd at 14-over-par 298 (73, 75, 78, 72). Becky Morgan finished tied for 61st at 16-over-par 300 (75-76-73-76).

*Congratulations to Juli Inkster for competing in her 28th U.S. Women’s Open this year. She finished tied for 26th with last year’s winner Inbee Park, Rolex Ranked number 1: Lorena Ochoa and more,  at 9-over-par 293.

Some pics of Sweet D and Shorty at the U.S. Open( Courtesy of Super Fan Stacey Cruse! ):

After the end of the third round of the U.S. Women’s Open, Cristie Kerr is the only player under par (69-70-72). Though she ended the day 1-over-par 72, she still remained on top of the leader board with a two stroke lead at 2-under-par 211. Right behind her is South Korean Eun Hee Ji who is in second place at even-par-213. Paula Creamer who was occupying second place at the start of the day finished at 6-over-par 219, and tied for 17th.

The range in scoring in today’s field was mixed and affected by the winds and dry green. Candie Kung’s 3-under-par to and Lisa Ferrero’s 13-under-par represent today’s high and lows in the field.

Jean Reynolds, the top-ranked Duramed FUTURES Tour member from Georgia, and Taiwan’s Teresa Lu are tied for third at 2-over-par 215, just four strokes behind Kerr for the lead.

Team VTech’s Karen Stupples and Becky Morgan are currently tied for 49th and 56th. Becky at 49th with 11-over-par 224, and Karen at 56th with 12-over-par 226.

Alexis Thompson drops from the top ten to finish tied for 36th at 9-over-par 222 with Jennifer Song, to take over the top amateur spot in the U.S. Women’s Open. Song is currently tied for 17th at 6-over-par 219.

Keep watch for Sunday’s final round pairing as 14-year old Alexis Thompson is paired  with veteran and two-time U.S. Women’s Open champion, Juli Inkster.

12-time LPGA Tour winner and 2007 U.S. Women’s Open champion, Cristie Kerr moves to the top spot of the leader board at the end of the second day of the U.S. Women’s Open at the Saucon Valley Country Club, with 1-under-par 70, for a total of 3-under-par 139. Paula Creamer is in second and Jean Reynolds in third, all one stroke away from each other.

Giulia Sergas carded a low round which moved her from her first day position, tied for 50th to tied for 4th with opening day leader Na Yeon Choi, with 4-under-par 67, finishing even.

14-year-old amateur Alexis Thompson is still in the top ten, tied at 8th with 2-over-par 144, while Rolex Ranked number one, Lorena Ochoa is now tied in 37th place after finishing at 8-over-par on the second day.

Last year’s champion Inbee Park is tied for 19th at 4-over-par.

Of the seventy-two players at 9-over-par advancing to the weekend, two of Team VTech’s members have made the cut. Karen Stupples and Becky Morgan are competing this weekend. Karen Stupples is tied for 37th at 6-over-par 148 and  Becky Morgan is tied for 60th at 9-over-par 151.

With players jumping up and down the scoreboard we’ll see what happens after the third round of play. Surprises await at with every swing and every putt.

South Korean Na Yeon Choi  has a three-stroke lead and will start Friday on top of the leaderboard. With 3-under-par 68, she holds a one-stroke lead over Cristie Kerr, Rolex Ranked number 1 Lorena Ochoa, and Jean Reynolds who are tied for second at 2-under-par 69.

Out of the top ten spots in the opening round, only one amateur made the ranks. Alexis Thompson is tied for 6th at even, 71. Fourteen-year-old Thompson is making her third U.S. Women’s Open appearance!! At 12, she became the youngest player to ever quality in 2007. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on her as we move into the weekend.

Our Team VTech members are in the thick of it with Karen Stupples tied for 26th at 2-over-par 73, Alena Sharp tied for 37th at 3-over-par 74, Becky Morgan tied at 50 with last year’s champion Inbee Park at 4-over-par 75, and Diana D’Alessio tied at 69 with 5-over-par 76.

By the end of this weekend, someone will be named winner of this major championship and win a chunk of the $3.25 million dollar purse, $585,000 going to the winner. They will also win an exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Women’s Open championships, and a whole lot more.

Stay with lpga.vtechphones.com for more tournament updates…

This morning on ABC’s Good Morning, Robin Roberts debuted a segment entitled “Meet the Supermoms of the LPGA” which focused on women who juggle playing professional golf while being mothers. Of the 37 women who are currently mothers on the tour, three were interviewed. Team VTech’s own Karen Stupples was one of three. Karen expressed her joy and fulfillment of being a mother and being able to spend time with her son on the tour. Leta Lindley and Juli Inkster also spoke about the the importance of being able to be with their children. When it comes to juggling a career and family  Leta’s puts it best.  “Golf is fleeting, and at the end of the day its my precious children that matter the most.”

To all the women, the mothers, and our Team VTech members (Sweet Dee, Becky, Sharpy, Amy and Stups) who are competing at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, we wish you luck.

The LPGA descends upon Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, PA for the 64th U.S. Women’s Open this week, with Inbee Park set out to defend her first LPGA victory and major championship title. Last year Park held of veteran player Helen Alfredsson with a four-stroke lead to win, we’ll see if she has what it takes for a repeat.

From Pros to Amateurs, don’t count anyone out. Last year, the youngsters proved they were real contenders against seasoned professionals and World Golf Halls of Famers such as Se Ri Pak, Juli Inkster and more.

We’ll see this year’s tournament winners like Jiyai Shin, Eunjung Yi, Anna Norqvist and more go head to head for the title and a monster purse prize.

Check back with Inside the Ropes for tournament updates and info on your favorite Team VTech players as they get ready to compete in the U.S. Women’s Open. We wish Sharpy, Dee, Becky, and Stups all the best! Good luck girls!

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.

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