Inside the Ropes

Lorena Ochoa held onto her lead at the Navistar LPGA Classic after the third round and with an impressive three stroke lead between her and current second place Sandra Gal. Ochoa was 6-under-par 66 for a total 16-under-par . Sandra Gal is 13-under-par. She hit an eagle on her sixth hole. Janice Moodie and Brittany Lang is tied for 3rd with 12-under-par 204. 

Cristie Kerr clocked in 8-under-par today to move up from T68 to tie for 13th at 8-under-par 208. While amateur wunderkid Alexis Thompson carded a 2-over-par to drop from the top ten to tie for 13th alongside Kerr and Michelle Wie. 

Team VTech’s Alena Sharp finished 1-over-par to finish 5-under-par 211 while Diana D’Alessio and Becky Morgan tied for 60 with 2-under-par 214. 

On Sunday, the final round, with the threat of rain, defending champion Lorena Ochoa continued as she had all week/weekend and stayed in the lead and…. won!! She successfully repeated her win and cashed in on the $1.3 million purse by walking away with $195,000. She increased her lead today by 2 strokes and finished 18-under-par 270. Finishing four strokes behind Ochoa were Brittany Lang and Michelle Wie at 14-under-par 274. Wie hit an impressive 6-under-par to clench her second place finish. 

A big surprise in the top ten was our good friend Beth Bader, who finished tied for 6th at 12-under-par 276, and recording a second best.  Another surprise this tournament was junior Alexis Thompson finished T27 with 6-under-par 282. Team VTech’s Alena Sharp also finished T27. Diana D’Alessio finished T61 at even-par 288 and Becky Morgan had a little trouble and dropped to finish at 80 with 5-over-par 293. 

Team VTech continues to do a great job! Congratulations Girls.

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!

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.

Out on the Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Priddis, Alberta, Canada, Norway’s Suzann Pettersen has won the CN Canadian Women’s Open with a score of 15-under-par 269, winning a pretty purse prize worth $412,500. Holding on to the lead she gained in round 2 and extended in round 3, she was five full strokes ahead of her contenders and finally broke her winless streak. The closest group behind Pettersen at 10-under-par 274 consisted of Momoko Ueda, Morgan Pressel, Ai Miyazato, Angela Stanford, and Karrie Webb, all tied for 2nd. Anna Nordqvist finished T8 at 8-under-par 276. 

Team VTech’s one representative in the weekend portion of the CN Canadian Women’s Open was Karen Stupples. Stups finished T40th at 2-over-par 286. 

Check in next week when the girls are in Rogers, Arkansas for the P&G Tournament and some new excitement on the course.

I think Suzann Pettersen might still be upset about last weekend. Remember? She was up 15-under-par and sitting on top of the leaderboard only to bogey and double bogey two shots in a row. Then lost in a two shot sudden-death playoff to M.J. Hur. Being that close to victory and not winning can leave a bitter taste in your mouth. But she isn’t getting mad.. she’s getting even.

Pettersen has decided she’s going to win and she’s going to win big and though there’s still a final day of play, she took advantage of her playing and wind conditions and has extended her lead. She leads by five strokes a 14-under-par 199 with Angela Stanford at 9-under-par 204. Karrie Webb is in 3rd with 8-under-par 205.

Team VTech’s Karen Stupples is tied for 46th at 2-over-par. We’ll wish her well as we move into weekend play.

Today is cut day at the CN Canadian Women’s Open and 74 players of 156 carded 1-over-par or better to advance to weekend play. Among those 74 players are Lorena Ochoa, Yani Tseng, VTech’s Karen Stupples and Ai Miyazato.

On top of the leaderboard currently tied for 1st is Safeway runner up Norway’s Suzann Pettersen and South Korean Song-Hee Kim at 9-under-par 133. And right behind are recent British Open winner Catriona Matthew and Rolex Number One Lorena Ochoa at 8-under-par 134. Kim set a tournament  record with shooting a 9-under-par in her second round. 

Last year’s defending champion Katherine Hull failed to qualify for weekend play. 

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.