LPGA.com News & Entertainment

HSBC Brasil Cup Tournament Preview

The LPGA returns to Itanhanga Golf Club in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the third annual HSBC Brasil Cup. An international field of 30 players will compete across 36 holes for a $ 720,000, unofficial money purse and a first-place prize of $ 108,000.  

Headlining the field this week are defending champion Meaghan Francella, Rolex Rankings No. 2 Suzann Pettersen and Rolex Rankings No. 4 Cristie Kerr. Last year, Francella defeated Maria Jose Uribe in a six-hole playoff to secure her second LPGA victory. Also playing this week is 2009 HSBC Brazil Cup Champion, Catriona Matthew.

The buzz surrounding this year's tournament will inevitably be unlike any other with golf set to make its Olympic return in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in 2016. With 14 different countries represented in this week's field, it will serve as a preview of the international flare and competitive fire that will be present in the 2016 Olympics Games.

Brazilians Luciana Bemvenuti, Maria Iida and Victoria Alimonda head into the week as the hometown favorites. Bemvenuti, the first Brazilian to compete on the LPGA Tour, is from Porto Alegre located 697 miles from Rio de Janiero. Her career-best finish on the LPGA came when she finished tied for fourth at the 1998 Longs Drug Challenge. Alimonda and Iida are both natives of Sao Paulo, Brazil, located about 250 miles from Rio de Janeiro. Iida finished 25th at the 2010 HSBC Brasil Cup while Alimonda will play in her first LPGA event.

The LPGA Futures Tour will be represented this week by Alimonda of Brazil, Paz Echevarria of Chile and Sofi Toccafondi of Argentina. Both Echevarria and Toccafondi are rookies this year while Echevarria is in her second season on the Futures Tour.

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Sybase Match Play Championship Tournament Preview

The LPGA returns to pristine Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, N.J. for the second year of the Sybase Match Play Championship. A field of 64 of the best players on the LPGA will compete for a purse of $ 1.5 million and a first place check of $ 375,000. Competing this week in the unique match-play format are 9 of the Top 10 players in the Rolex Rankings, including Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng, No. 2 Jiyai Shin, No. 3 Suzann Pettersen and top-ranked American Cristie Kerr at No. 5.

This is the 11th year that Sybase has been the title sponsor of an LPGA event and the second time that Sybase has titled an event with the match-play format. Sybase previously hosted the Sybase Big Apple Classic at Wykagyl Country Club from 1999 to 2006 and the Sybase Classic Presented by ShopRite at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey, from 2007-2009. The tournament will benefit the Somerset Medical Center.

The field is also comprised of the top-48 players on the LPGA Tour's Official Money List and Karrie Webb and Stacy Lewis closing in on Tseng at second and third on that list, respectively. Webb won back-to-back events on Tour earlier this year, marking her 37th and 38th career wins, while Lewis became a Rolex First-Time Winner and a major champion earlier this season at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Defending champion Sun Young Yoo will return for this year's Sybase Match Play Championship. Yoo became a Rolex First-Time Winner at last year's event when she defeated Angela Stanford, a four-time winner on Tour, by capturing the 15th and 16th holes to take a 3&1 victory.

Also among the notables in the field is Maria Hjorth, who returns to Hamilton Farm Golf Club after collecting her fifth-career victory at the Avnet LPGA Classic in Mobile, Ala. during the Tour's last stop. Three rookies -- Hee Kyung Seo, Jenny Suh and sponsor's invite Belen Mozo -- will be in the group of 64 players competing in the match-play event as well.

The draw for the Sybase Match Play Championship will once again follow a unique format. The 64 players in the field will be given a number from 1-64 based on their Rolex Rankings. The top-32 players will be automatically seeded into the brackets. Their opponents will be determined through a blind draw.

While this is only the second year of the Sybase Match Play Championship, Hamilton Farm Golf Club is no stranger to LPGA match play events. The club hosted the HSBC Women's Match Play Championship in 2005 and 2006. Marisa Baena captured the first of those championships, while Brittany Lincicome became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2006 HSBC Women's Match Play. She defeated Juli Inkster in the title match.

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Avnet LPGA Classic Tournament Preview

Defending champion and LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame member Se Ri Pak will headline a star-packed field this week for the Avnet LPGA Classic at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Magnolia Grove, Crossings Course. Last year, Pak defeated Brittany Lincicome and Suzann Petterson in a playoff to take the 2010 Bell Micro Championship, which was rain-shortened to 54 holes.

A total of 144 players, including nine of the top-10 in the Rolex Rankings, will compete for a purse of $ 1.3 million this week. Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng will look to continue her strong hold on the world's top spot. Tseng won the season-opening Honda LPGA Thailand and finished second in the Kraft Nabisco Championship last month, the season's first major. But she has plenty of challengers in the field this week who are looking for their first victory of the 2011 season including Rolex Rankings No. 3 Cristie Kerr, No. 4 Na Yeon Choi, and No. 5 Suzann Petterson.

Stacy Lewis, who became a Rolex First-Time Winner and a major champion by taking a three-stroke victory over Tseng in last month's Kraft Nabisco Championship, will be in the field. Lewis is looking to join Karrie Webb as the second back-to-back winner on Tour this year. Webb captured back-to-back wins at the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore and the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup.

Also among this year's field for the Avent LPGA Classic is 16-year-old Alexis Thompson, who received one of two sponsor's exemptions. It will be Thompson's first LPGA event in 2011.

This week's Avent LPGA Classic will be the third edition of this tournament in Mobile. The first two years of the event were called the Bell Micro Championship but Avnet, a global technology distributor, acquired Bell Micro in 2010. Angela Stanford won the inaugural Bell Micro Championship in 2008 and she will be in the field again this week. After a year hiatus in 2009, the event returned to Magnolia Grove in 2010 when Pak took the title.

While this particular event has only been held two other times, the Crossings Course played host to the Tournament of Champions from 1999-2007. Players in the field this week who won that event are Paula Creamer, Christina Kim, Dorothy Delasin, Webb and Pak.

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Kraft Nabisco Championship Tournament Preview

It's a Major! LPGA Tour action continues this week at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the year's first major championship. A field of 113 players will battle it out for the honor of hoisting the Dinah Shore Trophy and taking the celebratory dive into Poppy's Pond. Defending champion and Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng will attempt to win her fourth career major championship at the 40th anniversary of the prestigious championship. Tseng has already won four times world-wide in 2011 including the season-opening Honda LPGA Thailand. Tseng fired rounds of 69-71-67-68 at the 2010 Kraft Nabisco Championship for a one-stroke victory over perennial Kraft contender and Rolex Rankings No. 5 Suzann Pettersen. Pettersen has posted three runner-up finishes in three of the last four editions of the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Tseng and Pettersen will be joined by the world's best players including top-ranked American and Rolex Rankings No. 3 Cristie Kerr, Rolex Rankings No. 8 and two-time 2011 LPGA Tour winner Karrie Webb and last week's Rolex First-Time Winner Sandra Gal. Kerr is searching for her first Kraft Nabisco title to add a third leg in her quest for the LPGA career Grand Slam, while Webb looks to notch her eighth career major championship title. The field is packed with powerful challengers including Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jiyai Shin, Na Yeon Choi, Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Laura Davies and LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame member Juli Inkster. Players will compete for a total purse of $ 2 million and a first-place prize of $ 300,000.

Another dramatic finish! The 18th hole on the Dinah Shore Course has provided plenty of drama throughout the tournament's 40-year history. In recent years, Brittany Lincicome won the 2010 championship with an eagle on the par-5 finishing hole after reaching the difficult green in two. Morgan Pressel became the youngest player in LPGA history to win an LPGA major with an emotional one-stroke victory over Brittany Lincicome, Catriona Matthew and Suzann Pettersen at the 2007 Kraft Nabisco, while Karrie Webb holed a spectacular wedge on the 72nd hole of the 2006 championship which led to a play-off win against Lorena Ochoa.

Eight former Kraft Nabisco champions are in the field this week - Yani Tseng (2010), Brittany Lincicome (2009), Morgan Pressel (2007), Karrie Webb (2006, 2000), Grace Park (2004), Pat Hurst (1998), Helen Alfredsson (1993) and Juli Inkster (1989).

Six amateurs will compete this week - Kristen Park, Cydney Clanton, Ariya Jutanugarn, Danielle Kang, Lisa McCloskey and Meghan Stasi. The best finish by an amateur in Kraft Nabisco Championship history is a fourth-place finish recorded by Caroline Keggi in 1998 and Michelle Wie in 2003.

Eleven players gained entry into this week's field via their performances at the Kia Classic including Marcy Hart who fired a final-round 65 to tie for seventh in only her second start after giving birth to her first child, LPGA Tour rookies Christel Boeljon and Stephanie Sherlock, and Mindy Kim who posted two top-10 finishes in her last two starts.

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Kia Classic Tournament Preview

Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng headlines a star-studded field at the second-annual Kia Classic this week at Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms. Tseng, the winner of the season-opening Honda LPGA Thailand, will do battle with a field that features 77 of the top-80 from the 2010 LPGA Official Money List and the top 11 from the current Rolex Rankings.

Tseng will be challenged by LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame member Karrie Webb who is fresh off back-to-back victories at the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore and last week's RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, where she edged Brittany Lincicome by one stroke to capture the inaugural title. Webb, who now boasts 38 LPGA victories in her 15-year career, will look to become the first player since Lorena Ochoa (2008) to win three-consecutive events.

Joining Tseng and Webb this week will be defending champion Hee Kyung Seo, who last year was a full-time member of the KLPGA and played as a sponsor exemption. Seo, now a rookie of the 2011 LPGA Tour, called the six-shot victory last season a "turning point" in her golf career.

A cast of players eager to join the 2011 winner's bracket this week includes Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jiyai Shin, No. 3 Cristie Kerr, No. 4 Suzann Pettersen and No. 5 Na Yeon Choi. It will be up to this group to dethrone Tseng as she attempts to distance herself from the pack as a clear world number one. Projections for the Rolex Rankings following the Kia Classic will be available later in the week.

Michelle Wie, a sports-marketing partner of title sponsor Kia, will look for her third victory in three years on the LPGA Tour when she tees it up this week at Industry Hills.

This week's event will be the LPGA's third visit to Industry Hills Country Club following the 1981 and 1982 Olympia Gold Classic, won both years by South African Sally Little.

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RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup Tournament Preview

Yani Tseng

The LPGA Tour is set to descend upon Wildfire Golf Club at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona, for the inaugural playing of the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup. A field of 134 players including Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng, No. 2 Jiyai Shin, No. 5 Cristie Kerr and No. 10 Karrie Webb will compete for a purse of $ 1 million which will be donated entirely to charity. Song-Hee Kim, Morgan Pressel, Christina Kim, Paula Creamer, Laura Davies and LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame member Juli Inkster will also compete alongside LPGA Tour rookies such as Jessica Korda, Jennifer Song and Belen Mozo.

Tseng enters the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup as the hottest player in the world. She has already won four times world-wide this season, including the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open and ANZ RACV Ladies Open co-sanctioned by Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG) and the Ladies European Tour (LET) and the season-opening Honda LPGA Thailand on the LPGA Tour. Then the following week, going for four straight, she finished
third at the HSBC Women’s Champions, almost chasing down eventual
winner Webb with a final-day 67.

The RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup is a one-of-a-kind event that will honor the past, celebrate and showcase the present and provide for the future of the game. Come Sunday, $ 500,000 will be donated to the LPGA Foundation and its LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program, and another $ 500,000 to player-designated charities. The $ 500,000 allotted for player-designated charities is a pool which will be distributed to the top-10 finishers with the following breakdown: 1st: $ 200,000; 2nd: $ 100,000; 3rd: $ 55,000; 4th: 40,000; 5th: $ 30,000; 6th: $ 25,000; 7th: $ 20,000; 8th: $ 15,000, 9th: $ 10,000; 10th: $ 5,000.

While LPGA players will forgo tournament earnings in favor of charity, results at the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup will impact the 2011 LPGA Official Money List. Players also will earn points towards Rolex Player of the Year, Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, Rolex Rankings and U.S. Solheim Cup team. Scores posted also will count towards the prestigious Vare Trophy.

Cristie Kerr

The LPGA Tour returns to Phoenix for the first time since 2009. Phoenix and the LPGA share a rich history with the women’s game. The LPGA has contested events in Phoenix in 36 different years with 28 different winners including one LPGA Founder, Marlene Hagge, and 12 LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame members. Twenty-time LPGA Tour winner Davies has won the most times in Phoenix, capturing the Standard Register PING in four consecutive years (1994-1997). Webb was the last LPGA player to hoist a trophy in Phoenix in 2009.

While the best players of the present compete this week, the tournament will also feature special appearances by LPGA Founders Louise Suggs, Marilynn Smith and Shirley Spork. Spork will play in the pro-am as will LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame members Betsy King, Nancy Lopez, Patty Sheehan and Pat Bradley. King, Lopez, Sheehan and Bradley will also kick off the first round in an 18-hole exhibition on the tournament course.

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CME Group to sponsor LPGA Season-Ending Titleholders tournament

CME Group to sponsor LPGA Season-Ending Titleholders tournament

CME Group Titleholders will feature unique qualifying format never previously used in pro golf
Yani Tseng, Michelle Wie, Karrie Webb among stars already qualified for Orlando tournament

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida, March 7, 2011 – The LPGA announced that CME Group (CME) has signed a three-year (3) agreement to title sponsor the season-ending Titleholders tournament. The inaugural CME Group Titleholders will serve as the LPGA Tour’s season finale and will be comprised of a field made up of three qualifiers from every official 2011 LPGA Tour tournament.

The Titleholders event will be the first time this unique qualifying format has ever been used in professional golf. The 2011 CME Group Titleholders will be held November 14 – 20 at Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando, Florida.

CME Group previously has hosted pro-am events with LPGA Tour players as part of their annual Global Financial Leadership Conference. The company also sponsored the 2009 Solheim Cup. The combined experiences led to their decision to title sponsor an official LPGA Tour tournament.

“CME Group has been a friend of the LPGA for years and our players’ experiences with them proved that they are innovators and know how to run first-class dynamic events,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “I thank CME Group Executive Chairman Terry Duffy for his support of the LPGA players and look forward to expanding his company’s branding with the LPGA Tour globally. This is an ideal partnership as the CME Group Titleholders will be a unique LPGA Tour tournament featuring the best players in the world while CME Group serves the risk management needs of its customers around the world.”

“We have had such tremendous success with the LPGA in the past through our annual Global Financial Leadership Conference that we are thrilled to partner with them again,” said CME Group Executive Chairman Terry Duffy. “Sponsoring this one-of-a-kind Titleholders event will effectively extend the reach of the CME Group brand and allow us new opportunities to engage with our customers globally.”

Players will punch their “Ticket to the CME Group Titleholders” in a season-long unifying program that showcases the best performing players from the 2011 LPGA Tour season. It will highlight CME Group as Title Sponsor but also showcase the events and title sponsors from which the players qualified to be in the field. The 2011 LPGA Tour schedule will feature 24 official money events in 12 countries, plus the bi-annual Solheim Cup matches pitting the United States against Europe in Dunsany, Ireland.

“Each tournament week, we’ll talk about who is ‘in’ the CME Group Titleholders, which enables us to discuss CME Group and our LPGA partners throughout the year,” Whan said. “It truly will be a celebration of all the title sponsors who make the LPGA so special.”

The six players already qualified for the CME Group Titleholders:
Honda LPGA Thailand: Yani Tseng (Taiwan), Michelle Wie (U.S.), Karrie Webb (Australia)
HSBC Women’s Champions: Sun Young Yoo (South Korea), Morgan Pressel (U.S.), Na Yeon Choi (South Korea)

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HSBC Women’s Champions – Tournament Preview

The LPGA returns to Singapore this week for the fourth-annual HSBC Women's Champions. Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden Course will play host to 63 of the world's best female professional golfers when play gets underway on Thursday. Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng has been the talk of the town as she aims to win her fifth event in five starts in 2011. The 22-year-old, who tied for third at last year's HSBC, won the season-opening Honda LPGA Thailand by five strokes last week in addition to back-to-back victories on the Ladies European Tour in Australia in the weeks prior. She added a victory in Taiwan earlier in the year to make it four straight. Japan's Ai Miyazato returns to defend her 2010 title, while Jiyai Shin, the "Champion of Champions" in 2009, also returns to Singapore in hopes of regaining the Rolex Rankings No. 1 she lost to Tseng two weeks ago. The cream rises to the top in Singapore. In three previous years as a Tour event, the HSBC Women's Champions has lived up to it's name. In 2008, Rolex Rankings No. 1 Lorena Ochoa won the inaugural HSBC Women's Champions by 11 shots. In 2009, Jiyai Shin, who went on to earn Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors, overcame a six-shot deficit to win the Singapore-based event. Last year, Ai Miyazato took home the hardware with two-shot win for her second-consecutive LPGA victory. All three players have been Rolex Rankings No. 1 in their careers.

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Tags: Champions, HSBC, Preview, Tournament, Women's

Honda LPGA Thailand – Tournament Preview

February 15, 2011 by  
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The Honda LPGA Thailand marks the launch of the 2011 LPGA Tour season and a renewed battle for the Rolex Rankings No. 1 spot that sizzled in 2010.

Last year's Honda champion Ai Miyazato will attempt her first title defense of the season this week at Siam Country Club's Old Course outside Pattaya, Thailand. Miyazato, who famously chipped-in for birdie on the 72nd hole of last year's event to defeat Suzann Pettersen by one shot, shot 21-under-par 267 over four days of play in 2010. She went on to win four events in 2010 and held the top spot in the world rankings for 11 weeks.

Pettersen, who is currently No. 3 in the Rolex Rankings, recorded five additional runner-up finishes in 2010 and is seeking her first victory since the 2009 CN Canadian Women's Open. She won the 2007 Honda LPGA Thailand for her career-best fifth victory in the 2007 season.

Other top names likely to be in contention include Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng, who won the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open and the ANZ RACV Ladies Masters on the Ladies European Tour (LET), and No. 2 Jiyai Shin.

Shin recorded the seventh and eighth victories of her LPGA career last season and became just the third player (Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa) to finish a Tour season as Rolex Rankings No. 1.

Tseng finished third at the 2010 Honda LPGA Thailand six shots off Miyazato's pace. The 22-year-old added Rolex Player of the Year honors to her ever-growing resume last year following a three-win season. She has three major championships to her credit and needs only the U.S. Women's Open to round out the Career Grand Slam.

Rolex Rankings No. 4 and top-ranked American Cristie Kerr will also tee it up this week this week in Thailand with hopes of improving on her tie for fourth last season. Kerr became the first American to top the Rolex Rankings last year following her dominant 12-stroke victory at the LPGA Championship Presented by Wegmans. She also became just the fifth player in LPGA history to eclipse the $ 12 million mark in 2010.

Other notables in the field include 2010 U.S. Women's Open champion Paula Creamer, who last year withdrew following the first round in Thailand with the thumb injury that led to surgery and several months of rehab, 2010 LPGA Official Money List winner Na Yeon Choi and heralded rookie Jessica Korda, who is one of eight sponsor exemptions in the field this week.

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Tags: Honda, LPGA, Preview, Thailand, Tournament

Get to know the 2011 Rookies: Tournament they want to play?

February 14, 2011 by  
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The rookies of the 2011 LPGA Tour are beginning to make a name for themselves. Get to know the rookies as they share their thoughts on a few topics. Check back towards the start of the season to find out more about your favorite rookies as LPGA.com shares some insight into their lives.

What tournament are you looking forward to the most? And why?
Rookie	Country	Answer
Shasta Averyhardt	USA	My very first LPGA event because I can't wait to play!
Danah Bordner	USA	Not sure.
Becky Brewerton	Wales	If I get in it would be the U. S. Women's Open, magical event.
Sara Brown	USA	My first one, the Kia Classic because it will be the start to a new year, a new season and I'm just excited to be on the LPGA Tour.
Sarah Brown	USA	I would love to play in the Kraft Nabisco Championship because I love the history and tradition of it and I love the course.
Dori Carter	USA	Anything international - I haven't traveled outside the United States much.
Jodi Ewart	England	RICOH Women's British Open - to be given the opportunity to play a major championship in my own country would be amazing!
Tiffany Joh	USA	The first one I get into.
Jennifer Johnson	USA	I am looking forward to every tournament because most of the venues are unique and are in some countries that I have never been to.
Kimberly Kim	USA	Every single one, because just being part of the LPGA in any event is such an honor and privilege.
Jessica Korda	USA	All of them! Because I get to explore new places and courses.
Amelia Lewis	USA	No particular one, just the overall experience of playing in the tournaments.
Ryann O'Toole	USA	My first event, but really Kraft Nabisco, because all of my friends and family can come.
Stephanie Sherlock	Canada	All of them! It's a huge honor to be able to play in any event.
Jenny Shin	South Korea	My first, because I'd want to play well in the beginning and get some ease off of my shoulders.
Jennifer Song	USA	I get excited with almost every tournament that I participate in, but I look forward to the U.S. Women’s Open the most. After that, I’m looking forward to the Olympics in 2016!  I think it would be incredible to be chosen for the golf team?
Jenny Suh	USA	My first LPGA event, because I'm so excited to play on the big tour.
Jaclyn Sweeney	USA	The U. S. Women's Open because it is my nation's championship
Alison Whitaker	Australia	My first tour event! And hopefully the U. S. Women's Open because it really is the best of the best playing!

Who are you looking forward to meeting the most on Tour? And why? >>

If you could pick the dream pairing who would it be? And why? >>

Where is your favorite place to travel? And why? >>

How do you feel about earning your 2011 LPGA Tour Card? >>

What is your New Year's Resolution? >>

What are your off season plans? >>

What are your Holiday plans? >>

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Tags: 2011, jodi ewart, know, play, Rookies, ryann o'toole, sara brown, They, Tournament, Want

Bourassa Named Honorary Tournament Chair of 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open

January 24, 2011 by  
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Tickets and Corporate Hospitality packages now on sale; Volunteer positions still available

Mirabel, Que. (Golf Canada) 12/08/2010 - Golf Canada in partnership with CN announced today that Quebec golf icon Jocelyne Bourassa will serve as Honorary Tournament Chair for the 2011 CN Canadian Women's Open at Hillsdale Golf and Country Club in Mirabel, Que.

Canada's only stop on the LPGA Tour will run August 22-28, marking the return of the Canadian Women's Open to the province of Quebec for the first time since 2002.

Bourassa was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1996. She was an outstanding amateur golfer throughout the 1960s and took the LPGA by storm in the early 1970s, winning the 1973 La Canadienne in her second season. In addition to being named the LPGA's rookie of the year, she was named the 1971 & 1972 French Canadian Athlete of the Year and 1972 Canadian Female Athlete of the Year. Bourassa was also named to the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Quebec Golf Hall of Fame in 1996. From 1980 to 2000, Bourassa was the Executive Director of the former du Maurier Classic and also served as a special consultant to Golf Canada from 2000-2003 assisting in the transition of the du Maurier Classic to the Canadian Women's Open.

"Jocelyne Bourassa has been so closely connected to women's golf in Canada, especially in Quebec, that inviting her to be a part of the 2011 CN Canadian Women's Open was a natural fit," said Sean Van Kesteren, Tournament Director of the CN Canadian Women's Open. "Throughout her career, Jocelyne has been a tremendous ambassador for this event and a true champion for golf in Canada. We are thrilled that she will once again be involved when the CN Canadian Women's Open makes its return to the Montreal area."

A long-time proponent of women's developmental golf in Canada, Bourassa's contributions to the game inspired the naming of the Jocelyne Bourassa Player of the Year Award - given annually to the CN Canadian Women's Tour competitor that finishes atop the Tour's Order of Merit.

In honour of Bourassa's involvement with the 2011 CN Canadian Women's Open, the Women's Pro-Am on Monday of tournament week will be renamed the Jocelyne Bourassa Women's Pro-Am.

For, Bourassa, in addition to her long history with Canada's National Women's Open Championship, it was the event's charity efforts in support of children's hospitals in the host community that played an important role in her willingness to get involved.

"I am thrilled to be involved in the 2011 CN Canadian Women's Open and the return of this special event to Quebec," said Bourassa. "This event means so much to me and I think CN and Golf Canada have done a great job making it into one of the best on the LPGA Tour. The CN Miracle Match charity program has the opportunity to raise a lot of money for local children's hospitals and I'm honoured to play a small part in an event that will have such a huge contribution to the community."

Since CN came on board as title sponsor in 2006, more than $ 4.3 million in charitable proceeds have been raised in the name of the CN Canadian Women's Open for children's hospitals in the event's host communities.

The host charity beneficiary for the 2011 CN Canadian Women's Open will be announced in the coming weeks.

TICKETS AND CORPORATE HOSPITALITY NOW ON SALE
Golf Canada, CN and the Hillsdale Golf Club also announced today that corporate hospitality as well weekly passes and individual tickets for the 2011 CN Canadian Women's Open are now available.

A full listing of ticket prices as well as corporate hospitality options including Pro-Am teams, skyboxes, suites and clubhouse badges are available online at www.cncanadianwomensopen.com or by calling 1-866-571-5742.

Tickets for early week (Monday-Wednesday) start as low as $ 10; anyday tickets (Thursday-Sunday) are $ 25; weekly passes are $ 75; and family packs are $ 99. More information about these and other ticket packages are available online.

As well, a limited time early bird offer is now available for a Weekly Clubhouse 2-Some at the price of $ 200. The offer is a $ 50 savings from the regular price and is only available until December 31, 2010. To activate the discount, enter LPGA into the promotion box at www.cncanadianwomensopen.co.

Golf fans are also reminded that children aged 17 and under gain free admission to the CN Canadian Women's Open when accompanying a ticketed adult.

In addition to watching the best players in the world compete for Canada's national title, golf fans onsite at Hillsdale Golf and Country Club will be treated to family activities, clinics and junior golf activities throughout tournament week.

VOLUNTEER POSITIONS STILL AVAILABLE
For any individuals interested in taking part in the 2011 CN Canadian Women's Open, Golf Canada and Hillsdale Golf and Country Club are currently recruiting volunteers for a multitude of positions.

A total of 1,400 volunteers from within the community and across Canada help to make the CN Canadian Women's Open a success and while the volunteer recruitment is well underway, a number of positions are still available.

For more information including a full listing of committees, positions and responsibilities, visit www.cncanadianwomensopen.com.

ABOUT THE 2011 CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN
Stars of the LPGA Tour will challenge for the 2011 CN Canadian Women's Open from August 22-28 at the Hillsdale Golf and Country Club in Mirabel, Que. The CN Canadian Women's Open is proudly sponsored by the Canadian National Railway Company along with event partners CVS Controls Ltd., , Corona Extra, The Globe and Mail, The Glenlivet, BlackBerry, Mike Weir Wine, CBC. For more information about tickets, corporate hospitality and volunteer opportunities, visit www.cncanadianwomensopen.com.

NORTH AMERICA'S RAILROAD
CN - Canadian National Railway Company - spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key cities of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St. Louis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For further information please visit www.cn.ca.

CN DELIVERS THE GREAT GAME OF GOLF
CN is proud to support golf in Canada and is pleased to bring the best of women's professional golf to Canada with its title sponsorship of the CN Canadian Women's Open and the CN Canadian Women's Tour. In addition to supporting women's golf, CN contributes to the development of golf among young people across the country through its sponsorship of the CN Future Links program. CN is pleased to work with Golf Canada to help develop golf as a sport for women and juniors across Canada and to increase the accessibility of golf to recreational and competitive golfers. Visit www.cn.ca.

GOLF CANADA - LOVE THE GAME, GROW THE GAME
Golf Canada is a member-based organization governed by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA). Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sport Organization (NSO) for golf in this country and representing more than 350,000 members and 1,600 golf clubs, Golf Canada is responsible for promoting participation in and a passion for the game of golf in Canada.

Golf Canada actively conducts championships, programs and services to help shape the present and future of golf in Canada. Canada's National Amateur Golf Team program, National Golf in Schools, Golf Fore the Cure, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum and CN Future Links, Canada's national junior golf program, are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada. As the authority for the game of golf in Canada, the association also administers the Rules of Golf and Amateur Status as well as Handicapping and Course Rating under the esteemed RCGA brand.

In addition, Golf Canada conducts Canada's most prestigious golf championships. The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women's Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships provide world class competitive opportunities for Canada's top golfers to showcase their talents.

For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit us online at www.golfcanada.ca.

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