| Ginn Open Final Field Includes The Best Of The Best
This year's Ginn OPEN will allow fans to see the rising stars of tomorrow and the current stars of today in a competitive atmosphere that will excite the senses. Young players such as Lorena Ochoa, Suzann Pettersen, and Paula Creamer are leading the field along with veterans Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb.
Ochoa has already won three times in four starts during the 2008 season and posted a T-8 finish at the fourth tournament. After winning six times in 2006 and eight times in 2007, this season's three wins brings her total wins in the past three seasons to 17. Creamer has won once and Pettersen, who won five times in 2007, tied for second with Sorenstam at the first major of the year behind Ochoa. Rookie Louise Friberg, a rising star to watch from Sweden, won her first LPGA title this year in only her third start on the LPGA Tour.
The Ginn OPEN field consists of numerous up-and-coming players but also is comprised of a large amount of LPGA tournament winners who have proved superstar status over the years. The final field is made up of 71 LPGA tournament winners who have a combined record of 415 LPGA titles, including 55 major championships
Fans will be treated to watch the very prestigious class of four LPGA Tour and World Golf Hall of Fame members: Sorenstam; Juli Inkster; Se Ri Pak and Webb, who have a combined total of 160 LPGA wins and 29 major championships. Sorenstam has the most with 70 LPGA victories and 10 majors. Webb has 35 wins and seven majors. Inkster is third with 31 wins and seven majors. Pak has 24 victories and five majors.
Ochoa is tied with Laura Davies, who finished third at the 2007 Ginn OPEN, with 20 LPGA career wins. Ochoa won her second major championship this year, while Davies has four majors. Meg Mallon is the seventh player in the field with the most wins: 18 titles, including four majors. Jan Stephenson is right behind Mallon with 16 wins and three majors.
Of the top 100 on the 2008 ADT Official Money list, 95 are in the field. Seventeen of the top 20 in the Rolex World Golf Rankings will compete, and nine of the top 10 including: Ochoa (1); Sorenstam (2); Pettersen (3); Creamer (4); Webb (5); Cristie Kerr (6); Jee Young Lee (8); Jeong Jang (9) and Mi Hyun Kim (10). Defending champion Brittany Lincicome is ranked 23rd on the Rolex World Golf Rankings.
The field includes 10 rookies: Shanshan Feng; Friberg; Sandra Gal; Liz Janangelo; Sarah Kemp; Carolina Llano; Hee Young Park; Violeta Retamoza; Yani Tseng and Momoko Ueda.
The two sponsor invitations are 16-year-old amateur Lindy Duncan and Golf Channel personality Stephanie Sparks. |