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**truebluefan** · 12-01-2007, 06:16 PM

Park takes early lead at LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, Kuehne two back

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 28, 2007 – LPGA Tour rookie Jane Park (33-32) carded a field-low, 7-under-par 65 in the first round of the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament on Wednesday at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., and holds a two-stroke lead over 10-year Tour veteran Kelli Kuehne (32-35).

The 90-hole tournament is staged at LPGA International, where 137 players will play the Champions and Legends courses twice, hoping to be among the top-70 to advance to Sunday. After Sunday's final round, the top-17 finishers will earn exempt status for the 2008 Tour season, while the next 35 will earn conditional status.

Park, who earned non-exempt status for the LPGA Tour at the 2006 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, played in 11 events this season and her best finish was a tie for 17th at the Sybase Classic Presented by ShopRite in May. On Wednesday, she took her first step toward retaining her Tour card on her very first hole – the 10th of the Legends Course – where she used her 9-iron from 128 yards for an eagle, marking the lone eagle of the day. She followed with a birdie on the 12th hole to drop to 3-under, but then lit up the front nine with five birdies, including three straight on holes two, three and four. Park's lone bogey came on the par-5, 487-yard eighth hole.

“I have really been working on just keeping the ball in the fairway. I am hitting the ball very well right now and so I was very fortunate to make the putts that were makeable today. Putting on Bermuda greens is really tough because I come from Southern California and the grass there is bent,” Park said. “I just don't want to get ahead of myself. I'm going to put my round today in the past. Tomorrow is a whole new day and everyone is playing on the same golf courses. I'm just going to go out there and try to do my best like I did today.”

Kuehne began her first round on the 10th tee of the Champions Course and rattled off consecutive birdies on her first three holes. With her fourth birdie on the 17th hole, Kuehne made the turn at 4-under before carding her final birdie on the first hole en route to a bogey-free round.

“I got off to a good start and had a lot of chances today, the course was nice to me. But I have to keep in mind that this is a five-day event, and come out again tomorrow and hit fairways and greens and make my putts. I'm here with the mindset that I already have status, so that puts less pressure on me. I know that I have a place to play,” Kuehne said. “I'll just play my best, accept my fate, and hopefully get through to the end.”

Rounding out the top-three on the leaderboard with a 4-under-par 68 is South Korean Na Yeon Choi (35-33), who also played on the Champions Course. Choi began her round on the back nine, where she notched a single birdie on the 17th hole. After bogeying the third hole, her 12th hole of the day, Choi rebounded with a birdie on the very next hole, and then carded three straight on holes six, seven and eight.

“I played good today. The course was wide, and that suits my game. Tomorrow's course, Legends, is more narrow and I have to concentrate and focus,” Choi said.

Two LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournaments in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Venice, Fla., were held to help determine the field for the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. The top-30 finishers and ties from each sectional—31 from Rancho Mirage; 34 from Venice—advanced to the final stage and join 62 current LPGA Tour members who are trying to improve or retain their playing status for 2008. The field is completed by the eligible players who finished sixth through 15th on the final 2007 Duramed Futures Tour money list.

Consistent with the LPGA's history of showcasing the very best players from around the world, the 137-player field features 62 international players from 22 countries outside the United States. South Korea is represented by the most international players with 16, followed by Australia (10), Sweden (5) Canada (4) and Thailand (4). Remaining countries represented include England (3), South Africa (2), Spain (2); and one player represents each of the following countries: Argentina; China; France; India; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; Paraguay; Russia; Scotland; Taiwan; and Venezuela.

**truebluefan** · 12-01-2007, 06:17 PM

DAYTONA BEACH , Fla. , Nov. 29, 2007 – LPGA Tour rookie Jane Park (65-70=137, -9) maintained her first-round lead at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament on Thursday, as she carded a second-round 2-under-par 70 to climb to a three-stroke lead over 10-year Tour veteran Kelli Kuehne (67-71=138, -6). Park and Kuehne remain in first and second places, respectively, after 36 holes of play at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The 90-hole tournament is staged at LPGA International, where 137 players will play the Champions and Legends courses twice, hoping to be among the top-70 to advance to Sunday. After Sunday's final round, the top-17 finishers will earn exempt status for the 2008 Tour season, while the next 35 will earn conditional status.

Playing on the Legends Course, Park quickly recovered from a bogey on the first hole with an ensuing birdie on the next. She notched back-to-back birdies on holes four and five before carding her second bogey of the day on the par-4, 369-yard eighth hole. After making the turn, the 2004 U.S. Women's Amateur champion clinched her fourth and final birdie on the 12 th hole.

“A 70 is definitely not 65, but I'm very pleased with my score. I was able to pull out another sub-par round, and overall, I'm very pleased with how I played,” Park said. “I think of it as one day at a time. After I shot 65, I quickly erased it from mind. You have to come out with the mindset that everyone starts at even-par. Tomorrow I am looking to do the same thing I've been doing. It's just one shot at a time. I want to clean the slate and go out there and get another sub-par round.”

Kuehne carded a 1-under-par 71 on Thursday to tie for the lead after coming into the round two-strokes behind first-round leader Jane Park. Kuehne, who played on the Legends Course, recorded three birdies to go along with two bogeys on the day. After bogeying the par-5, 527-yard second hole, she made birdies on holes five and seven to make the turn at 1-under. On the back nine, she birdied the 10 th hole and followed with a bogey on the 12 th, but played even on the remaining six holes to finish the day with her second consecutive sub-par round.

“I've had some really good prep work coming into this event. For the past seven weeks, I've been on a mission to get ready for this, and I feel like I'm ready. Hopefully, this turns out the way that I planned for, but I'll accept my fate whatever may come of it,” Kuehne said. “Tracy Phillips is on my bag this week, and he caddied for me in 1999 and 2000. He's been coaching me for 17 years, and when I won the U.S. Girls' Junior. It's good to have him back this week.”

Daytona Beach local Tracy Hanson (73-66=139, -5) went bogey free on the Legends Course en route to firing a field-low 66, and jumped from a tie for 45 th to a share of third place with Hee Young Park (72-67=139).

“I played patient golf. I missed a couple of greens early and had three or four key up and downs for par. I putted really well, had a lot of birdie chances and made a good portion of them,” Hanson said. “It helps that I've played the course a lot and I'm from the area. I probably saw the lines a lot better than some of the other players.”

Sarah Lynn Sargent, Carolina Llano, Meredith Duncan, Hannah Jun and Ashleigh Simon are tied for fifth place at 4-under-par 140.

The players have been split between LPGA International Champions and Legends courses and will be repaired by scores for the third round based on the course they started on the first round. The new groups will play the third and fourth rounds together before the Saturday cut to the top-70 and ties.

Two LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournaments in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Venice, Fla., were held to help determine the field for the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. The top-30 finishers and ties from each sectional—31 from Rancho Mirage; 34 from Venice—advanced to the final stage and join 62 current LPGA Tour members who are trying to improve or retain their playing status for 2008. The field is completed by the eligible players who finished sixth through 15 th on the final 2007 Duramed Futures Tour money list.

Consistent with the LPGA's history of showcasing the very best players from around the world, the 137-player field features 62 international players from 22 countries outside the United States. South Korea is represented by the most international players with 16, followed by Australia (10), Sweden (5) Canada (4) and Thailand (4). Remaining countries represented include England (3), South Africa (2), Spain (2); and one player represents each of the following countries: Argentina; China; France; India; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; Paraguay; Russia; Scotland; Taiwan; and Venezuela.

**truebluefan** · 12-01-2007, 06:18 PM

DAYTONA BEACH , Fla. , Nov. 30, 2007 – For the third straight day, LPGA Tour rookie Jane Park and 10-year Tour veteran Kelli Kuehne are atop the leaderboard at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. Park (65-70-71=206, -10) holds the third-round lead following a 1-under-par 71 on Friday, two-strokes ahead of Kuehne (67-71-70=208, -8), who carded a 2-under-par 70.

The 90-hole tournament is staged at LPGA International, where 137 players play the Champions and Legends courses twice, hoping to be among the top-70 to advance to Sunday. After Sunday's final round, the top-17 finishers will earn exempt status for the 2008 Tour season, while the next 35 will earn conditional status.

Park, who jumped out to an early lead on Wednesday following a first-round 65, has led after each of the first three rounds. Playing the Champions Course on Friday, she registered birdies on hole seven, a 377-yard par-4 and hole 18, a 395-yard par-4. The lone blemish on her card came on hole 14, a par-3, where she made bogey.

“Once I sank my last putt, I realized how cold it was. Each hole was literally playing 20 yards longer,” Park said, hinting at the windy and wet conditions that players faced on Friday. “I hit 5-iron into greens I was hitting 9-iron into yesterday. It was much tougher and didn't really allow us to attack. I was very pleased with my round and pleased to be under par, again.”

Kuehne, who has been in second place following each of the first three rounds, carded a 2-under-par 70 in the third round. The 1999 LPGA Corning Classic champion made the turn at 1-under-par for the day on the Champions Course following a birdie on the third hole, a 179-yard par-3. She recorded birdies on hole 10, a 338-yard par-4 and hole 13, a 533-yard par-5, before a bogey on hole 15 set her back to 2-under 70 for the day.

“I played well and gave myself opportunities. I hit it close and, if I didn't make it, I was able to tap it in,” Kuehne said. “It was definitely longer and we played into the wind more, but I was hitting it well enough and my shots were on-line. I just want to take it one day at a time, make pars and post rounds under par.

Columbia's Carolina Llano (69-71-69=209, -7) fired a 3-under-par 69 on Friday to move into solo third place, while four players – Nicole Hage, Liz Janangelo, Hannah Jun and Meredith Duncan – are tied for fourth place at 5-under-par 211.

Two golfers recorded holes-in-one on Friday: Michelle Ellis aced the sixth hole on the Champions Course with a 7-iron from 140 yards, and Shayna Miyajima, of Hawaii, hit a 19-degree rescue from 174 yards to ace hole 12 on the Legends Course.

The players have been split between LPGA International Champions and Legends courses and will be repaired by scores for the fourth round based on the course they started on the first round.

Two LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournaments in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Venice, Fla., were held to help determine the field for the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. The top-30 finishers and ties from each sectional—31 from Rancho Mirage; 34 from Venice—advanced to the final stage and join 62 current LPGA Tour members, who are trying to improve or retain their playing status for 2008. The field is completed by the eligible players who finished sixth through 15th on the final 2007 Duramed Futures Tour money list.

Consistent with the LPGA's history of showcasing the very best players from around the world, the 137-player field features 62 international players from 22 countries outside the United States. South Korea is represented by the most international players with 16, followed by Australia (10), Sweden (5) Canada (4) and Thailand (4). Remaining countries represented include England (3), South Africa (2), Spain (2); and one player represents each of the following countries: Argentina; China; France; India; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; Paraguay; Russia; Scotland; Taiwan; and Venezuela.

**truebluefan** · 12-01-2007, 06:19 PM

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Dec. 1, 2007 – LPGA Tour rookie Jane Park (65-70-71-68=274, -14) made a decisive move toward earning an exempt card for the 2008 LPGA Tour season with a fourth-round 68 (-4) at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament on Saturday. The Californian extended her lead to six strokes entering Sunday's final round at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. LPGA Tour rookie Su A Kim (70-72-70-68) and Hee Young Park (72-67-74-67) are tied for second place at 8-under-par 280. After four rounds of play, the field was cut to 70 players at 6-over-par 294 or better at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.

The 90-hole tournament is staged at LPGA International, where 137 players played the Champions and Legends Courses twice, hoping to be among the top-70 to advance to Sunday. After Sunday's final round, the top-17 finishers will earn exempt status for the 2008 Tour season, while the next 35 will earn conditional status.

Park, who has now led wire-to-wire, entered the day with a two-stroke advantage. Playing on the Legends Course, she made birdies on holes two, six and eight before a bogey on nine to make the turn at 2-under on the day. Park added birdies on holes 13 and 16 to finish the day at 4-under-par 68.

“I was very excited to play today. I was on Legends; I was back on the course I like better, so I had a good feeling about today,” Park said. “I was more confident on the greens. They were more readable and not as grainy as the other course. I had confidence in my stroke. I trusted my line more and trusted what I was doing.”

Hee Young Park, who entered the day tied for 13th place at 3-under-par 213, carded a fourth-round 67 (-5) to jump into a tie for second place. The South Korean used six birdies – holes four, six, seven, eight, 15 and 18 – and a lone bogey on hole five to move to 8-under 280 entering Sunday's final round. Park finished fourth at the LPGA Sectional Qualifying School this October in Venice, Fla. She is currently sixth on the 2007 Korea LPGA money list.

“Today, the weather was good and I had some good reads on the greens to make birdies. My caddy helped me with putting,” Park said. “I like the Legends Course better. The speeds (of the greens) are better. Tomorrow, I will try to be aggressive. I want to make birdies.”

LPGA Tour rookie Kim began the day in a tie for eighth place, but five birdies in her first eight holes – including making a 50-foot birdie putt on her first hole – allowed her to climb up the leaderboard into a tie for second by day's end. Kim made birdies on holes one, two, six, seven and eight with a bogey on five to make the turn at 4-under for the day. She carded nine pars on the back-nine to finish at 8-under-par 280 through four rounds. The 26-year-old played in four events on Tour in 2007, with her best finish coming at the U.S. Women's Open where she tied for 50th.

“I was happy with my round. I think I gave myself some breathing room,” Kim said. “My goal was to shoot 2-under each day and that's what I've been doing for the most part.”

Yani Tseng (70-73-72-66=281, -7) fired the low round of the day, a 6-under-par 66, to move into solo fourth place.
On Sunday, the players were repaired based on scores and all will play the Legends Course off the first and 10th tees beginning at 7:45 a.m.

Two LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournaments in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Venice, Fla., were held to help determine the field for the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. The top-30 finishers and ties from each sectional—31 from Rancho Mirage; 34 from Venice—advanced to the final stage and join 62 current LPGA Tour members, who are trying to improve or retain their playing status for 2008. The field is completed by the eligible players who finished sixth through 15th on the final 2007 Duramed Futures Tour money list.

Consistent with the LPGA's history of showcasing the very best players from around the world, the 137-player field features 62 international players from 22 countries outside the United States. South Korea is represented by the most international players with 16, followed by Australia (10), Sweden (5) Canada (4) and Thailand (4). Remaining countries represented include England (3), South Africa (2), Spain (2); and one player represents each of the following countries: Argentina; China; France; India; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; Paraguay; Russia; Scotland; Taiwan; and Venezuela.

**truebluefan** · 12-04-2007, 09:15 PM

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Dec. 2, 2007 – LPGA Tour rookie Jane Park completed a wire-to-wire victory at the LPGA Final Qualifying School on Sunday to earn medalist honors at 17-under-par 343.

Park (65-70-71-68-69=343, -17) carded five birdies and two bogies on Sunday to post a final-round 69 for a three-stroke victory over fellow 2007 LPGA Tour rookie Su A Kim (70-72-70-68-66=346, 14). After birdies on holes three and four, Park made bogey on six, but countered with a birdie on hole eight to make the turn at 16-under-par overall. Park added back-to-back birdies on holes 10 and 11 with a bogey on 12 to finish the week at 17-under-par 343, three shots ahead of fellow LPGA Tour rookie Su A Kim.

“I was playing great so I knew I had a good chance to win,” Park said. “Just being able to pull it off was just a great confidence booster. I just proved to myself that I can go pretty deep under par. It's a great feeling.”

Park started her march toward exempt status on the 2008 LPGA Tour with a tournament-low 7-under-par 65 on Wednesday and maintained at least a two-stroke lead for the remainder of the week. On Tour in 2007, she played in 11 events, making nine cuts. Her best finish was a tie for 17th at the Sybase Classic Presented by ShopRite.

Kim fired a 6-under-par 66 on Sunday to earn exempt status. The 26-year-old carded seven birdies during the final-round with just one bogey to remain in second place. Kim started and ended her front nine on a good note with back-to-back birdies on holes one and two and holes eight and nine to make the turn at 12-under-par. Two more birdies on holes 10 and 11, coupled with a bogey on 13 and a birdie on 14 propelled her to 14-under-par 346 for the week.

“I made it, it was a good round,” Kim said. “When I started the final round, I felt comfortable. Before (the tournament), I thought that 2-under every day would make it.”

The South Korean played in just four events on Tour in 2007, with her best finish coming at the U.S. Women's Open, where she tied for 50th.

South Korean Hee Young Park (72-67-74-67-70) finished third at 10-under-par 350, while 10-year LPGA Tour veteran Kelli Kuehne (67-71-70-76-67=351) finished fourth at 9-under-par 351. Kuehne, who was in second place following the first three rounds, put early pressure on Park's lead with three rounds under par.

Four players tied for 14th place at 356 (-4) to round out the 17 exempt cards available for the 2008 LPGA Tour season: Sandra Gal, Danielle Downey, Liz Janangelo and LPGA Tour rookie Sophie Giquel. 36 players earned conditional status for next season.

The 90-hole tournament was staged at LPGA International, where 135 players played the Champions and Legends Courses twice, hoping to be among the top-70 to advance to Sunday. The final round was played on the Legends Course.
LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournaments in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Venice, Fla., were held to help determine the field for the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. The top-30 finishers and ties from each sectional—31 from Rancho Mirage; 34 from Venice—advanced to the final stage and joined 62 current LPGA Tour members, who were trying to improve or retain their playing status for 2008. The field was completed by the eligible players who finished sixth through 15th on the final 2007 Duramed Futures Tour money list. The top-five finishers on the Duramed Futures Tour money list automatically received their exempt card for 2008: Emily Bastel, Allison Fouch, Violeta Retamoza, Mollie Fankhauser and Seo-Jae Lee.

Consistent with the LPGA's history of showcasing the very best players from around the world, the 135-player field featured 62 international players from 22 countries outside the United States. South Korea was represented by the most international players with 16, followed by Australia (10); Sweden (5); Canada (4) and Thailand (4). Remaining countries represented were England (3); South Africa (2); Spain (2); and one player each from: Argentina; China; France; India; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; Paraguay; Russia; Scotland; Taiwan; and Venezuela.