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**truebluefan** · 07-20-2008, 09:40 PM

Prattville, Ala.

**truebluefan** · 09-28-2008, 11:51 PM

The first round of the 2008 Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Maxxforce is complete and 144 players are vying for a share of the $1.4 million purse. The Senator Course at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Capitol Hill venue is playing host to the LPGA Tour for the second consecutive year. Last season, Sweden’s Maria Hjorth edged out Stacy Prammanasudh and Lorena Ochoa to walk away with the $210,000 first-place check and her third career victory. Fifty-four holes remain in Prattville with a cut to be made following Friday’s second round.

Trio tied for first at 7-under-par 65. Jill McGill carded a season-low, bogey-free 7-under-par (33-32=65) on Thursday at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Maxxforce. Her round began on the 10th tee where she made a 12-foot par putt to avoid an opening bogey. She went on to make seven birdies on the day, including a 25-foot putt from the fringe on hole five, to move in a tie for first with Jane Park (31-34=65) and Jeong Jang (33-32=65). McGill’s season-best finish came at the MasterCard Classic Honoring Alejo Peralta in March where she tied for third.

Park started hot with five birdies on her front nine, including three in a row on holes four through six. She added three more birdies on the back nine before a bogey at hole 17 dropped her to 7-under-par 65. Park’s career-low came earlier in the year at the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons where she carded a final-round 10-under-par 62 en route to a career-best tie for second.

Jang’s bogey-free day started with three birdies on the front nine and ended with four more birdies on the back. Her 7-under-par 64 is one shot off her season-low of 8-under-par 64, carded during the first round of the Fields Open in Hawaii. The two-time LPGA Tour winner’s last victory came at the 2006 Wegmans LPGA.

**truebluefan** · 09-28-2008, 11:51 PM

Following a month-long hiatus from the Tour, Rolex Rankings number one Lorena Ochoa returned to action with a first-round 5-under-par 67 at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Maxxforce. Ochoa carded a 6-under-par 30 on the front nine, but a lone bogey on the back nine dropped her to 67 in a tie for sixth. She rolled in a 25-foot eagle putt on the eighth hole – one of five eagles on the hole today – to record her eighth eagle of the season.

Ochoa won five of her first six starts to begin the 2008 season and continues to lead the LPGA Official Money List with nearly $2.4 million in 16 events played. She has 14 top-10 finishes and ten top-five finishes this season.

**truebluefan** · 09-28-2008, 11:52 PM

Sandra Gal carded a 5-under-par 67 – the second lowest round of her career – to move into a tie for sixth following the first round of play at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Maxxforce. The German rookie started her round on the 10th tee and made the turn at 2-under-par for the day. She finished her day with an eagle on the 461-yard, par-5 eighth hole and a birdie on the par-4 ninth hole to card 67, one shot off her career-best of 6-under-par 66 during the second round of the Fields Open in Hawaii in February.

**truebluefan** · 09-28-2008, 11:52 PM

Australian Wendy Doolan carded her second career LPGA hole-in-one on Thursday at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Maxxforce. The 39-year-old aced the 153-yard second hole with a nine-iron. Her first career LPGA hole-in-one came during the third round of the 1997 Welch’s Championship. Doolan finished the day at 4-under-par 68 in a tie for twelfth.

**truebluefan** · 09-28-2008, 11:58 PM

Scotland's Janice Moodie carded three consecutive birdies on her back-nine to take the lead at 11-under-par (66-67=133) entering the weekend at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by MaxxForce. The 35-year-old made birdies on holes six through eight, her 15th through 17th, to record a 5-under-par 67 in the second round and slide ahead of Lorena Ochoa and Jill McGill who are tied at 10-under-par 134. Moodie got her day started with a bogey on hole 11, but bounced back to make a five-foot birdie putt on 12. She made the turn at even-par, but compiled five birdies to finish at 11-under with 36 holes remaining.

Moodie last held a lead following two rounds of play at the 2005 CN Canadian Women's Open where she went on to finish tied for sixth. Her most recent LPGA Tour victory came in 2002 at the Asahi Ryokuken International Championship at Mount Vintage. She also won the 2000 ShopRite LPGA Classic.

**truebluefan** · 09-28-2008, 11:58 PM

Mexico's Lorena Ochoa is one shot off the lead at 10-under-par (67-67=134) following her second consecutive round of 5-under-par 67 on Friday. The 26-year-old sits at 10-under entering the weekend for the second straight year at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by MaxxForce. Last season she went on to finish tied for third, two strokes behind inaugural champion Maria Hjorth. Ochoa won five of her first six starts to begin the 2008 season and continues to lead the LPGA Official Money List with nearly $2.4 million in 16 events played. She has 14 top-10 finishes and ten top-five finishes this season.

McGill continued her solid play with a 3-under-par 69 on Friday. She made the turn at 2-under-par for the day before chipping in for birdie on the 16th hole to move to 10-under-par (65-69=134) for the week. McGill's season-best finish came at the MasterCard Classic Honoring Alejo Peralta in March where she tied for third and her career-best finish came at the 2005 Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill where she was runner-up.

**truebluefan** · 09-28-2008, 11:59 PM

17-year LPGA Tour veteran Michele Redman carded a season-low 7-under-par 65 in the second round of the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by MaxxForce. Redman's round included four birdies, one bogey and two eagles – including the par-4 11th hole where she holed out from 158 yards with a 5-iron.

The 43-year-old Minnesota native has won twice on the LPGA Tour, most recently at the 2000 First Union Betsy King Classic. She is currently 28th on the LPGA Official Career Earnings list with nearly $5.2 million. Redman is a four-time member of the U.S. Solheim Cup team (2000, 2002, 2003, 2005).

Rookie of the Year candidate Tseng goes low. Taiwan's Yani Tseng carded a 6-under-par 66 on Friday to move into a tie for seventh place after two rounds of play at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by MaxxForce. The 19-year-old Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year candidate started the day tied for 39th, but a bogey-free round with six birdies propelled her to within four shots of the lead.

Tseng currently leads the Rookie of the Year race with 1,186 points, 129 more than South Korean Na Yeon Choi (1,057 points) who is not active this week. The Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year will be crowned following the ADT Championship, Nov. 20-23, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.

**truebluefan** · 09-28-2008, 11:59 PM

LPGA Tour rookie Louise Friberg tied her career-low with a 7-under-par 65 on Saturday to join world number one Lorena Ochoa in the lead at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by MaxxForce. 28-year-old Friberg recorded a bogey-free round with seven birdies to take a share of the final round lead for the first time in her career.

Friberg became a Rolex First-Time Winner in March at the MasterCard Classic Honoring Alejo Peralta, where she tied the LPGA Tour record for largest come-from-behind victory after overcoming a 10-shot deficit in the final round. She is one of only two LPGA Tour rookies to win during the 2008 season (Yani Tseng, LPGA McDonald’s Championship Presented by Coca-Cola).

Ochoa started her day with a bogey but reeled off three birdies in her next four holes to regain her momentum. Two more birdies and one bogey on the back nine put her at 3-under-par 69, enough to hold a share of the final-round lead. This is the 25th time Ochoa has entered the final-round with a lead in her six-year career. She has won 17 of those including all six times she has held the

**truebluefan** · 09-29-2008, 12:00 AM

Mexico's Lorena Ochoa earned her seventh victory of 2008 in a two-hole, sudden-death playoff at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by MaxxForce on Sunday . The 26-year-old outlasted 10-time LPGA Tour winner Cristie Kerr (66-71-70-66=273) and three-time winner Candie Kung (69-72-65-67=273) to earn her 24th career victory.

“It wasn't easy,” Ochoa said after accepting the $210,000 first-place check. “If you look at the leaderboard, a lot of players were up there one and two shots behind. I'm happy that I won the playoff because I need to improve in my playoff results.”

On a day when numerous players carded low rounds, Ochoa snuck into the playoff with a final-round 2-under-par 70, which included an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole where she knocked it inside five feet. Kerr and Kung each sank 25-foot birdie putts on the 72nd hole of regulation to get into the playoff, but Kerr dropped out on the first playoff hole after three-putting from 40 feet. Ochoa and Kung each made par and replayed the 18th hole. Ochoa hit her second shot to the back fringe and two-putted, while Kung three-putted from 40 feet.

“I had a few chances to win tournaments before, and it's been a little slow in the last few months,” Ochoa said. “I'm glad I did it this week and hopefully get in a good rhythm to keep it going and finish strong here.”

Ochoa increased her season earnings to $2,591,048 and now has a $1 million lead on Annika Sorenstam ($1,588,937). She has now won all seven times she has entered the final round with a lead in 2008. Ochoa will look to successfully defend her title at the Samsung World Championship next week in California.