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Beatriz Recari (who?) nabs 16th spot in Mojo 6 tournament

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 Comments

Most golf fans have never heard of rookie LPGA player Beatriz Recari from Spain, but apparently they liked what they saw when they spotted her picture among the 12 players vying for a spot in the LPGA-sanctioned million-dollar Mojo 6 tournament.

In a nice PR move, the unusual event, which gets underway at the Cinnamon Hill Golf Club in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on April 15 (and will be played in Raceway Golf format, with 30 six-hole matches taking place over two days), had originally named 15 of the world's top players as participants. Over the last month, organizers urged the public to go to the Mojo 6 website to vote for who should get the 16th and final spot in the field, and the ballot included big-name players such as Laura Davies, Catriona Matthew, Anna Rawson and Amy Alcott. Rawson launched her own campaign to rally voters, promising to donate her winnings to charity. Alas, this time, the LPGA's unofficial beauty queen found herself one-upped by a younger model.

The 22-year-old Recari hails from Pamplona, Spain, and is playing her first full season on the LPGA Tour after four years on the Ladies European Tour, where she won once and worked her way up to 22nd place on the 2009 Order of Merit. A fan of exclamation points, Recari blogs on her own website and for the LPGA's Rookie Blog, and she tweeted as follows after learning she had won the coveted Mojo 6 exemption:

But all is not lost for Rawson. Olympic champion and Mojo 6 co-founder Edwin Moses made the following statement Tuesday, after announcing that the leggy Australian will now act as tournament host and reporter rather than contestant: "We recognize the huge charitable intent of Anna Rawson and had to find a way for her to be involved in The Mojo 6. If chosen by the fans for the 16th position, Anna was planning to donate 100% of her winnings to UNICEF, International Medical Corps and the Inspire Foundation. This attitude embodies the mission of Mojo."

The tournament will be televised on CBS May 1-2.

--Stina Sternberg

Posted by Stina Sternberg

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Whan to caddie on the Futures Tour

Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Comments

The LPGA Tour has been riding a positive wave since the appointment of Michael Whan last October, and most people say that Whan's accessible, laid-back attitude are among his best qualities.

So while his latest move might not surprise those in his inner circle, it did catch our eye. In an attempt to get a better sense for what the Duramed Futures Tour (the LPGA's developmental tour) is all about, Whan will caddy for Lili Alvarez at the Florida's Natural Charity Classic, the first round of the tour's first event this season.

"There's no way to get to know our business partners, players, volunteers, caddies, fans, etc without being there," said Whan, who spends a lot of time on the driving ranges and often walks the course during competitive rounds. "That's how you become part of the team, and I'm a new member of the team."

Whan added: "I hope Lili thinks it's cool."

That's an understatement, according to Alvarez.

"I had no idea this would happen," said Alvarez, an energetic 26-year-old who speaks with spunk and enthusiasm. "I was just sitting at home in Mexico, comfortable, doing my own thing when Zayra Calderon [CEO of the Futures Tour] called me to tell me the news. I was like, 'That's so awesome!'"

Chances are, you haven't heard of Alvarez. The native Texan studied Political Science at Tulane University, and grabbed three wins in collegiate competition. Alvarez turned pro in 2007, but life on the road has been rough. Alvarez has earned about $11,000 after two full seasons (33 starts) on the Futures Tour, so she's hoping to turn a corner this season.

"It's my third year on tour, and I've always said golf is a lot like baseball," said Alvarez. "I've been given three chances to prove myself."

Whan and Alvarez have never met, and they've exchanged just one email. So when I asked Whan about what advice he plans to give, he laughed and returned with an insightful reply:

"I'll say very little. I'll show up, keep up and shut up."

--Ashley Mayo

Posted by Ashley Mayo

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Barbie and Brittany

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Comments

For more than half a century Barbie has impacted nearly every facet of a young girl's life. And the company's latest endeavor continues this tradition.

Barbie's "I Can Be..." campaign is striving to empower girls to dream and conquer all the goals they have. So the company has partnered with 10 women who have demonstrated the undying will to accomplish their goals.

Three of these women are athletes: Gretchen Bleiler, Olympic snowboarder, Danica Patrick, professional race car driver, and the LPGA's Brittany Lincicome.

"Golf has always been a big part of my life," said Lincicome. "It has helped teach me discipline and perseverance and has also allowed me to have fun while doing something I love. I am thrilled to partner with the Barbie brand to help introduce and inspire more girls to take an active interest in the sport of golf."

Lincicome will host several clinics throughout the year to encourage girls to start playing golf.

But Barbie didn't stop at Lincicome. A new line of Barbie branded golf clubs by Acculength ($139-$179) will debut at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Acculength, one of the leading junior club manufacturers, is the only company that offers junior golf clubs that grow as fast as children; the clubs have expandable shafts.

--Ashley Mayo

Posted by Ashley Mayo

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Rookie on a roll

Thursday, March 4, 2010 Comments

Consider 23-year-old Amanda Blumenherst an anomaly. She was a college star at Duke University who finished 10th at the U.S. Women's Open as a freshman in 2006, and she won the U.S. Women's Amateur in 2008. She obviously had the chops to compete with the best in the world years ago, yet she waited until after graduation, in June 2009, to turn pro. Imagine that.

(Photo by Scott Halleran, Getty Images)

These days, after not only qualifying for the the LPGA Tour but winning last fall's Q-School, Blumenherst is on the road as a tour rookie. The 2010 season kicked off with back-to-back events in Thailand and Singapore, and in the hiatus between the Asian swing and the tour's first event on U.S. soil (the KIA Classic in Carlsbad, Calif., March 25-28), Blumenherst, like many LPGA players, has opted to compete in the two Ladies European Tour (LET) events that are taking place in Australian this week and next. In her first rookie-blog post on LPGA.com, she gives a comical account of what international travel has been like so far:

"I didn't realize how much I have left to learn on being a player on the tour. And it's all little things, like the shuttle rides from the airport to the golf course are taken care of (I was very stressed about this before leaving the States), that traveling lighter is not just better but a necessity, which airlines allow three bags and which ones have a cow if you have more than two and charge you an arm and a leg for being the ridiculous American that needs two suitcases AND a golf travel bag, the SPF needed in Thailand and Singapore (really I suggest 100+, SPF45 just doesn't cut it), where to eat, what to eat, which calling cards work, how many practice rounds I need...etc. It's a learning curve out here on the Tour."

But don't feel too sorry for Blumenherst. After a Wednesday pro-am was cancelled due to heavy rain, the ANZ Ladies Masters kicked off Thursday at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on Australia's Gold Coast, and the college grad from Indiana is the first-round leader. Blumenherst shot a six-under-par 66 in soggy, lift-and-clean conditions, and sits one stroke ahead of defending champion Katherine Hull from Australia and two ahead of a group that includes Karrie Webb and Anna Nordquist.

Whether she wins this week or not, Blumenherst promises to become the next big American star on the LPGA Tour. She has both game and personality, and she's happy to poke fun at herself. She finished her blog post, written the day before the ANZ's first round, this way:

"Keep your fingers crossed for the next two events and that I don't get into a brawl with the person weighing my bags in the next airport. It could get ugly."

--Stina Sternberg

Posted by Stina Sternberg

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Watch and walk

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 Comments

It's rare in sports that a fan can get as much exercise as an athlete during a professional event.

Golf is the exception.

So to encourage all spectators to walk the course the next time they watch an LPGA tournament, the LPGA Tour has partnered with Blue Diamond Almonds, the official healthy snack of the LPGA, to launch the 'Walk a Healthy 18' campaign. (The endeavor will also urge fans to munch on almonds and other healthy snacks, of course.) Indeed, onlookers who walk all 18 holes could easily log five miles.

"Since we began our partnership in the spring of 2008, the Blue Diamond team has worked hard to discover unique and effective ways to connect with our health-conscious fans," said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. "We're thrilled to partner with a first class brand on this creative campaign."

This new campaign will soon attract followers on Facebook and Twitter.

--Ashley Mayo

Posted by Ashley Mayo

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Ai lives up to the hype

Monday, March 1, 2010 Comments

It may have taken a little longer than she would have liked, but Japan's Ai Miyazato seems to have located the winning edge that went missing after she left a highly successful career (including 12 wins) on the JLPGA Tour in 2006 and became an LPGA Tour full-timer.

Ai Miyazato scores her second LPGA Tour victory in a row Sunday in Singapore.

(Photo by Ross Kinnaird, Getty Images)

Miyazato's back-to-back season-opening wins at the Honda PPT LPGA Thailand and the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore have earned her membership into a rare club of players to accomplish the same thing (how do the names Zaharias, Wright, Suggs and Smith sound?). More than that, they prove that the floodgates have opened for this player who shocked the world with her 12-shot victory at the 2005 LPGA Tour Q-School and then went on to endure a deep sophomore slump that lasted a good three years.

Miyazato is a superstar of J.Lo-like proportions in her home country of Japan, followed by throngs of media and paparazzi wherever she goes, so it was a great relief to both player and country when she finally broke through and won her first LPGA event, the Evian Masters, in 2009. "I did have doubts about myself before the Evian," she admitted Sunday. "And because this tour is at such a high level, you know, I did lose my confidence. But many people have supported me thus far, and I just want to thank them right now for what they have done for me."

Obviously, Miyazato's confidence is back, which promises to make 2010 an interesting season.

--Stina Sternberg

Posted by Stina Sternberg

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A new LPGA tournament

Monday, March 1, 2010 Comments

The LPGA just announced a new tournament, which will further expand the tour's global impact. The inaugural Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia will be played October 22-24, 2010 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Malaysia. (Michelle Wie joined LPGA executive Zayra Calderon as she announced the LPGA's newest tournament, left.)

The tournament will feature the top 50 LPGA players on the Official Money List, along with 10 sponsor's exemptions. It'll be a 54-hole stroke play event without a cut to ensure that the fans, many of whom will be watching a professional golf event live for the first time, can catch a glimpse of their favorite golfers throughout the weekend.

This latest announcement continues a stretch of positive news for the LPGA. Two inaugural tournaments (the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand and HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore) just concluded a successful two-week opening-season swing in Asia, the tour added the Sybase Match Play Championship, to be played in New Jersey in May, and it secured Kia Motors as the title sponsor for the Kia Classic Presented by J Golf, to be played in southern California from March 25-28.

The Sime Darby LPGA Classic will be shown on the Golf Channel from 12-2 p.m. EST during all three days of the tournament.

--Ashley Mayo

Posted by Ashley Mayo

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Gulbis Tees it Up

Friday, February 26, 2010 Comments

Natalie Gulbis is showing off her humorous side, despite being 11 shots off the lead at the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore. She posted this photo on her Twitter page about four hours ago, with the caption, "Teeing up a shot off my Caddy Greg."

I hope Greg gets more than 10 percent of the winnings for this.

--Ashley Mayo

Posted by Ashley Mayo

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Rawson ups ante in race for final spot in Mojo6

Thursday, February 25, 2010 Comments

The Mojo 6 tournament is living up to its name. Fifteen golfers have already secured their spot in the 16-player field, and a dozen other women are vying for that last opening. It's up to us to decide who that final competitor will be.

The inaugural Raceway Golf at The Mojo 6 tournament, a unique, fast-paced event that will draw a lot of eyeballs, will be held at the Cinnamon Hill Golf Course in Montego Bay, Jamaica on April 15th and 16th. Over those two days, 16 golfers will compete against each other in a series of six-hole matches for the final prize of $1 million.

The 12 players vying for the last spot are Amy Alcott, Nicole Castrale, Laura Davies, Sandra Gal, Vicky Hurst, Jeong Jang, Eun-Hee Ji, Catriona Matthew, Anna Rawson, Beatriz Recari, Marianne Skarpnord and Lindsey Wright.

Gal, Hurst, Rawson and Skarpnord have made the race leading up the The Race more intriguing, using Twitter and Facebook to gather more votes. But Rawson has just announced another hook: If voted into the tournament, the model and golfer will give 100 percent of her winnings to three charities: International Medical Corps, UNICEF and Inspire, a foundation that helps young victims of suicide. Indeed, suicide is a topic that touches Rawson personally. Her mother committed suicide when she was 5 years old, and Rawson hopes to help those children who have dealt with similar tragedies.

Fans can vote for their favorite player once a day at themojo6.com through March 15. The players who have secured their spots are Kristy McPherson, Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Jiyai Shin, Brittany Lang, Cristie Kerr, Christina Kim, Anna Nordqvist, Angela Stanford, Mariah Stackhouse, Amanda Blumenherst, Yani Tseng, Na Yeon Choi, Brittany Lincicome.

The Mojo 6 will air on May 1st 2nd.

You can become a fan of the Mojo 6 Tournament on Twitter and on Facebook. And you can watch Christina Kim and Paula Creamer talk about the Mojo 6 here.

-- Ashley Mayo

Posted by Sam Weinman

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Jones tabbed as U.S. Solheim Cup captain

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Comments

Rosie Jones, one of the most intense competitors in the history of the LPGA and a player who probably maximized her ability as completely as anyone who has ever played the game, will be the captain of the U.S. Solheim Cup team when it takes on Europe next year in Ireland. Jones, whose selection was announced Wednesday, will try to extend the American winning streak to four in the competition the United States has dominated 8-3.

One of the shortest hitters of her era, and among the few players whom the distance revolution passed by when hotter balls and hotter bats came into play at the turn of the century, Jones nonetheless won 13 times on the LPGA and made seven Solheim Cup teams. The 2011 competition will be played at Killeen Castle in County Meath, Ireland from Sept. 23-25.

"I am honored and absolutely ecstatic to be chosen as the 2011 Solheim Cup captain," said Jones, member of the first U.S. Solheim Cup team in 1990 who also sank the putt to clinch the 2002 Solheim Cup. "The Solheim Cup has been a huge part of my career as a player, and now it will be even more exciting as I prepare for what promises to be another great Solheim Cup in Ireland. I couldn't be more proud to represent the United States and have the opportunity to lead our players across the pond to Killeen Castle to retain the Cup."

Jones faces a challenge in Ireland, however, as each of the European Team's three Solheim Cup victories has come on European soil, the last coming in Sweden in 2003. The 2009 European Solheim Cup Captain Alison Nicholas will once again lead her team. In her days as a member of the U.S. squad, Jones recorded 12 points, including an overall singles record of 3-3-1. Her most recent appearance came at the 2005 competition played at the Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana, where her U.S. team beat the Europeans by three points, tying the closest match in the history of the event. The Solheim Cup last August at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois was played in front of a record crowd of more than 120,000 for the week.

"Rosie Jones is a terrific choice to lead the American team at the 2011 Solheim Cup in Ireland," said John Solheim, PING Chairman & CEO. "As a seven-time participant in the event, including the very first one in 1990, her Solheim Cup experience provides her tremendous insight into team dynamics and what it takes to get the most out of every player. I expect the tenacity Rosie is known for on the golf course will translate to the team and create a competitive and enjoyable environment for the players and fans."

Jones was chosen by a selection committee comprised of the past three U.S. team captains, the LPGA Board Chairman, President of the LPGA Executive Committee, and the LPGA Commissioner. Her first job as captain will be to select two assistant's to help her lead the squad. Among those who may be captains down the road are Juli Inkster, Meg Mallon and Dottie Pepper, the poster woman for U.S. Solheim Cup intensity whose captain chances suffered a setback when her "choking freaking dogs" comment, inadvertently made it on the air during the 2007 Solheim Cup.

-- Ron Sirak

(Photo by Getty Images)

Posted by Sam Weinman

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