Sorenstam Commits To Play In Inaugural Kellogg-Keebler Classic

Veterans Juli Inkster and Beth Daniel Also Will Compete; Commitments Give Major-Caliber Flavor to First Year Event

Contact Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-698-1801

NAPERVILLE, Illinois (April 2, 2002) -- Annika Sorenstam, the LPGA's 2001 Player of the Year and winner of this season's first major women's championship, has added her name to the list of stars who will compete in the inaugural Kellogg-Keebler Classic, May 31-June 2, at Stonebridge Country Club in Aurora.

Sorenstam, who won last weekend's Kraft Nabisco Championship (March 31) for the second consecutive year, will be joined by LPGA Hall of Fame members Juli Inkster and Beth Daniel, who also recently committed to play in the Chicago area's new $1.2 million event.

Sorenstam's commitment means the top four money winners on the 2001 LPGA Tour -- three of them U.S. Open champions -- will be in the field at the Kellogg-Keebler Classic. In addition to Sorenstam, who finished first on last year's money list, Se Ri Pak (2nd), Karrie Webb (3rd) and Lorie Kane (4th) have committed to play at Stonebridge. Sorenstam won the U.S. Women's Open in 1995 and '96; Pak in 1998, and Webb in both 2000 and 2001. Inkster won it in 1999.

"The players of the LPGA clearly regard Chicago as a very important market for their tour and, as a result, they are coming out in force to support the Kellogg-Keebler Classic," said tournament director Mark Hersch. "The addition of Annika, Juli and Beth to the field gives the Kellogg-Keebler Classic a major championship aura and promises to make it one of the more compelling events of the year."

Sorenstam, 32, defeated fellow Swede Lisolette Neumann by one stroke to repeat at the Nabisco Championship, one of the LPGA's four major championships. It was the second LPGA Tour victory and third overall this year for the soft-spoken Sorenstam, who let her clubs do the talking in 2001, earning eight victories, six second place finishes and a total of 19 top 10 finishes en route to Player of the Year honors.

This year, Sorenstam won the LPGA's Takefuji Classic in a sudden death playoff with defending champion Lori Kane. Before that she defeated Webb in a playoff to win the ANZ Australian Masters.

Inkster entered the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1999, the year she won both the U.S. Women's Open and the McDonald's LPGA Championship. The mother of two daughters, Inkster has a total of 26 LPGA Tour victories, including six major titles. She finished 22nd on the money list in 2001.

Like Inkster, Daniel entered the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1999. She has a total of 32 career victories on tour, including one major championship (the 1990 LPGA Championship). She finished 26th on the money list last year.

Tickets to the Kellogg-Keebler Classic are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, by telephone at 312-559-1212 and online at www.ticketmaster.com. A weekly clubhouse badge is $100. Weekly grounds only badges are $50. Daily prices are Monday, $5; Tuesday-Thursday, $10; Friday, $20; Saturday, $25, and Sunday, $30. Children under 16 are free when accompanied by a paid adult.