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Se Ri Pak, Karrie Webb Set To Challenge Annika Sorenstam At Las Vegas Country Club In LPGA Takefuji Classic, April 14-19 LPGA Tour's 'Big Three' Renew Rivalry in $1.1 Million Tournament Contact Steve Brener/Fred Robledo LAS VEGAS, Nev. (April 8, 2003) - Korea's Se Ri Pak and Australia's Karrie Webb have added their names to the field for the fourth annual LPGA Takefuji Classic, which will be played at Las Vegas Country Club, April 14-19. They will join defending champion Annika Sorenstam in a field of the world's greatest women golfers in a 54-hole tournament that carries a purse of $1.1 million. Whenever Pak, Webb and Sorenstam play in the same tournament, it creates an event within an event. Sorenstam and Webb have been the LPGA Tour's most dominant players for nearly a decade and Pak, in recent years, has demonstrated that she is ready to take her turn at the top. Since 1995, either Sorenstam (5) or Webb (3) has won the money title. Pak, who joined the LPGA Tour in 1997, has finished second on the money list three times, including the past two years. While Sorenstam has taken her game to a higher level the past two years, Pak and Webb have taken up the chase. Sorenstam won the 2002 Vare Trophy with a 68.70 scoring average, just ahead of Pak (69.85) and Webb (70.33). Sorenstam, Webb and Pak are the only players on the LPGA Tour ever to average less than a 70.0 scoring average for an entire season. Sorenstam did it three times (2002, 2001 and 1998), Pak twice (2002 and 2001) and Webb once (1999). Combined, Sorenstam, Webb and Pak own 10 of the top 11 spots on the LPGA Tour's all-time scoring list. The three players hold 10 of the top 11 spots on the LPGA Tour's all-time scoring leader. TOURNAMENT PARKING Golf fans will be able to park for $5 in the Silver Lot at the Las Vegas Convention from Tuesday, April 15 through Saturday, April 19. A free shuttle will be provided to and from the Las Vegas Country Club for the LPGA Takefuji Classic. KIM, KIM, KIM AND KIM There are four players named Kim on the LPGA Tour and all of them will be playing in the LPGA Takefuji Classic. Christina Kim, 19, is the youngest player in the field. She is a U.S.-born (San Jose) Korean who holds the USGA record for lowest 18-hole score - 8-under-par 62 in the 2001 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship. Mi Hyun Kim, 26, from Inchon, Korea, was one of five players on the LPGA Tour to earn more than $1 million last year. She was a two-time winner in 2002. SooYoung Kim, 25, from Chung Nam, Korea, tied for 15th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament last year. In previous years she competed on the Korea LPGA Tour and the Futures Tour. Young Kim, 23, from Chunchon, Kangwondo, Korea, tied for fourth at the LPGA Final Qualifying School. From 1998 through 2001, she played on the Korea LPGA Tour, where she was a two-time winner. ROOKIE RACE Five of the rookies in the field for the LPGA Takefuji Classic are among the top 10 rookies on the LPGA Tour. Christina Kim and Young Kim are currently second and third respectively in the Rookie of the Year race. The other top rookies in the field are Suzann Pettersen (5th), Angela Jerman (7th) and Carrie Roberts (tied for 8th). Pettersen, 22, from Oslo, Norway, was the Rookie of the Year on the Ladies European Tour (LET) in 2001. Jerman, 22, from Denver, Colorado, was the 2002 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. She was also on the U.S. Curtis Cup team last year and was the low amateur in the 2002 U.S. Women's Open (51st place). Roberts, 22, from Heber City, Utah, is the daughter of Champion's Tour star Bruce Summerhays. She played collegiate golf at BYU where she was a two-time Midwest Conference Player of the Year. INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT The numbers will change when the field is final, but at the present time there are 56 players in the field from 18 countries, not including the United States. Korea (12) and Sweden (10) have the most players, followed by Australia (6), England (5), Scotland (4), Canada (3), France (2), Italy (2), Japan (2) and Taiwan (2). Other countries represented are Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, New Zealand, Norway, Peru and the Philippines. TELEVISION COVERAGE The LPGA Takefuji Classic will be televised live by The Golf Channel on Thursday, April 17, Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 19 from 4:30-7:30 p.m, ET/ 1:30 - 4:30 p.m, PT. CHARITIES The charities benefiting from the LPGA Takefuji Classic are the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Fund and the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Nevada. The Komen Foundation, the official national charity of the LPGA Tour, is a global leader in the fight against breast cancer through its support of innovative research and community-based programs. Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Nevada, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is committed to raising awareness regarding symptoms, risk factors and facts about ovarian cancer in the state of Nevada. Their goal is to save women's lives by increasing the rate of early detection. TICKETS ON SALE Tickets for the LPGA Takefuji Classic are priced at $11 daily (free on Monday), and free for youths 15-years-old and under who are accompanied by a ticketed adult. A season Ground Pass is $30 and a season Clubhouse Pass is $50. Tickets are available at all Las Vegas Golf and Tennis stores, by calling the tournament office or daily at the gate. For other information, please call the tournament office at (702) 898-4653. (Volunteers are still needed for a variety of jobs. To sign up as a volunteer, call the tournament office). For local marketing opportunities call Todd Margoluis at 702-562-9444. About Takefuji Takefuji is Japan's largest consumer finance company. It was established in 1966. It has 14 consolidated subsidiaries, 1851 branches, more than 4,000 employees, and more than three million customers. Its name comes from the Samurai word for strength, devotion and propriety, and from Mt. Fuji, Japan's highest and most elegant mountain, a symbol of Japan. Takefuji owns a golf course in Japan called Take 1 Country Club, and it sponsors J-League (Japan's professional league) soccer and a professional women's volleyball team. It donated 50 million yen to the Sept. 11 Fund. |