STUPPLES FINISHES WITH FLOURISH TO GRAB 36-HOLE LEAD AT INAUGURAL GRAND CHINA AIR LPGA

 

Haikou, China, October 25, 2008 – Capped by a thrilling chip-in for birdie on the final hole, England’s Karen Stupples grabbed a two-shot lead from Laura Diaz after a rain-interrupted second round of the inaugural US$1.8 million Grand China Air LPGA at the Hainan West Coast Golf Club in China.

 

Stupples fired her second consecutive five-under 67, the equal low round of the day, to post a 36-hole total of 10-under-par 134 in Haikou, the capital of China’s island province of Hainan. Diaz’s one-over 73, coming after her course-record 63 yesterday put her in the round one lead, saw her at eight-under 136, with Swede Louise Friberg (69) another shot back in outright third.

 

Three players, Korea’s Ahn Shi Hyun (68), Candie Kung of Chinese Taipei (69) and Christina Kim of the United States (68) share fourth at six-under 138.

 

Stupples, who was joint third overnight, made an excellent start with four birdies in the opening seven holes to race up the leaderboard and challenge Diaz. Then the Englishwoman, twice an LPGA winner, finished by rolling her lob wedge from the greenside rough at 18 straight into the centre of the cup for a closing birdie and the lead was hers.

 

Said Stupples: “I had been close to chipping in all day and finally I was rewarded for a good chip. So I was very happy with that, excited to do it. I knew that would put me at least in the lead and that's kind of exciting. I haven't been in the lead going into the final round for a while.”

 

With Stupples playing a group in front of the American Diaz, the two battled for the lead on the back nine as the field endured two breaks for rain. A back nine of two-under 34 was enough to secure the lead for Stupples going into the final round.

 

“For me, the real key to my game so far this week has been my putting. I feel like I've putted really solidly and I've made the putts that counted, the 10‑footers for birdie and the odd longer one will go in, too. That's been good, because I've been working really hard on that, and it's nice to see the practice is paying off. It feels good,” she said.

 

Stupples, who played only eight events last year after giving birth to her son Logan, added: “Mentally I'm genuinely happier and more content and I feel much more fulfilled as a person now that I have a family. Physically it can be very tough, especially when he was younger, no sleep and that was very difficult. 

 

“But otherwise, it's brilliant, because at the end of the day, I come home and Logan is always happy to see me. It has really made me complete as a person,” she said.

 

The leading mainland Chinese player after round two is rookie Feng Shanshan, the first exempt player on the LPGA Tour. Followed by big crowds, she returned a one-over 73 whose two-day aggregate of one-under 143 (24th).

 

Among the big names, Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson is in tied seventh at five-under 139 and Rolex Rankings’ world number two Annika Sorenstam is equal 19th on two-under. Suzann Pettersen at one-over 145 (T33rd), with Americans Cristie Kerr at two-over 146 (38th) and Morgan Pressel on four-over 148 (46th)

 

Played was suspended for 30 minutes due to heavy rain at 11.52 am on the island known as the ‘Hawaii of China’, with a second suspension coming at 2.38 pm for another 45 minutes when the heavens opened again.

 

That second break seemed to break the concentration of Diaz, who was on the 13th at the time. She stumbled to consecutive bogeys at 14, 15 and 16, and, when Stupples rolled in a 10-foot putt for her third birdie in four holes at 13, she was in a share of the lead.

 

Diaz, who added a final bogey at the last, was disappointed in her follow-up to yesterday’s hot play.

 

“Obviously, the weather played a little bit of a factor. I had it going, then we went in and out and I struggled a bit. The fairways got softer. It’s a factor in that it breaks up the round and makes the course a little soggy,” said Diaz.

 

Crowd favourite Tseng Yani of Chinese Taipei returned shared low-round honours, a five-under 67 seeing her finish her move up the leaderboard before the long rain break came. The McDonald’s LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-cola winner is enjoying her China experience.

 

Said Tseng: “The crowd here is very friendly. They said: ‘Don't be stressed’, ‘relax and enjoy the game’ and ‘be confident’ to me in Chinese. In the US, people usually say ‘Go go go Yani’, but since people speak to me in Chinese here, there is an emotional impact on me.

 

“Also some of the girls who I went to school with are here to support me. They walked nine holes this morning. I feel tremendous,” she added.

 

Being played in Haikou, the capital of the island province of Hainan, the Grand China Air LPGA features 63 of the world’s best players competing for US$1.8 million. It is the first official LPGA event to be staged in China and is the richest tournament on the LPGA’s annual end-of-year Asian swing.

 

– ENDS –

Media Enquiries

brandRapport Damien McDowell Media Services Manager T: +852 2815 9876 F: +852 2815 9866 E: dmcdowell@brand-rapport.com	IMG John Cappo Senior VP / Managing Director, Golf – China T: +86 21 5405 1222 Ext 854 F: +86 21 5405 1833 E: john.cappo@imgworld.com
LPGA Dana Gross-Rhode Sr. Media Relations Coordinator T: +1 386 274 6273 F: +1 386 274 1099 E: dana.grossrhode@lpga.com

 

Notes To Editors

 

About Grand China Air and HNA Group

Grand China Air is a subsidiary of HNA Group, one of the four largest airline companies in China, and is the flagship company of its aviation business.  Grand China Air employs modern management structure with a goal of becoming an international airline brand.

 

HNA Group’s main business is air transportation, with other operational areas including airport management, travel service, logistics, hotel management, retail business, financial service.  HNA being in the top 500 enterprises for six consecutive years has 70 billions RMB in asset, employing over 36,000 staff.  

 

HNA Group’s aviation companies have nearly 180 fleets, providing close to 3000 flights a week and 20 million trips per year.  HNA Group received multiple awards including “Golden Eagle Cup” since its establishment, and received “Passengers Satisfaction Service” award for nine consecutive years, and “Flight Punctuality” award for eight consecutive years.   

 

About the China Golf Association

Established on May 23, 1985, the China Golf Association’s goal is to develop golf in the country by increasing golf penetration and professional skills in China. CGA has been active in communicating and working with other golf associations and organizations globally. CGA is currently made up of nine working committees in the following areas: Rules and Competition, Professional Golfers, Amateur Golfers, Junior Golfers, Women Golfers, Senior Citizens, Handicap System Administration, Public Relations and Development and Course Management.

 

About the Ladies Professional Golf Association

As the longest-running women’s professional sports organization in the world, the LPGA features a membership comprised of world-class LPGA Tour professionals and dedicated Teaching and Club Professionals (T&CP).  Today’s LPGA Tour features the most talented global sampling of professional athletes competing in 37 events in 10 countries with total prize money of more than $64 million. In addition to its dynamic Tour members, nearly 1,200 certified T&CP members serve the golf industry in teaching, coaching and management positions, and oversee programs aimed at increasing the involvement of women, girls and youth in golf.  The not-for-profit LPGA’s Vision is to inspire, empower, educate and entertain by showcasing the best golf professionals in the world.  Its Mission is to be a leader in the world of sports, to promote economic empowerment for all members, and to serve as role models on and off the course. The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information on the LPGA, log on to www.LPGA.com.

 

About IMG

IMG is the world's premier Sports, Entertainment and Media Company. IMG is a diversified global business with two major business segments: IMG Sports & Entertainment, and IMG Media. IMG employs more than 2,600 people in 30 countries. Forstmann Little & Co. purchased IMG in 2004.

 

IMG Sports & Entertainment includes: consulting services; event ownership and management; fashion events and models representation; licensing; golf course design; client representation in golf, tennis, broadcasting, speakers, European football, rugby, cricket, motorsports, coaching, Olympic sports and action sports. In addition, IMG Academies is the world's largest and most advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport training and educational facility, delivering world-class sports training experiences to over 12,000 junior, collegiate, adult and professional athletes each year.

 

IMG Media, which includes our content production subsidiaries TWI, Darlow Smithson Productions (DSP) and Tiger Aspect Productions (TAP), is recognized as a global leader in the delivery of traditional and new media content and services, with Internet, broadband and mobile expertise, transforming how audiences access and interact with content.

 

IMG Media produces and distributes over 11,000 hours of sports, documentary, drama, comedy, entertainment, popular factual and children’s content annually, over multiple platforms across 220 countries, including award-winning television and radio programming. It also represents the broadcast rights to many of the world's premier sporting events and has the world’s biggest sports archive with more than 250,000 hours of footage.

 

More information about IMG is available at www.imgworld.com.

 

 

Damien McDowell | Media Services Manager, Asia Pacific | www.brand-rapport.com Suite 801, 43 Lyndhurst Road, Central, Hong Kong D: +852 2815-9876 | M: +852 9409-5811