Rookie Sara Brown Claims Second-Round Lead in Decatur 

DECATUR, Ill., June 13, 2008 – The second round of the Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Players Championship is in the books as rookie Sara Brown of Tucson, Ariz., moved out in front of the field with a 1-under-par 69 on Friday. Brown carries a one-stroke lead over fellow first-year player M.J. Hur of Seoul, South Korea, who tied the low round of the day at 3-under-par 67.

Five players are tied for third at 139 (-1), including 2008 tournament winners Vicky Hurst (70) of Melbourne, Fla., and Kristina Tucker (70) of Stockholm, Sweden.

Despite a threatening weather forecast on Friday the 13th that included projected hail and an inch of rain, storms on the radar dodged the Hickory Point Golf Course as play moved along throughout the day. Morning winds intensified up to 25-35 mph, but died down to a near standstill as the afternoon wore on.

Brown, a recent graduate of Michigan State University, had a solid day on the greens with 27 putts. Brown made two birdies on the back nine, converting a 12-foot putt on No. 15, and rolling in a four-footer on No. 11.

“My putter wasn’t working as well as yesterday, but I still feel very confident with it,” said Brown, runner-up at the 2008 Duramed FUTURES Tour Qualifying Tournament in November. “I wish I played a little better today. I had a lot of birdie opportunities but they weren’t falling like yesterday.”

Clad in Spartan green with a matching Sharpie and hair tie, Brown continued to make a strong impact after making her debut at the Aurora Health Care Championship just two weeks ago in Lake Geneva, Wis. The energetic first-year player is excited to play for a share of the $115,000 purse at stake and has had her brother, Josh, as a caddie for the tournament.

“Play some golf, make the cut and make some money,” Brown said. “That’s my plan and to be on top makes it so much better, so I’m excited about that.”

Hur made a charge up the leaderboard, tying the field’s low round of the day with a 3-under-par 67 to sit in sole possession of second. The 2008 Louisiana Pelican Classic champion offset her lone bogey on the scorecard with three birdies. Hur needed just 26 putts on Friday and has been enjoying the challenging layout of the Hickory Point Golf Course.

“I really like this course because it’s wide open,” Hur said. “It was crazy windy this morning, but it was better than yesterday. I left some birdie chances out there and hit the driver so-so, but I had a lot of par saves.”

First-day leader Jessica Shepley of Oakville, Ontario, finished her second round with a 3-over-par 73 to slip into a tie for fifth.

“I missed a couple shots, but scrambled and kept the damage to a minimum,” Shepley said.

The winner of this week’s four-day tournament receives an exemption into the LPGA State Farm Classic, set for July 17-20, in Springfield, Ill.

A total of 77 players made the cut at 7-over-par 147.

Third-round play begins Saturday at 8 a.m., off the first tee. The leading group of Brown, Hur and Hurst will take its first swing at 11:45 p.m. off the first tee.

For real-time scoring and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.

Weather: Partly sunny with a high temperature of 81 degrees and winds blowing southwest at 5-10 mph throughout the afternoon, reaching gusts to 20-25 mph in the morning.

UNC-Wilmington/Michigan State Duo Sitting in Top 10

The combo of Sara Brown and Sarah Olsen of Grosse Ile, Mich., are representing Michigan State University well through the first two rounds of the Tour’s major championship. Olsen dropped four shots from her first-round total to finish at 2-under-par 68 on Friday. With Brown in the lead, Olsen is sitting in a six-way tie for eighth.

A pair of former Seahawks from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington is also in the top 10. Michelle Jarman of Wilmington, N.C., and Stephanie Otteson of Wilson, N.C., took advantage of today’s milder-than-expected weather. Otteson moved up the leaderboard with a round of 1-under-par 69 to tie Jarman and five others. Jarman finished Thursday in a tie for second with Sara Brown and is still in red numbers for the tournament at 1-under par.

Back-to-Back Tour Tournament Winner Mindy Kim Fires 68

Winner of the last two Tour events in wire-to-wire fashion, second-year pro Mindy Kim of Diamond Bar, Calif., fired a 2-under-par 68 to get back within striking distance. Kim finished her round with two birdies in her last three holes on Nos. 7 and 8, rolling in a 20-foot birdie putt before walking to the ninth tee.

“I just didn’t have anything going until the last three holes,” Kim said. “I wanted to come out and get under par today.”

Kim’s two wins this year propelled her to the top of the season money list, earning $32,172 through seven events.

Live Radio Broadcast of Saturday and Sunday’s Round Offered Online

Courtesy of News/Talk Radio 1340 WSOY AM, The Voice of Decatur, live radio coverage of the third and final rounds of the Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Players Championship will be available online Saturday and Sunday. Third-round coverage will begin streaming at 2-4 p.m. CDT and final-round coverage will be broadcast on Sunday from 1 p.m. to the end of the tournament. Links to the live coverage can be found under the real-time scoring link or the tournaments section on the Duramed FUTURES Tour website and www.WSOYam.com.

Contact: Ben Schlesselman, 386-274-6228, Ben@duramedfuturestour.com.