Sixeen Advance from LPGA's Florida Sectional Qualifer

LAKELAND, Fla., Oct. 5, 2007 – Sixteen Duramed FUTURES Tour members were among the top-30 and ties at this week’s LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament in Florida who will advance into the LPGA’s Final Q-School late next month. Of that number, six Tour members were among the top-10 finishers.

Leading the charge was 2007 Tour rookie Angie Hill of Canton, Ohio, who tied for second with Rhode Island’s Anna Grzebien at five-under-par 283. Hill, who was co-medalist at the Florida sectional last year, carded rounds of 68-72-71-72 and appeared to thrive on the tricky Bermuda-grass greens while others struggled.

“I honestly felt really good coming into this week because I love the course, know the course, and was definitely more prepared and confident this year,” said Hill, 24, who made 11 of 19 cuts this season on the Duramed FUTURES Tour after finishing as the 2006 Southern Conference Player of the Year at the College of Charleston (S.C.).

But Hill still had some work to do on the back nine holes today at Plantation Golf and Country Club’s Bobcat Course in Venice, Fla. She was three-under-par for the tournament going into the 11th hole when suddenly, her focus waned. Hill missed a two-footer for par on the 15th for bogey, bogeyed the 16th from a bunker, and missed her six-foot par putt on the 17th for her third consecutive bogey.

“I wasn’t nervous,” said Hill, who carded three birdies and three bogeys in today’s final round. “I just mentally kind of hit a wall. Maybe that came from knowing that winning wasn’t what I needed to do to move on to the final stage. But I didn’t give up.”

Hill credited her putting this week for giving her an edge in the pressure-packed sectional.

“That’s what saved me,” she said. “There were a lot of times when I was just off the green with a touchy putt coming back from down-hill or from a side-hill lie and I made them.”

Sofie Andersson of Angelholm, Sweden finished tied for fifth at two-under-par 286 in her second attempt to advance from LPGA Sectional Qualifying. Andersson carded rounds of 71-72-72-71 for her top-five performance this week after failing to advance from the LPGA’s California Sectional Qualifier last month.

“My coach sent me a message that said, ‘The only thing I expect from you is to be nice to yourself,’” said Andersson, who won in Wisconsin this year in her rookie season on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. “It always feels good when you have four solid rounds. Today is a huge relief.”

The Swede, who played collegiately at the University of California-Berkeley, rolled in birdies on three holes, made two bogeys, saved par twice and hit 14 greens in regulation today. It was a steady finishing performance that started out with a week of uncertainty.

“When I got here earlier this week, I felt a little out of it,” said Andersson. “Maybe it’s because I don’t like the Bermuda grass. But I decided that to putt well here, I needed to practice putting a lot and I also needed a lot of patience.

Like Andersson, Samantha Head of Bedford, England struggled at last month’s California Sectional and focused on putting to advance out of this week’s sectional. The Orlando (Fla.) resident even switched to a custom-fitted Rife putter for a boost of confidence coming into her second-chance week of qualifying.

“I putted the best I’ve putted all year and I feel absolutely relieved,” said Head, who finished seventh at 287 (-1) this week, averaging 28 putts per round. “I was really nervous and felt kind of sick all week, but I dealt with it and I didn’t get ahead of myself out there.”

Head started the 2007 season on the Duramed FUTURES Tour and played 15 weeks on the Ladies European Tour. But the Briton returned stateside for the sectionals in an effort to earn a chance to play alongside her twin sister, Johanna Head, on the LPGA Tour. This time, she took a practical approach to advancing from the second sectional into the final stage.

“You just sort of get your pars and hang in there [to finish among the top 30],” she said. “It’s a completely different attitude in the sectional tournament.”

Rounding out the top 10 was eighth-place finisher Mo Martin of Altadena, Calif., at even-par 288, ninth-place finisher Kim Welch of Sacramento at 289 (+1), and Tiffany Tavee of Gilbert, Ariz., who tied for 10th at 290 (+2).

Martin said she used the strategy of never looking at a scoreboard and leaving the course as soon as her round was completed to get through this week’s stress-fest.

“I was paired in the third-to-last group today, so I figured it was kind of good, but I didn’t want to focus on numbers,” said Martin, a former UCLA collegian who won her first professional title at this year’s Duramed FUTURES Tour event in El Paso, Texas.

After practice rounds on Plantation’s Panther and Bobcat courses, where the event was held, Martin also made up her mind to play for the center of the small greens regardless of where the holes were positioned. That was a safe decision for today’s final round, in which players faced a number of tightly tucked flagsticks.

“I’m just really excited about moving on to the [LPGA] finals,” said Martin, of her third attempt to move into the last stage of qualifying. “When I started the season, I had three goals: to win my first tournament; to play in the U.S. Women’s Open; and to earn my 2008 LPGA Tour card. I did the first two, but at least I’m still in the running for the last thing on my list.”

Welch took advantage of the fact that she was paired with good friend Shayna Miyajima of Maui, Hawaii – also a Duramed FUTURES Tour member – in today’s final round. The two pretended they were playing a practice round. But Welch, in her third attempt at sectionals, also said she had more confidence this year.

“I just know that my game is good enough,” said Welch, who played collegiately at Washington State University. “In past years, I second-guessed it. This time, I trusted my ability.”

More importantly, the big hitter trusted her putter. That wand failed her at the California Sectional, where she recorded 11 three-putt greens in four rounds. She went home to Sacramento and talked about her putting woes with PGA Tour member Kevin Sutherland, who gave her a helpful tip.

“He told me to think there are two different putters out there -- the bad putter, who is mechanical, and the free-flowing putter, who makes everything,” she said. “So this time, I was ‘Carefree Kimmie,’ and I averaged around 30 putts each round. My putting was a lot better this week.”

Tavee carded a two-under-par score of 70 today, but was +2 after eight holes following a few small mistakes.

“I was a little nervous, but I figured that the bogeys came at a good time because it wasn’t at the end of the round,” said Tavee, a second-year member of the Tour after playing collegiately at Arizona State University.

After bogeys on No. 2 and No. 5, Tavee birdied Nos. 9, 10 and 12 – all from 15 feet. She didn’t get up and down for par on the 16th hole, but came back with birdies on the 17th and 18th to finish strong.

“It feels good,” said Tavee, who will play in her first LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament after two attempts. “I learned a lot on the Tour this year and the experience will help me at the final stage.”

Another member of the Duramed FUTURES Tour, rookie Anastasia Kostina of Nakhabino, Russia, also came to Florida this week after a poor performance at last month’s California sectional. She was cruising along today with two birdies on the front nine when her nerves started kicking in. The Russian bogeyed holes No. 9, 10, 14 and nearly knocked herself out of a pass to LPGA Final Q-School when she ended up in a water hazard on the tricky 17th hole for a double-bogey.

“I started having trouble keeping my composure and I knew I was close to making the top 30 or maybe even was sitting right on the number to make the cut,” said Kostina, who played collegiately at Washington State.

Kostina’s drive on the par-four 18th hole landed in a fairway bunker. Now, she faced a long bunker shot over the water into a green with the hole tucked behind another bunker. The Russian hit an 8-iron, but missed the green left. She chipped to 30 feet, then drained the long putt to save par and finish at 293 (+5) – making the top-30 cut by two shots.

“It was an emotional roller coaster today because I was really nervous, but making that last putt was a huge, huge relief,” said Kostina, who needed only 27 putts today and who will become the first Russian player to advance into LPGA Final Qualifying.

Korean medalist Na Yeon Choi led wire-to-wire this week. The four-time Korean LPGA Tour winner finished at 281 (-7), two shots ahead of Hill.

The top-30 players and ties after 72 holes will now advance to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., set for Nov. 28 through Dec. 2. Those players will join the top-30 and ties from the California sectional, as well as LPGA Tour members attempting to improve their status and players who finished No. 6-15 on the final 2007 Duramed FUTURES Tour money list.

For more information and results, visit LPGA.com.

Contact: Lisa D. Mickey, Duramed FUTURES Tour, 863-709-9100, Ext. 2 or lisa@duramedfuturestour.com.

Duramed FUTURES Tour members who advanced from the LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament in Venice, Fla., are as follows: