Tour Members Ready for Start of LPGA Q-School Finals

LAKELAND, Fla., Nov. 27, 2007 – The wait is finally over.

And for 64 members of the Duramed FUTURES Tour, it’s time to take a shot at earning fully exempt status on the 2008 LPGA Tour at this week’s LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. The first round of the 90-hole tournament will kick off Wednesday. Staged at LPGA International’s Legends and Champions courses, a field of 137 players will compete for 17 exempt cards, with non-exempt status awarded to the next 35 players and ties.

“I’m itching to get started,” said Liz Janangelo of West Hartford, Conn., who finished sixth on the Tour’s 2007 money list. “I have prepared well for this event and I had great preparation for it all season on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. Regardless of finishing sixth, it was a great year.”

A two-time winner in 2007, Janangelo will be one of 10 players from the Duramed FUTURES Tour who automatically advanced into the LPGA’s Q-School Finals by finishing among the top 15 on the Tour’s money list. The top 30 players and ties from each of the LPGA’s sectional qualifying tournaments in California and Florida also advanced, joining current LPGA Tour members hoping to retain or improve their status for 2008.

“It’s been a long wait since the end of our season back in September,” said Taylor Leon of Dallas, also a two-time winner this year. “It’s hard to practice when you don’t have a tournament for three months, but you have to look at the goal of earning an LPGA card and see how important this week is. I’m mentally ready to get going.”

Leon, an All-American at the University of Georgia, joined the Duramed FUTURES Tour last spring following the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship. In eight tournaments this year as a pro, she posted four top-10 finishes, including her first two professional victories, and finished ninth on the Tour’s 2007 money list.

“I’m just going to play my game like I did all season,” said Leon, a 2006 U.S. Curtis Cup Team member. “The Duramed FUTURES Tour was such a great opportunity to prepare me for LPGA Q-School. I had good competition against good players every week.”

Another player hoping to earn a full LPGA card for 2008 will be Brandi Jackson of Greenville, S.C., who finished seventh on the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s 2007 money list. Jackson had LPGA status in 2004, but has spent the last three seasons on the Duramed FUTURES Tour trying to win her first professional title. The Furman University grad posted nine top-10 finishes in 18 events this year and has recorded 16 top-10s in three seasons with at least one runner-up finish in each of her last three years.

“I’m very anxious to get going,” said Jackson. “I haven’t played competitively in three months, but I know the courses so well and I’ve played there in every type of condition. Because I don’t have to learn the courses, I don’t think I’ll be as nervous out there as I normally would be.”

At last year’s LPGA Final Q-School, Jackson missed the 72-hole cut by one stroke. This year, she hopes to compete like she did all season on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.

“I need to have a better start this time and I’m going to take the attitude to win the tournament,” said Jackson. “Maybe if I have that mindset a little more this year, good things will happen.”

Leon recently played in a couple of mini-tour events out west to warm up for this week’s Q-School. Janangelo played in another mini-tour event that was recently held at LPGA International. But she claims she really got her competitive juices flowing by running in a recent 5-kilometer road race, where she finished third in her age group.

“After the season was over, I took some time off, rested and focused on my fitness,” said the former Duke University All-American. “Now, I’m real excited. I love the game and I have that fire in my belly again.”

Daily tee times will run from 8:15 to 10:16 a.m., starting on Wednesday, with groups of three playing in 11-minute intervals off the first and 10th tees at both the Legends and Champions courses. A 72-hole cut will be made Saturday to the top 70 and ties. Sunday’s final round will be held on the Legends Course only.

For daily results and pairings, visit www.lpga.com. The last two rounds of the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament will be covered on www.duramedfuturestour.com.

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