Players Focus on Prize: Sunday’s Final Round Awards LPGA Cards

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Dec. 1, 2007 – Twenty-seven members of the Duramed FUTURES Tour were among the 70 players who survived today’s 72-hole cut in the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament at LPGA International.

Tour member and LPGA non-exempt player Jane Park of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., continues her wire-to-wire lead of the tournament with scores of 65-70-71-68 for a six-shot lead at 274 (-14). Tour member Su A Kim (68) of Seoul, Korea trails at 280 (-8) in a tie for second.

Two-time season winner Taylor Leon (70) of Dallas is tied at 282 (-6), alongside Tour members Meredith Duncan (71) of Shreveport, La., and Carolina Llano (73) of Medellin, Colombia. Another two-time winner in 2007, Liz Janangelo (73) of West Hartford, Conn., is tied for 11th at 284 (-4).

“I think I was more prepared this year,” said Llano, of her second attempt at LPGA Q-School. “If I play well, it’s not because I got lucky. It’s because I worked for it.”

The former Pepperdine University All-American bounced back from a serious injury earlier this season. She tore a ligament in her right ring finger while exercising with a physio ball. When she fell on her hand, the finger hyper-extended, leaving her with a still-crooked finger.

“It was pretty scary,” said Llano, a rookie on the Duramed FUTURES Tour who played in only 10 events this season because of the injury, posting a season-best tie for seventh in El Paso, Texas. “It was my first injury and when a doctor tells you that you can’t play golf for five straight weeks, it’s pretty hard and even harder to get ready for the first stage of [LPGA] Q-School.”

But while the injury took away from her preparation, Llano says it taught her a few things about patience and helped make her “mentally stronger.” She also received a stern warning from fellow Colombian Cristina Baena about coming back from her injury too soon.

“Of course it was frustrating when I only had a few tournaments left on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, but Cristina told me not to rush it and to let my finger heal,” said Llano, who says she is not in pain, but hopes more physical therapy will eventually allow her to straighten the injured finger.

Sarah-Jane Kenyon (70) of Queensland, Australia got hot on the back nine on the Legends Course today, rolling in five birdies to finish tied for 16th at 285 (-3). Kenyon, who has won once on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, switched to cross-handed putting five days before the first round of this week’s Q-School. That effort has paid off with fewer putts.

“It wasn’t really that much of a gamble considering how bad I was putting coming into this week,” said Kenyon. “At least more putts are starting to fall.”

Today’s fourth round on the Legends Course and Champions Course was a more disappointing day for several members of the Tour, including four players who were 2007 season winners. Vikki Laing (70) of Musselburgh, Scotland and Janell Howland (73) of Boise, Idaho finished at 297 (+9), followed by Mo Martin (73) of Altadena, Calif., at 298 (+10). Tour veteran Lori Atsedes (76) of Ithaca, N.Y., finished at 301 (+13).

Two players making their first attempt to earn LPGA status could only praise the experience.

“The thing I learned here this week is that I can really play well,” said Anastasia Kostina of Nakhabino, Russia, who finished at 304 (+16). “I played both good and bad. My good is definitely good, but I have to get rid of the bad.”

Added Caroline Larsson of Danderyd, Sweden, who finished at 322 (+34): “I knew my game wasn’t where I wanted it to be, but I wanted to come here and try. If I have to come back here next year, I’ll be more confident and comfortable.”

A total of 17 exempt LPGA Tour cards will be handed out on Sunday, while non-exempt status will be awarded to the top 35 and ties.

The final round will be played only on the Legends Course, starting at 7:45 a.m., with the leaders teeing off at 9:46 a.m.

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