Coup for ANZ Ladies Masters field
Queensland can boast a piece of golfing history following the confirmation that the 2010 ANZ Ladies Masters has secured the strongest field ever assembled for a golf tournament in this country. The prestigious event, to be contested at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Queensland's Gold Coast between the 4 and 7 March has confirmed the appearance of three of the four major champions from 2009.
This marks the first time in Australian golfing history that three current major champions will contest the same event on Australian soil. Kraft Nabisco Champion, American Brittany Lincicome, Women's US Open Champion, South Korean Eun Hee Ji and McDonalds LPGA Championship winner and World No. 7, Swede Anna Nordqvist, will headline the star studded field.
Supporting and challenging the current major champions will be a plethora of top 20 players from the Rolex Women's World Golf rankings. These include World No.3 Suzann Pettersen, World No. 6 Yani Tseng, South Korean Na Yeon Choi (No.12), our own World Golf Hall of Famer and six times Masters Champion Karrie Webb (No.13), South Korean Song-Hee Kim (No. 14), European No.1 and World No. 18 Sophie Gustafson.
The international players do not stop there, South Koreans Hee Young Park (36), Hee Kyung Seo (No. 42) and M.J Hur (No. 45), Americans Stacey Lewis (No. 47) and the flamboyant Christina Kim (No.48) are all heading to the magnificent RACV Royal Pines Resort, most for the first time.
A field comprising 8 of the top 20 and 15 of the top 50 world ranked players, is also unprecedented statistic for an Australian professional golf tour event.
Three Australians have previously won the ANZ Ladies Masters. Webb is a six times champion, Jane Crafter won twice in the 90's and Katherine Hull is the defending champion. Hull, Webb and fellow compatriots including World No. 28 Lindsey Wright, Nikki Campbell and Tamie Durdin, both of whom won on the LPGA of Japan in 2009, three time LPGA tournament winner Wendy Doolan, LET multiple title winners Nikki Garrett, Joanne Mills and Karen Lunn will be fighting to keep the title in Australian hands.
The established players will however need to look over their shoulders, as the tournament has a reputation of uncovering a rookie star who upstages the stars. Young Australian rising stars including Kristie Smith, Rebecca Flood, Leanne Bowditch, Kate Combes and Sarah Oh will be keen to repeat the efforts of 2006 champion, 16 year old Amy Yang, as they relish in the strongest field on the biggest stage of their fledgling careers.
No one will discount former World No.1,
winner of over 70 titles worldwide including three Ladies Masters
titles, reigning Women's Australian Open Champion and crowd favourite
England's Laura Davies, who will be as keen as ever to add another
title to her unparalleled list of international victories.
Tickets now on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets. ANZ Ladies Masters proudly supporting the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
SOURCE: ANZ Ladies Masters
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