2012 Sybase Golf Match Play Championship a battle for Munoz, Kung and Pressel

Gladstone, NJ (MAY 20, 2012) – Azahara Munoz won the 2012 Sybase Match Play Championship after defeating Candie Kung 2&1 in a back-and-forth match in the final round at Hamilton Farm Golf Club.

 

“We congratulate Azahara Munoz on her outstanding play over six exhilarating matches,” said John Chen, Chairman, CEO and President of Sybase. “It’s great that she becomes a Rolex First-Time Winner at our tournament, a memory both Aza and Sybase will cherish. We would also like to recognize Candie Kung for advancing to the finals by eliminating some of the top competitors in the field. We love the excitement the Sybase Match Play Championship brings to the LPGA Tour, and this was a beautiful week for great golf.”

 

 

With the victory, the 24-year-old Spaniard becomes a Rolex First Time Winner on the LPGA Tour and adds $375,000 to her career earnings. After turning professional in September 2009, Munoz became the first Spaniard to win the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year in 2010, and finished in the top-10 three times in 2011. Munoz is also a member of the Spanish National Team.

 

“The golf course is unbelievable and the maintenance guys have done an amazing job,” said 19th-seeded Munoz. “The weather’s been perfect, the crowd is amazing here, and everything about Hamilton Farm is great – the food, the volunteers, so we all love coming here.”

 

Over the four-day tournament, Munoz faced a tough road to the finals, taking down Lindsey Wright (4&3), Hall of Famer Karrie Webb (2&1), Jodi Ewart (3&1) and Stacy Lewis (5&4). In the semifinals, Munoz defeated good friend Morgan Pressel (2&1).

 

It wasn't an easy day for Munoz who mentioned, "it's been ‑‑ you know, none of us play our best, but we didn't make many mistakes.  I feel at the end hole, 16 was kind of weird.  She got really unlucky on the ball bounce way left, so I got a good break there.  But other than that, I started pretty slow and then made really good birdies on 11, on 13, so that kind of got me going."

 

There were two incidents which cast a pall over the event. The first was a slow-play, loss-of-play ruling against Morgan Pressel. Pressel then turned the tables by calling a violation (unsupported) on Munoz for allegedly touching her putting line with her golf club.

 

All ended politely for the two ladies as Munoz stated, "We are really good friends. I guess what happens on the course stays on the course.”

 

As the 49^th seed, Kung’s route to the finals wasn’t any easier. After facing Catriona Matthew (3&1) in the round of 64, she defeated Haeji Kang (3&2), No. 1 Ranked Yani Tseng (3&1), Julieta Granada (2&1) and Vicky Hurst (2&1) before losing to Munoz in the final. Every player Kung faced was seeded higher than her. For her second place finish, Kung earns $225,000.

 

Morgan Pressel finished third, earning $150,000 by defeating fellow American Vicky Hurst in the consolation match, 2&1. Hurst banked $112,500 for her fourth place finish.

 

Through their finishes, Kung, Pressel and Hurst qualified for the year-ending CME Group Titleholders. Munoz punched her ticket through finishing tied for second at the LPGA LOTTE Championship.

 

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Photo credit: Sina.com

Posted via email from stacysolomon's posterous

Great golf photos and finishes at the Sybase but not for Michelle Wie

After a wonderful day of watching the best LPGA golfers on Tour, I have a great picture diary to share with my readers. I suggest that, if you ever get the opportunity to see a professional golf event live, GO! For those people living in the New York, tri-state area, there are still tickets available for the final round of the Sybase Match Play Championship, under an hour from New York City.

Hamilton Farm Golf Clubhouse

We arrived just before the Quarterfinal matches and watched the LPGA ladies prepare at the driving range and on the greens. Here is Amy Yang in her backswing and in her downswing. It's amazing what you can do with a speedy shutter!

Michelle Wie and Yang on the putting surface:

Watching the professional golfers tee off. Amateur golfers can learn a great deal from the LPGA finish position:

For golf aficionados, it's amazing how close you can get to the action!

Here are a few more pictures from the 9th green.

Although all of the ladies were cheered on, the one with the throngs of followers was none other than Michelle Wie.

I was standing next to the loudest of Michelle Wie's cheering section, Christina Kim, who mentioned that she wasn't "tweeting" today, but I was! You can see my cell phone action pics on Twitpic.com and you can always friend me on Twitter.com/Golf4Beginners.

As for Michelle Wie, she was eliminated by six-time LPGA winner Jiyai Shin. After winning 2&1, Wie was asked about her game and she said, "I didn't play as well as I wanted. I think I know exactly what I need to work on. I'm going to work hard the next two weeks and try to win."

Perhaps Wie shouldn't have been so concerned with changing outfits during the break...

Too bad both Ai Miyazato and Michelle Wie were knocked out of contention at the Sybase event but there will be great final round golf action tomorrow when Shin rallies against Sun Young Yoo and Angela Stanford battles against Amy Yang.


For more information visit the Sybase Match Play Championship or LPGA.com website.

Miyazato, Wie Match still possible at Sybase

Ai Miyazato and Michelle Wie both defeated their respective opponents in first round action at the Sybase Match Play Championship which leads them closer to a final round duel. As I mentioned yesterday, I think this type of golf game will be perfect for Wie (remember her great play against Team Europe at the Solheim Cup?) and, if she can win this event, Michelle will get the much needed confidence that she needs to be a leader in the LPGA.
Here are a few of the notable second-round pairings:

10:30 a.m. Morgan Pressel (14) vs. Sophie Gustafson (19)

10:40 a.m. Amy Yang (30) vs. Juli Inkster (35)

11:20 a.m. Ai Miyazato (2) vs. M.J. Hur (31)

11:40 a.m. Karrie Webb (7) vs. Amanda Blumenhurst (55)

12:20 p.m. Cristie Kerr (5) vs. Sun Young Yoo (28)

12:30 p.m. Azahara Munoz (54) vs. Beatriz Recari (62)

12:40 p.m. Jiyai Shin (1) vs. Hee-Won Han (32)

1:00 p.m. Michelle Wie (8) vs. Hee Young Park (25)

I hope that Barry and I can get over to Hamilton Farm Golf Club tomorrow where we will tweet and send pics from the event.

Why Miyazato, Wie should be paired at Sybase Match Play

Listed below are the Round One pairings for the Sybase Match Play Championship. I'll be curious to see if Ai Miyazato, winner of three LPGA events this season, will be as successful in match-play as in stroke play.

I also want Michelle Wie to make a move into the second round. Match play may be a better format for Wie because she can move past the blow-up holes, regroup and take back control of her round.

Wouldn't it be exciting to see a final round pairing of Wie vs Miyazato? Michelle should probably be paired against Ai in order to learn better how to keep emotions under control. Perhaps Wie may struggle at first but instinct may then prevail with great final round action.

As Michelle mentioned in her pre-tournament interview this week, "It's kind of nice to change it up a bit. I remember I played a lot more match play in amateur events in USGA golf. It's nice to switch it up."

8:50 a.m. Morgan Pressel (14) vs. Jimin Kang (56) 

9:06 a.m. Suzann Pettersen (3) vs. Juli Inkster (35)

9:30 a.m. Jee Young Lee (27) vs. Christina Kim (40)

10:16 a.m. Ai Miyazato (2) vs. Jeong Jang (51)

10:40 a.m. Stacy Lewis (26) vs. Amanda Blumenherst (55)

11:16 a.m. Candie Kung (29) vs. Natalie Gulbis (44)

11:32 a.m. Momoko Ueda (21) vs. Vicky Hurst (37)

11:56 a.m. Cristie Kerr (5) vs. Meaghan Francella (53)

12:08 p.m. Se Ri Pak (17) vs. Azahara Munoz (54)

12:16 p.m. Brittany Lincicome (16) vs. Beatriz Recari (62)

12:32 p.m. Jiyai Shin (1) vs. Kyeong Bae (42)

1:04 p.m. Michelle Wie (8) vs. Stacy Prammanasudh (50)

Golf Channel coverage for the first round of the Sybase Match Play Championship is:

            1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST (Live)

            6:30 – 8:30 p.m. EST (Tape Delayed)

Sybase Match Play Championship celebrates LPGA golfers by naming brackets

Sybase Match Play Championship and the LPGA are celebrating the careers of Annika Sorenstam, Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth and Patty Berg by naming the brackets after the lady golfers with the most career wins in history.

The tournament’s number one seed will be placed in the Whitworth Group, while the No. 2, 3 and 4 seeds will be placed in the Wright Group, Sorenstam Group and Berg Group, respectively. All first-round matches will be drawn at a special media event at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18.

Hamilton Farm Golf Club in New Jersey will be the setting for this exciting event. Sixty-four of the top LPGA golfers will compete in match-play format for a purse of 1.5 million dollars.

This honor is probably as exciting as the ladies getting stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and well-deserved!

The new LPGA commissioner, Mike Whan, is sure to draw pats on the back for his thoughtful gesture as he commented, "As we celebrate 60 years of the LPGA, we salute the four champions of our sport with the most wins in LPGA history."


Here is a brief history lesson of these four great female athletes:


Kathy Whitworth
*Won 88 LPGA Tour tournaments in a career which spanned four decades, more than any other player in the history of the game, male or female.
*Six major championships including seven Player of the Year awards, seven Vare Trophies and eight money list titles.
*She still holds the record for the most consecutive seasons with a win at seventeen and records the most career seasons with a victory at 22.

Mickey Wright
*82 wins and 13 major championships in her career.
*The only player to win four LPGA Championships
*One of only two players to win the U.S. Women’s Open four times.
*She still holds numerous all-time records, including the most wins in one season with thirteen.
*Only player in LPGA history to ever hold all four major championship trophies at the same time.
*She won the final two major championships of the 1961 season, the U.S. Women’s Open and the LPGA Championship and the first two majors of 1962, the Titleholders and the Western Open.

Annika Sorenstam
*Won 70 times with 10 major championships.
*Eight Rolex Player of the Year Awards
*Six Vare Trophies
*Led the LPGA Money List eight times.
*The only LPGA player to ever shoot 59 in an official tour event
*First LPGA player since Babe Zaharias to compete in a PGA Tour event when she played in the 2003 Bank of America Colonial.
*The only player in LPGA history to sweep the Player of the Year, Vare Trophy and Money List title five times.

Patty Berg
*One of the 13 Founders of the LPGA
*Won 60 LPGA titles and a record 15 major championships
*Seven Western Open titles, seven Titleholders Championships, and one U.S. Women’s Open, the only time it was played as a match-play event.
*Led the LPGA money list three times, and three times she won the Vare Trophy. In 1955, she became the first LPGA player to achieve both honors.
*In 1978, the LPGA established the Patty Berg Award to reward outstanding contributions to women's golf, to honor Patty Berg and to recognize her diplomacy, sportsmanship, goodwill and contributions to the game.


If Babe Didrikson Zaharias could only see how far the LPGA has come! Did you know Babe met her husand, wrestler George Zaharias, while playing golf in a PGA tournament? Babe's participation in a men's event was sixty years prior to Annika Sorenstam, Suzy Whaley or Michelle Wie's attempts!


And yes, The Sybase Match Play event will be aired on television but sadly not on Network TV. Visit LPGA.com for more details.

Also, we are sorry to earn about the passing of LPGA golfer Erica Blasberg. Only 25 years old, she had much more golf to play.



About the Ladies Professional Golf Association

The LPGA was founded in 1950 and today boasts a membership comprised of world-class LPGA Tour professionals and more than 1,300 dedicated Teaching and Club Professionals (T&CP). Players on the LPGA Tour, who represent more than 25 countries, compete globally showcasing the very best of women’s professional golf.

LPGA T&CP members directly impact the growth of the game through teaching, coaching and management positions and oversee programs aimed at increasing the involvement of women, girls and youth in golf. The LPGA’s Vision is to inspire, empower, educate and entertain by showcasing the best golf professionals in the world. Its Mission is to be a leader in the world of sports, to promote economic empowerment for all members, and to serve as role models on and off the course.