With a tie for 39th at the recent Longs Drugs Challenge, 20-year-old Seon-Hwa Lee clinched the 2006 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award. With only one event left in the race for the award, Lee, who is 249 points ahead of Ai Miyazato, can't be caught, even if she were to miss the cut at the Corona Morelia Championship -- an unlikely scenario, regardless, as Lee has made 24 of 24 cuts this season.
This year's rookie class was billed as one of the most talented in decades on the LPGA Tour, but Lee was undaunted in her ascension to the top of the standings. She took control of the race after the second week of the season when she played well enough to force a sudden-death playoff with Meena Lee at the Fields Open in Hawaii. Seon-Hwa Lee lost on the third hole of sudden death, but after that event she has never trailed in the Rookie of the Year standings.
She padded her lead with additional runner-up finishes at the MasterCard Classic and the LPGA Takefuji Classic before breaking through at the ShopRite LPGA Classic for her first victory. To date, she is the only rookie this year with a win on the LPGA Tour.
Lee is the fifth South Korean to win the award since 1998, following in the footsteps of Se Ri Pak (1998), Mi Hyun Kim (1999), Hee-Won Han (2001) and Shi Hyun Ahn (2004). Lee follows Paula Creamer, who on the strength of two wins last year, won the 2005 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award by 664 points over Meena Lee.
BIVENS NAMES ADVISORY COUNCIL: LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens has announced the reformation of the Commissioner's Advisory Council. The new council is comprised of 22 individuals from the corporate, academic, political, philanthropic and cultural arenas and is co-chaired by Bivens and Charles S. Mechem, Jr., the commissioner emeritus of the LPGA.
The council convened for the first time in early September and will continue to meet periodically each year. Its role is to provide expertise and guidance in all aspects of the LPGA's business, while also serving as a sounding board as the LPGA continues to grow and evolve. Members will offer expert counsel and insight in their respective areas and will assist Commissioner Bivens and her staff in optimizing opportunities for the LPGA's future growth and long-term success.
Among the members of the council are Edwin L. Artzt, retired chairman and CEO of the Procter & Gamble Company; Alice Dye, golf course architect; Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., president and CEO of the American Gaming Association; Nancy Lopez, LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame member; Steve Mona, CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America; Susan Neely, president and CEO of the American Beverage Association; and Sheila Tate, vice chairman of Powell Tate/Weber Shandwick.
RACE HEADS FOR THE END: With her tie for fourth at the Longs Drugs Challenge, Lorena Ochoa continued her dominance by leading the Official Money List with $1,974,122, which is $100,369 ahead of Longs Drugs Challenge winner Karrie Webb ($1,873,753). However, Ochoa is now just nine points ahead of Webb in the Rolex Player of the Year Race, as she has 223 points to Webb's 214. Annika Sorenstam is eight points behind Webb in third with 206 points.
Ochoa is also nearly half a stroke ahead of Sorenstam in the Vare Trophy race with a 69.4384 season scoring average to Sorenstam's 69.8448. Sorenstam won the money title, Player of the Year and the Vare Trophy last year. The 69-time LPGA Tour winner also accomplished the feat in 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2002. Webb captured Player of the Year honors in 1999 and 2000 along with the Vare Trophy, which she also won in 1997.
LEE MAKES A MILLION: Sarah Lee tied for 10th at the Longs Drugs Challenge to earn $20,868 and cross the $1-million mark in career earnings with $1,012,332. The finish is her best this season since she was runner-up to Juli Inkster at the Safeway International earlier this season. Lee has earned $203,803 this season.
ON THE COMMITTEE: Angela Stanford and Juli Inkster were recently elected by their peers to serve three-year terms as Player Directors on the LPGA Tour Player Executive Committee, which is part of the LPGA Board of Directors. Both Stanford and Inkster assume their positions immediately. Stanford replaces outgoing member Lorie Kane, whose term recently ended, while Inkster was a member of the previous LPGA Tour Player Executive Committee and was re-elected.
HALL OF FAME: Former LPGA Tour player Jody Anschutz was recently selected by the Minnesota PGA and the Minnesota Golf Association to be inducted into the Minnesota PGA/MGA Golf Hall of Fame.
Anschutz turned in a spectacular amateur career before beginning her professional career, winning the Women's State Amateur in 1978, three consecutive State High School and MGA Junior titles from 1979-81 and the Women's Match Play from 1981-83.
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