Stanford claims second career win at Bell Micro LPGA Classic
Texan maintains 54-hole lead for first win since 2003
MOBILE, Ala., Sept. 14, 2008 – Eight-year Tour veteran Angela Stanford (70-67-67-73=277, -11) held on to her 54-hole lead at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic on Sunday to claim her second career victory at the inaugural event in Mobile, Ala. Stanford carded a final-round 1-over-par 73 to hold off rookie Shanshan Feng (67-73-70-68=278, -10), who chased down the Texan with a 4-under 68 to make a move into the runner-up position with a birdie on the final hole. With the victory, Stanford took home a $210,000 winner’s share of the $1.4 million purse, and also received her first champagne victory shower on Tour from friends Kristy McPherson and Brittany Lincicome.

“(The shower) felt great. I didn’t get that my first time, the first win in ’03. So I think I’m pretty fortunate and very blessed to have friends out here that are so awesome and they’re so sweet to hang around – they’re just great,” Stanford said. “The final hole was a little more drama than I would have wanted, so it was a welcome treat to be greeted by my friends.”

Stanford entered Sunday’s final round with a four-stroke lead after carding consecutive 67s in the second and third rounds, but after a double bogey on the second hole, Stanford’s lead was decreased to just two strokes. On the aid of a final-round 4-under 68, Feng closed the gap to one stroke when she birdied the final hole of The Crossings course at Magnolia Grove on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, which forced Stanford to make par or better on 18 to avoid a playoff. Stanford maintained her composure and holed a four-foot par putt for her first win since the 2003 ShopRite LPGA Classic.

“I honestly believe the second (win) is harder, because the first time you don’t really know it’s happening when it happens,” Stanford said. “You try to duplicate it, and I’ve been trying, and probably too hard. So this feels good. I’m more relieved than excited right now, but I’m sure I’ll be excited later. I’m just relieved that I did it again.”

Kim Hall (70-74-67-69=280, -8) rounded out the top three positions on the leaderboard, while Hee Young Park (71-70-70-70=281, -7), Danielle Downey (69-78-64-70) and Katherine Hull (71-69-68-73) finished in a three-way tie for fourth place.

Runner-up Feng comes away with four eagles at Bell Micro LPGA Classic.
Rookie Shanshan Feng recorded an eagle in each round of the Bell Micro LPGA Classic en route to a career-best second-place finish. Each of Feng’s eagles came on two of the four par-5 holes at The Crossings course at Magnolia Grove. In the first and third rounds, the only current LPGA Tour player from China eagled the 463-yard 16th-hole, and in the second and final rounds she dropped it in the 448-yard fourth hole for eagle. Along with the eagles, the first-year player fired 12 birdies and 11 bogeys. To date, Feng has five eagles on the LPGA Tour. Feng finished the Mobile, Ala., tournament with a 10-under-par (67-73-70-68=278) scorecard, finishing just one stroke behind winner Angela Stanford.

Stanford makes jump in Second Half ADT Points race.
With just seven events remaining before the season-ending ADT Championship, the race is heating up for the final 11 qualifier positions to be filled via LPGA Playoffs 2008, where every dollar earned on the LPGA Tour counts as one ADT Point.

Bell Micro LPGA Classic champion Angela Stanford made the biggest leap in the race, as her win gave her 210,000 ADT Points and improved her from 29th on the list entering the event and jumped her to sixth place with 321,577 ADT Points. Cristie Kerr continues to lead the Second Half race with 654,801 ADT Points, and 2007 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Angela Park is in second with 613,785 ADT Points. Hee-Won Han (414,197 ADT Points), In-Kyung Kim (347,874 ADT Points) and 2008 LPGA State Farm Classic champion Ji-Young Oh (343,220 ADT Points) round out the top five.

Players can qualify for the ADT Championship via three ways: winning a designated Winner Event (an event with a purse of $2 million or more); earning enough ADT Points in either the first half or second half of the season; or earning one of two wildcards. In each half of the season, there are 15 spots available. The first spots are awarded to winners of Winner Events, while the remaining spots in each half will are awarded to the ADT Points qualifiers who are not otherwise qualified. The final two spots in the 32-player field are given to two wildcards, who are the top two players from the LPGA Official Money List following the Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Banamex and Corona who are not otherwise qualified.

The 2008 ADT Championship will offer a $1,550,000 purse with a $1 million first-place paycheck. For the third straight year, this represents the largest first-place prize in the history of women’s golf. The season-ending ADT Championship will again be contested at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 20-23, 2008.

Hull continues strong play.
After picking up her first win on the LPGA Tour at the CN Canadian Women’s Open last month, Australian Katherine Hull has continued her solid play and followed up with two top-five finishes in as many events since winning in Ottawa. Hull shot a 7-under-par 281 (71-69-68=73) at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic to finish tied for fourth place, and in the week following her maiden victory at the CN Canadian Women’s Open, Hull also finished in the fourth position at the Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi. The five-year Tour veteran picked up a paycheck of $58,917 in Mobile, Ala., which increased her season earnings to $751,225. At the start of the 2008 LPGA Tour season, Hull had career earnings of $565,803, and she now ranks 125th all-time on the LPGA Official Career Earnings list with $1,317,028.

Five players turn in career-best performances at Bell Micro LPGA Classic.
Runner-up and rookie Shanshan Feng, Kim Hall (3rd place), Hee Young Park (T4th), Danielle Downey (T4th), Mollie Fankhauser-Cavanaugh (T7th) and Anna Rawson (T10th) all turned in career-best finishes at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic in Mobile, Ala. Feng (67-73-70-68=278, -10), the only current LPGA Tour player from China, recorded four eagles, one on each round, to bring her career total up to five en route to a second place finish. 2003 Stanford University graduate Hall (70-74-67-69=280, -8) finished in third place at RTJ Golf Trail, Magnolia Grove Course after turning in 17 birdies and bringing her season total up to 144 sub-par scores. Joining Feng in the rookie-ranks is Park (71-70-70-70=281, -7), who has now finished in the top-10 in four tournaments out of 23 played in 2008. Second-year player and Auburn University graduate Downey (69-78-64-70=281, -7), enjoyed a solid week of golf while returning to her college state. Fankhauser-Cavanaugh (71-69-72-70=282, -6) also turned in the best finish of her career as the seventh-place tie was also good for her first top-10, while Australian model and professional golfer Rawson bested her previous best – a tie for 15th – by breaking into the top-10 for the first time on the LPGA Tour.

Stanford earns a stay at Canyon Ranch.
With her victory at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic, Angela Stanford earned an all-inclusive stay for two at a Canyon Ranch resort. In a combined effort to promote health and overall well-being among Tour players, Canyon Ranch will provide every winner of an LPGA event with one all-inclusive stay at one of Canyon Ranch's two destination resorts.