HELEN ALFREDSSON TAKES VICTORY AT INAUGURAL GRAND CHINA AIR LPGA IN HAINAN, CHINA

Haikou, China, October 26, 2008 – Helen Alfredsson stormed to a stunning victory at the inaugural US$1.8 million Grand China Air LPGA, coming from five shots behind overnight with a final round of seven-under 65 gave her a three-stroke triumph over  Tseng Yani at the Hainan West Coast Golf Club in China.

The 43-year-old Swede earlier posted rounds of 70 and 69 to finish at a 54-hole total of 12-under 204 to pocket the US$270,000 winner’s cheque, with Tseng’s final round of four-under 68 putting her at nine-under 207.

 

Laura Diaz, the tournament’s first-round leader could only add a 72 today to finish alone in third a shot behind Tseng, while a 75 for Karen Stupples of England, the 36-hole leader, relegated her to fourth at seven-under 209 in Haikou, the capital of China’s island province of Hainan.

 

The leading mainland Chinese player was Feng Shanshan, the first exempt player from her country on the LPGA Tour, who finished in sixth. In her first year on Tour, the Guangzhou golfer thrilled the galleries with a 68, which saw her finish at five-under 211 and with her fifth top-10 of an impressive rookie campaign.

 

Among the other big names, world number four Suzann Pettersen finished at three-under 213 (equal ninth) and Rolex Rankings’ world number two Annika Sorenstam, playing one of her final events before ‘stepping away’ from golf at the end of the season, was equal 17th. American stars Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel were tied 34th and joint 52nd respectively.

 

For Alfredsson, without a win since 2003 until victory at July’s Evian Masters in France, it was her second win in something of a comeback season. She had risen to eighth in the world before this week and sat in fifth on the LPGA Official Money List.

 

A quick start, with birdies at the first two holes, was the key. “The first hole was probably about four metres, so it was a good putt, and I was very happy, because it played long. On the second hole, I made quite a long putt.

 

“So I got a very good start, and I did so yesterday, but I didn't bring it any further then.  But I kept playing well and I kept giving myself chances, and so it was nice to finish in the first nine five‑under.”

 

Added Alfredsson, who was given the nickname ‘Grandma’ by Tseng last week in Hawaii: “I think when you play golf, you don't always think about age. But the diversity on our Tour, on the LPGA, it's so great. You have people from everywhere. (Feng) Shanshan is a wonderful girl from China that you should be very proud of

 

“It keeps everybody young and it keeps everybody competitive. They don't want to get beat by us, because we are so old, and we still want to beat them, because they are so young.”

 

For Tseng, who drew numerous fans chanting support in Chinese, it was her 10th top-10 finish in an outstanding rookie season highlighted by her first Major victory at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-cola and rising to number three in the Rolex Ranking.

 

Said Tseng: “I feel honoured to play in the first official LPGA event in China. Having finished second and with only one player who is better than me, I feel proud.

 

“There were times where I thought I am not playing as well as I expected, but generally I had a pretty good round. It was fairly windy and quite a few flags were located at the comer, which made the course more difficult.

 

“Since I almost caught up with the leader, I am very happy with the position I finished. It was a three-day event, so you never know what would happen if it was a four-day tournament,” she said.

 

Alfredsson got into gear quickly with birdies at the opening two holes. She picked up three further shots on the front nine, turning in five-under 30 and assumed the lead with her sixth birdie of the day at the par-fourth 10th.

 

While both Stupples and Diaz pushed hard, after Alfredsson rolled in a birdie putt for at the par-five 17th for a three-shot lead over the American the margin became too much. Stupples and Diaz then stumbled to additional late bogeys that allowed Tseng to sneak into second place.

 

On a day when no other player shot lower than 68, Alfredsson credited her fitness for her impressive scoring. “I haven't really been having much success the last few years. But I think one of my keys, that everybody should be in life, I've tried to stay fit all my life.  I've had some injuries, but I always worked out and stayed pretty strong.

 

“This year I felt really good. All of a sudden all of the practice that I put into my game this year paid off. It's different when you're injured and you keep practicing, but you don't see any results,” she said.

 

For Feng, meanwhile, her effort was a brilliant debut at the first official LPGA event to be played in China. In just her first season as a professional and as China’s leading hope for a famous victory, the 19-year-old handled the pressure like a veteran.

 

“My target was a top-15 finish before I came. Many top players joined the Grand China Air LPGA in Hainan this time and I actually was around middle to below average in the LPGA (on the money list rankings). This is my first time to play in my homeland China and I did not want to aim too high as I didn’t want to be over-pressured.

 

“In the old days when I played in China at junior events, usually there are only few spectators who are players’ parents or relatives. Here there are many spectators flying from different part of China. I am very grateful for their support,” she said.

Played in Haikou, the capital of the island province of Hainan, the Grand China Air LPGA featured 63 of the world’s best players competing for US$1.8 million. It was the first official LPGA event to be staged in China and is the richest tournament on the LPGA’s annual end-of-year Asian swing.

– ENDS

Media Enquiries

brandRapport Damien McDowell Media Services Manager T: +852 2815 9876 F: +852 2815 9866 E: dmcdowell@brand-rapport.com	IMG John Cappo Senior VP / Managing Director, Golf – China T: +86 21 5405 1222 Ext 854 F: +86 21 5405 1833 E: john.cappo@imgworld.com
LPGA Dana Gross-Rhode Sr. Media Relations Coordinator T: +1 386 274 6273 F: +1 386 274 1099 E: dana.grossrhode@lpga.com

Notes To Editors

About Grand China Air and HNA Group

Grand China Air is a subsidiary of HNA Group, one of the four largest airline companies in China, and is the flagship company of its aviation business.  Grand China Air employs modern management structure with a goal of becoming an international airline brand.

 

HNA Group’s main business is air transportation, with other operational areas including airport management, travel service, logistics, hotel management, retail business, financial service.  HNA being in the top 500 enterprises for six consecutive years has 70 billions RMB in asset, employing over 36,000 staff.  

 

HNA Group’s aviation companies have nearly 180 fleets, providing close to 3000 flights a week and 20 million trips per year.  HNA Group received multiple awards including “Golden Eagle Cup” since its establishment, and received “Passengers Satisfaction Service” award for nine consecutive years, and “Flight Punctuality” award for eight consecutive years.   

 

About the China Golf Association

Established on May 23, 1985, the China Golf Association’s goal is to develop golf in the country by increasing golf penetration and professional skills in China. CGA has been active in communicating and working with other golf associations and organizations globally. CGA is currently made up of nine working committees in the following areas: Rules and Competition, Professional Golfers, Amateur Golfers, Junior Golfers, Women Golfers, Senior Citizens, Handicap System Administration, Public Relations and Development and Course Management.

 

About the Ladies Professional Golf Association

As the longest-running women’s professional sports organization in the world, the LPGA features a membership comprised of world-class LPGA Tour professionals and dedicated Teaching and Club Professionals (T&CP).  Today’s LPGA Tour features the most talented global sampling of professional athletes competing in 37 events in 10 countries with total prize money of more than $64 million. In addition to its dynamic Tour members, nearly 1,200 certified T&CP members serve the golf industry in teaching, coaching and management positions, and oversee programs aimed at increasing the involvement of women, girls and youth in golf.  The not-for-profit 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. The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information on the LPGA, log on to www.LPGA.com.

 

About IMG

IMG is the world's premier Sports, Entertainment and Media Company. IMG is a diversified global business with two major business segments: IMG Sports & Entertainment, and IMG Media. IMG employs more than 2,600 people in 30 countries. Forstmann Little & Co. purchased IMG in 2004.

 

IMG Sports & Entertainment includes: consulting services; event ownership and management; fashion events and models representation; licensing; golf course design; client representation in golf, tennis, broadcasting, speakers, European football, rugby, cricket, motorsports, coaching, Olympic sports and action sports. In addition, IMG Academies is the world's largest and most advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport training and educational facility, delivering world-class sports training experiences to over 12,000 junior, collegiate, adult and professional athletes each year.

 

IMG Media, which includes our content production subsidiaries TWI, Darlow Smithson Productions (DSP) and Tiger Aspect Productions (TAP), is recognized as a global leader in the delivery of traditional and new media content and services, with Internet, broadband and mobile expertise, transforming how audiences access and interact with content.

 

IMG Media produces and distributes over 11,000 hours of sports, documentary, drama, comedy, entertainment, popular factual and children’s content annually, over multiple platforms across 220 countries, including award-winning television and radio programming. It also represents the broadcast rights to many of the world's premier sporting events and has the world’s biggest sports archive with more than 250,000 hours of footage.

 

More information about IMG is available at www.imgworld.com.