SOUTH AFRICAN ACE ASHLEIGH SIMON (18)

TURNS PRO AND SIGNS WITH IMG & NIKE

Fewer than 24 hours after helping South Africa beat new Commonwealth champions Britain, the 18-year-old Springbok ace, Ashleigh Simon, pictured right, announced that she has both turned professional and signed with the global sports management company, IMG.

Ashleigh’s decision to turn professional follows an outstanding amateur career whereby she has broken almost every amateur record in South Africa. Her achievements include being the youngest player to receive full African colours, aged 14, playing No.1 for her country in the Commonwealth tournament, the youngest player to win the ladies SA amateur stroke-play and match-play double and the first player in 101 years to win the South African Open title three times.
The teenage sensation, who left school last month, has also made a huge impact on the SA women's professional circuit - as an amatuer! In 2004 she won the WPGA Ladies South African Open, the only amateur ever to have done so, and has underlined her extraordinary potential by winning a WGA Tour event each year since, including the 2007 WPGA Ladies Open in March. She capped her season off by finishing top points scorer of the 2007 WPGA Ladies Tour.
Ashleigh’s professional schedule is already shaping up, having been offered invitations to play in the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open and the KLM Ladies Open and also one of the two sought-after invitations available for the $2million HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship on the strength of her amazing match-play record.
Ashleigh, who turned 18 yesterday, enthused, “I can’t wait to get out on the Tour. I have thoroughly enjoyed my amateur career and feel I am absolutely ready for the next stage of my golfing journey. I have been fortunate enough to have already experienced the professional environment so I know it is a place where I feel comfortable and I feel I have learnt a lot from the tournaments I have played so far.

"IMG look after many of the players I have admired and aspired to since I started playing golf, such as Annika Sorenstam, Laura Davies, Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman and Gary Player and I am looking forward to benefiting from the wealth of experience IMG has amassed over the years.”
Gary Player, who has played with Ashleigh on several occasions, says "Ashleigh is an exceptionally talented young golfer. She has a very bright future ahead of her and she will be a wonderful ambassador for woman's golf and South Africa."
Guy Kinnings, IMG’s Managing Director of Golf in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Australia, whose team represents the world's best golfers including Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam, Morgan Pressel, , Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman, said;

“Ashleigh’s unprecedented amateur record has made her one of the most exciting prospects in golf. Her outstanding results both on the amateur and professional circuits over the past four years have certainly made the world of golf take notice and we are thrilled she has chosen to work with IMG as she takes this next step.”
It was also announced today that Ashleigh will be joining the elite stable of top athletes that represent Nike. Her exclusive media partner will be Golf Digest and their newly launched title Golf for Women. Another Proud Supporter of Ashleigh is SuperSport, the World Of Champions, one of the world's premier golf broadcasters, who will keep fans updated on her progress throughout the year.