GEORGIA HALL, STEPHANIE MEADOW GET INVITES TO FIRST MAJOR KRAFT NABISCO

NEWS RELEASE

The Kraft Nabisco Championship is pleased to announce that nine of the world’s top amateur and college players, led by the world’s top-ranked amateur, Lydia Ko, Georgia Hall (pictured) of England, and Alison Lee of Valencia, California, will participate in the 2013 tournament, the first major of the women's professional golf calendar.

Doris Chen, Lindy Duncan, Camilla Hedberg, Isabelle Lendl, Northern Ireland's Stephanie Meadow and Ashlan Ramsey will also join Ko, Hall and Lee in the field as they compete in this year’s tournament, taking place April 1-7, 2013 at Mission Hills Golf Club.

“Providing the future stars of women’s golf the chance to play alongside their professional heroes in the first major championship of the year has always been a point of pride for the Kraft Nabisco Championship,” said David Blake-Thomas, Executive Director and Chairman, Kraft Nabisco Championship. 

“We are proud to be able to provide these great young players from around the world with this important step in their careers, and look forward to joining golf fans in cheering them on.”

 

Lydia Ko of New Zealand enjoyed a record-setting 2012 season, winning two events that not only established marks for the youngest person to win professional golf tournaments, but also earned her the top women’s amateur ranking in the world. In January of 2012, Ko won the Bing Lee/Samsung Women’s NSW Open on the ALPG Tour. At just 14 years of age at the time, the victory set a new mark for the youngest player to win a professional golf event. In August of last year, at 15 years and four months of age, Ko became the youngest-ever winner on the LPGA Tour when she won the CN Canadian Women’s Open. The victory topped the previous mark of 16 years and seven months by Lexi Thompson and made Ko the first amateur winner of an LPGA event in over 43 years.

Fresh off a strong 2012 season that saw her rise to the top of the women’s European amateur ranking, and 4^th overall in the World women’s amateur rankings, 16-year old Georgia Hall will be playing in her first tournament in the United States. Hall won three prestigious tournaments in 2012 including the Hampshire Rose, the Roehampton Gold Cup and the Critchley Salver at Sunningdale, cementing her status as one of the top young women amateurs in the world.

Already this year Georgia has won two golf medals (team and individual girls) at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival.

Alison Lee, ranked 7^th in the World amateur rankings and 1^st in both the Golfweek Junior rankings and the Polo AJGA rankings, will turn 18 later this month. Lee has already gained valuable experience in major championships, having played in the U.S. Women’s Open three times and the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2012. Lee made the cut at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open, her first appearance in a major championship, when she was just 14 years old and finished in a tie for 26^th place.

Doris Chen, originally from Bradenton, Florida, is currently a sophomore at the University of Southern California. Chen earned 2012 NGCA All-American and All-Pac-12 first team honors, posting six top 11 finishes as a freshman last year, including a win at the 2012 Pac-12 Championship. In her USC player bio, Chen lists World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, who will play host to this year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship celebrity pro-am, as her favorite professional athlete.                                                                                                                                             Lindy Duncan, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was named the 2012 PING NGCA NCAA Player of the Year, becoming the third player from Duke University to earn the award. Duncan, currently ranked 11^th in the World Golf Amateur Rankings also became just the fifth Duke Blue Devil to earn NCGA First Team All-American honors in her first three seasons.

Camilla Hedberg, from Sitges, Spain, is the number one ranked amateur player from Spain and the 15^th ranked amateur in the world. Hedberg was named the 2012 SEC Freshman of the Year and twice earned SEC Golfer of the Week honors. Hedberg notched her first career collegiate win in her sophomore season at the Cougar Classic, winning by four strokes over Duke All-American Lindy Duncan.

Isabelle Lendl, a senior at the University of Florida, has seven career amateur and collegiate victories to her credit including the 2013 Dixie Amateur Championship, the 2012 Tarheel Invitational, the 2012 Dale McNamara Invitational, the 2009 and 2012 Women’s Eastern Amateur Championship, the 2010 Central Distric Invitational, and the 2008 Doherty Championship. Isabelle, whose father is tennis great Ivan Lendl, was named Golfweek’s Player of the Week in October, 2012.

Stephanie Meadow, from Jordanstown, Northern Ireland, and ranked 9^th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, is a junior at the University of Alabama.  Last summer Meadow won the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship and clinched victory for Great Britain and Ireland at the Curtis Cup. Stephanie is a two-time first-team All-American golfer by Golfweek, two-time first-team All-SEC selection, and was named the 2011 SEC Freshman of the Year.

 Ashlan Ramsey, who is 17 years old and has signed a letter of intent to attend Clemson University, is ranked 57^th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and 6^th in the Golfweek Junior rankings. Ashlan was ranked 4^th on Golfweek’s Top 10 Junior Girls of 2012 and is a two-time First-Team Rolex Junior All-American (2011, 2012).