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| Defending champion and world number six Karrie Webb |
Entries have now closed for the 2014 ISPS HANDA Ladies European Masters with 48 professional tournament champions headlining the field at Buckinghamshire Golf Club, Denham, England, on 3-6 July.
A field of 144 competitors representing 33 nationalities with more than 300 international titles will tee up in the LET’s home tournament.
The strength of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is highlighted by its 36-strong contingent, which includes the recent Lalla Meryem Cup winner Charley Hull, the Deloitte Ladies Open champion Kylie Walker and four time Major winner Dame Laura Davies. They are joined by Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup team members Annabel Dimmock and Georgia Hall, as well as Stephanie Meadow, who finished third at the US Women’s Open in her first start as a pro.
France is represented by 17 players headed by 12-time LET champion Gwladys Nocera. The three-time Solheim Cup player is joined by fellow champions including Valentine Derrey, the winner of the recent Turkish Airlines Ladies Open and talented amateur Mathilda Cappeliez, 16, who recently made the cut at the US Women’s Open.
Australia’s 13 competitors include the defending champion and former world number one Karrie Webb, with 53 career titles including seven Major championships. The Hall of Famer is joined by teenager Minjee Lee, the top ranked player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Lee, the two-time Australian Amateur Champion, won the Oates Women’s Victoria Open by six shots on the Australian Ladies’ Professional Golf tour earlier this year and finished second in the Volvik RACV Masters. She is joined by World No.5 amateur Su-Hyun Oh, who finished second in the 2013 Volvik RACV Masters, as well as Stacey Keating and Rebecca Artis, the 2013 Helsingborg Open champion.
Sweden’s 11 representatives include the 2015 European Solheim Cup captain Carin Koch, 26-time tournament champion Sophie Gustafson, three-time LET champion Linda Wessberg as well as Camilla Lennarth, the recent winner of the Allianz Ladies Slovak Open presented by Respect.
Both Germany and the United States have seven representatives. The German contingent is led by Caroline Masson, a member of the victorious European Solheim Cup team last year in Colorado. She is joined by a talented trio from The 2015 Solheim Cup venue, Golf Club St. Leon-Rot: the Pilsen Golf Masters champion Ann-Kathrin Linder, Nina Holleder and rookie Karolin Lampert.
Flying the stars and stripes for the USA will be the 2014 Volvik RACV Masters champion Cheyenne Woods, Beth Allen, Katie Burnett, Amelia Lewis, Mallory Fraiche, Tessa Teachman and Hannah Jun.
Spain has a mix of youth and experience with six competitors in the field including former Solheim Cup player Tania Elosegui, Maria Hernandez and rising stars Marta Silva, Patricia Sanz Barrio, Mireia Prat and Virginia Espejo.
The South African quintet includes eight-time Ladies European Tour champion Lee-Anne Pace and two-time LET winner Ashleigh Simon, who finished second in last year’s tournament, a stroke behind Webb.
Italy’s challenge will be led by five-time LET champion Diana Luna, while Minea Blomqvist headlines the list of five Finnish players. Line Vedel and Malene Jorgensen lead Denmark’s four-strong challenge, while China will also field four representatives as LET professionals Jia Yun Li and Yu Yang Zhang are joined by amateurs Simin Feng and Jing Yan.
Thailand is represented by last year’s Lalla Meryem Cup winner Ariya Jutanugarn, who returned from injury in March this year, along with Nontaya Srisawang and Titiya Plucksataporn.
Marianne Skarpnord and Caroline Martens represent Norway, while Switzerland will also field two players: Anaïs Maggetti and Fabienne In-Albon.
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, India, Ireland, Latvia, Morocco, Namibia, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, South Korea and Swaziland are all represented by a single competitor. Of those, South Korean I.K. Kim is the one of the world’s top 30 players who won the 2009 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters on the LET and has three additional victories on the LPGA. Canadian Lorie Kane is another high profile player with four LPGA victories.
This year, the tournament field size has been increased to integrate the five leading tours of the world, with each tour invited to nominate two players. Of the 19 invitations, there is one name still to be confirmed, along with one place reserved for the leading LET member who finishes in the top ten at the Italian Open.
For further information and tickets, go to: www.ladieseuropeanmasters.com.
