Top-ranked Lydia Ko and junior sensation Ashlan Ramsey are among the sponsor exemptions
The Kraft Nabisco Championship has announced the names of nine of the world’s top amateurs, college and junior players that will participate in the 2013 tournament.
“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.”
Here is some more information about the nine amateurs invited:
• Lydia Ko won two professional tournaments, the Bing Lee/Samsung Women’s NSW Open and the CN Canadian Women’s Open. At the age of 14, she won the Bing Lee, which set a new mark for the youngest player to ever win a professional tournament. Then at 15 at the Canadian Women’s Open, she became the youngest-ever winner on the LGPA. She finished the season as the top-ranked amateur according to the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings.
• Georgia Hall, the No. 4-ranked player in the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings, will be playing in her first tournament in the United States. The 16-year-old from England won three prestigious tournaments in 2012, which include the Hampshire Rose, the Roehamption Cup and the Critchley Salver at Sunningdale.
• Alison Lee, the top-ranked junior in the Golfweek/Sagarin Girls Junior Rankings, had played in major championships before. She played in the U.S. Women’s Open three times and played in her first Kraft Nabisco in 2012. She will join the UCLA Bruins in the fall.
• Doris Chen is a sophomore at the University of Southern California. Chen had six top-11 finishes as a freshman last year, which included a win at the Pac-12 championships.
• Lindy Duncan is a the third player from Duke to have won the 2012 Ping NGCA NCAA Player of the Year. She became the fifth Blue Devil to win first team All-American honors in her first three seasons.
• Camilla Hedberg, a native of Spain, was named the 2012 SEC Freshman of the Year at Florida. She collected her first collegiate win this fall at the Cougar Classic.
• Isabelle Lendl is a senior at Florida and teammates with Hedberg. She has seven amateur and collegiate victories to her credit, including the 2013 Dixie Amateur Championship. Lendl is the daughter of tennis great Ivan Lendl.
• Stephanie Meadow, a native of Northern Ireland, is a junior at Alabama. She won the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship and clinched victory for GB&I at the Curtis Cup this summer. Meadow was the 2011 SEC Freshman of the Year.
• Ashlan Ramsey will be helping start the women’s golf program at Clemson University in the fall. She is ranked No. 6 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Girls Junior Rankings. Ramsey is a two-time first team Rolex Junior All-American.
“It’s an honor to be selected and especially with those names,” Ramsey said. “I’m so excited though, and it’s going to be awesome.”
About the Chevron Championship (ANA Inspiration)
First women's professional major of the year, the Chevron (formerly the ANA Inspiration, and before that the Kraft Nabisco) Championship draws more than 100 of the best women professional golfers in the world, as well as the top-ranked amateurs in th...
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