Mi Hyun Kim to defend her title at LPGA Tour's Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Ohio

From WorldGolf.com News Services

After a Fourth of July weekend break, LPGA Tour stars are back in action this week at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger, held July 12-15 at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio.

Mi Hyun Kim will try to defend her title and bring home the nearly $200,000 winner's check. Kim defeated Natalie Gulbis in a three-hole sudden-death playoff last year for her seventh LPGA Tour victory.

This season, Kim has six top-10 finishes in 14 starts, including a win at the Semgroup Championship in May, where she defeated Juli Inkster in a playoff. A victory this week would level Kim with Se Ri Pak as the only other player to win the Corning Classic in consecutive years.

Kim will face strong competition in Pak, the most recent qualifier for the LPGA Tour and World Golf halls of fame. Pak has won the Corning Classic four times and finished fourth last year, so she'll likely be in contention this weekend.

Paula Creamer also has a strong record at the event, never finishing lower than tied for fifth. She shot a 65 in the final round last year and was one stroke out of joining the playoff. Creamer is currently second on tour in scoring average and percentage of top-10 finishes.

Cristie Kerr will be playing fresh off her win at the U.S. Women's Open, her first major championship. She has four top-10 finishes in 12 starts, earning $955,180 this season. She'll cross $1 million in earnings with a top-four finish.

Notable exceptions from the field are Annika Sorenstam, world No. 1 women's golfer Lorena Ochoa and Michelle Wie.

July 11, 2007