HALF MOON BAY, Calif. -- A grueling eight-plus months of competition on the LPGA Tour has finally determined the $1 million Samsung World Championship field that comprises the 20 most accomplished female golfers of 2008. The final 14 berths into the Championship, played Oct. 1-5 at the Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links, were awarded to the leading players on the LPGA Official Money List who had not previously qualified for the Samsung World Championship following the conclusion of Sunday's Bell Micro LPGA Classic.

The Samsung World Championship's last entrants are within the top 18 of the LPGA Official Money List and include (in ranking order by money list position): Annika Sorenstam (officially qualified as the leading "active" LPGA Hall of Fame member on the LPGA Official Money List), Paula Creamer, Seon Hwa Lee, Na-Yeon Choi, Cristie Kerr, Suzann Pettersen, Jeong Jang, Eun-Hee Ji, Angela Park, Katherine Hull, Song-Hee Kim, Karrie Webb, Hee-Won Han and Angela Stanford, who earned the last Championship place by winning the Bell Micro LPGA Classic and moving up nine spots on the LPGA Official Money List from her No. 27 position a week ago.

Those who earlier qualified for the Samsung World Championship are World No. 1 and two-time defending Samsung World Championship, LPGA Rolex Player of the Year, LPGA Official Money List and Vare Trophy winner Lorena Ochoa, LPGA Championship winner Yani Tseng, U.S. Women's Open champion Inbee Park, RICOH Women's British Open champion Ji-Yai Shin, Ladies European Tour Order of Merit leader Helen Alfredsson and Samsung World Championship Committee invitee Juli Inkster.

"This year's Samsung World Championship field represents the best female golfers of 2008 and the past generation, without a doubt, and Half Moon Bay and Northern California golf fans will be treated with an all-star display of the best the women's game has to offer in two weeks," Samsung World Championship Director Torrey Gane said. "There are golf legends, Hall of Famers, major champions, top-ranked players and 2008 winners everywhere you look in this field. Everyone has impressive credentials. Given the competition in this field, everyone has a legitimate chance to win."

The field for 28th edition of the Samsung World Championship largely reflects the best female players in the world – the top 13, and 16 of the top 20, players in the Rolex Rankings are entered – and carries themes of youth and international flavor.

Eight nations are represented, with eight South Koreans leading the way, followed by four Americans, two Australians, two from Sweden and one each from Mexico, Taiwan, Norway and Brazil. Seven players will be making their Samsung World Championship debuts and nine players are 22 years of age or younger. Only four players are over 30 and include LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Famers Inkster, Sorenstam and Webb.

The field has won all but three tournaments on this year's LPGA – Ochoa has won six events, Sorenstam and Creamer three and Lee two – and includes three past Samsung Championship winners in Ochoa (2006, 2007), all-time leading Samsung World Champion Sorenstam (1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2005) and Inkster (1997, 1998, 2000).

Ochoa has left no doubt that she is the player to beat at the Ocean Course. She won four consecutive starts, and five of six, earlier this year and remains No. 1 on the LPGA Official Money List ($2,381,048) and in scoring average (69.30). Both of these titles, for what would be a third consecutive year, would likely lead to third consecutive Rolex Player of the Year award.

This will be the final Samsung World Championship for Sorenstam, the World No. 2 and Swedish superstar who is retiring from golf at the end of 2008. In addition to her five Championship titles, she has finished runner-up in the event in 1998, 2000 and 2006. Sorenstam has won on four different courses in the Samsung World Championship and holds the tournament's lowest score, 22-under-par 266 score in 2002, among her many tournament records.

A winner of 72 LPGA Tour events, including 10 majors, as well as 18 international tournaments, eight Rolex Player of the Year awards and LPGA Official Money List titles, and six Vare Trophies, Sorenstam is the all-time leading money winner in LPGA history (over $22 million). The Samsung World Championship is next on Sorenstam's schedule, with seven events to follow in 2008, and only one of those in the continental U.S. Sorenstam currently ranks No. 2 on the LPGA Official Money List and in scoring average.

Inkster and Creamer, the top-ranked American in the world at No. 5 and No. 3 on the LPGA Official Money List, have rich ties to Northern California. Inkster is a Santa Cruz native, Los Altos resident and a four-time All-American at San Jose State University. Creamer was born in Mountain View and raised in Pleasanton. While living in Northern California, she won 11 AJGA events, was named the 2003 AJGA Player of the Year and turned professional, at 18, after winning the LPGA's Final Qualifying Tournament by five shots in 2004.

Golf Channel will broadcast the Samsung World Championship live from 3:30-5:30 p.m. PST/6:30-8:30 p.m. EST on Oct. 2-3. NBC's live coverage is 9:30-11:30 a.m. PST/12:30-2:30 p.m. EST on Oct. 4 and 1-3 p.m. PST/4-6 p.m. EST on Oct. 5.

Known for being held on some of the world's finest courses, the Samsung World Championship has been played on five continents in 27 years. Half Moon Bay Golf Links becomes the 15th course to host the elite event, which began in 1980 at The Country Club in suburban Cleveland, Ohio.

An Arthur Hills design that opened in 1997, the Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links is a links course set on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There are ocean views on every hole, but the course's signature holes are the final three: a 384-yard (from the tips) par 4, a 184-yard par 3 and the finishing 533-yard par-5 18th. All three play along the ocean bluffs and all three combine stellar shot making demands with stunning views.

Besides Ochoa, Sorenstam and Inkster, Championship winners include Beth Daniel (1980, '81, '94), JoAnne Carner (1982, '83), Nancy Lopez (1984), Amy Alcott (1985), Pat Bradley (1986), Ayako Okamoto (1987), Rosie Jones (1988), Betsy King (1989), Cathy Gerring (1990), Meg Mallon (1991), Dottie Pepper (1993), Se Ri Pak (1999), Dorothy Delasin (2001) and Sophie Gustafson (2003).

Daily tickets, five-day grounds passes and corporate ticket packages for the Samsung World Championship are available for purchase by calling 888-345-LPGA (888-345-5742), and are available online at the tournament Web site, www.samsung.com/golf. A variety of ticket options are available. The best bargain is the five-day grounds pass, which allows admission to all five days of the tournament and must be purchased pre-event – before Sept. 30 – for $83 ($43 savings from ticket prices at the gate).

Daily tickets to Thursday's first round and Friday's second round are $24 when purchased pre-event (before Sept. 30), $29 during the event. The weekend's final rounds, Saturday and Sunday, are $29 pre-event, $34 during the event. Admission is free to the Samsung World Championship Pro-Am on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Children 17 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by a paid adult. For more information on acquiring corporate ticket packages, call the Samsung World Championship tournament office at 650-712-8060.

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.:
Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), based in Ridgefield Park, NJ, is a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. The company markets a broad range of award-winning consumer electronics, information systems, and home appliance products, as well as oversees all of Samsung's North American operations including Samsung Telecommunications America, LP, Samsung Semiconductor Inc., Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Mexico, Inc. As a result of its commitment to innovation and unique design, the company was ranked #6 in the Electronics Industry segment in Fortune Magazine's "Most Admired Companies 2008," and named as one of Fast Company's "Fast 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2008." Among popular BusinessWeek rankings, the company ranked #26 in the publication's "Most Innovative Companies of 2008" and #21 in the "100 Best Global Brands" for 2007. Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd. is also a top patent holder, ranking second overall in the U.S. in 2007. Please visit www.samsung.com for more information.

About Half Moon Bay Golf Links:
Set against dramatic cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Half Moon Bay Golf Links features 36 holes of championship golf. For over 30 years, avid golfers have been returning to this incomparable setting, enjoying the variety of play offered by our two award winning courses, The Ocean and The Old. In 1997, Golf Digest ranked the Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links has been ranked as one of the top new courses for that year, and since 2005 has been ranked as one of the top 50 by Golf for Women. It earned a No. 38 ranking among top Resorts for Golf Digest and a Silver Award Winner for Golf Magazine's top resorts issue.

Half Moon Bay has been home to Costanoan Indians, Spanish explorers, and Canadian rumrunners from the days of Prohibition. Modern-day Half Moon Bay is known for fields of pumpkins and artichokes, but it keeps the spirit alive with the legendary Mavericks and the idyllic natural beauty that makes today's explorers want to stay.

Contact:
Toby Zwikel/Brian Robin/Damian Secore
Brener Zwikel & Associates, Inc., (818) 462-5599, 462-5610, 462-5614