RICOH BRITISH OPEN
NEWSLETTER RELEASED

Dates and TV Times
First round: Thursday, July 30 TNT 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST
Second round: Friday, July 31 TNT 10 a.m.- 12 p.m. EST
Third round: Saturday, Aug. 1 ABC 1:30- 3:00 p.m. EST
Final round: Sunday, Aug. 2 ABC 1-3 p.m. EST

Purse
US$2.2 million
£1.5 million

Tee-Time Minus: 17 Days
There are 17 days remaining until the start of the 2009 Ricoh Women’s British Open when it returns to Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club for the fourth time and the first time since 2006.

Sherri Steinhauer captured that 2006 Ricoh Women’s British Open crown, her third title in the event and second at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

Chatting with Creamer
Paula Creamer, the No. 5-ranked LPGA player, will discuss the Ricoh Women’s British Open on a conference call Tuesday, July 14 at 11 a.m. ET.

The winner of eight LPGA titles and more than $6 million in career earnings, the popular and talented Creamer owns four top-five finishes in 2009. Her best finish in the Ricoh Women’s British Open is a T7 in 2007. Last year at Sunningdale, Creamer tied for ninth.

To join the call, please dial 800-230-1766 (U.S.) or 612-332-1017 (international).

GIFT (Green Initiatives For Tomorrow) initiative and Website Launched
The GIFT initiative will run on the Championship website www.ricohwomensbritishopen.com and will offer visitors the opportunity to pledge their support by offering to reduce their own Carbon Footprint. Ricoh have pledged to plant a tree for every ten visitors that take part in the initiative, plus everyone will enter a free prize draw where the winner will plant a fully grown tree at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, together with Paula Creamer during the Championship.

Ricoh will again plant a tree for every birdie, five trees for every eagle and one thousand trees for every albatross during this year’s Championship in their support of the Plant a Tree for Africa campaign. Last year over 1,800 trees were planted and the players will be looking to better that total this year.

More About Your Defending Champion
The winner of three LPGA events as a non-member last year, Shin wasted little time proving her dominating performance at last year’s Ricoh Women’s British Open was no fluke. Already, she cracked the $1 million mark in season earnings ($1,077,451) and leads the Official LPGA money list. She’s won twice at the HSBC Women’s Championship and the Wegmans LPGA.

Those were two of Shin’s four top-three finishes this year. She also has a runner-up at the J Golf Phoenix LPGA International and a third at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship.

Shin’s success has come largely from her command of ball-striking. She ranks second in fairways hit (82.8%) and ranks third in greens-in-regulation (72.4%). She is second in Rolex Player of the Year points (90) and leads Rolex Rookie of the Year points (922). Her 922 points are nearly twice that of her closest pursuer – Michelle Wie.

History
The Ricoh Women’s British Open was established by the Ladies’ Golf Union in 1976 with the intention of becoming the women’s equivalent of The Open Championship.

The growth in prestige resulted in an increase in the quality of courses willing to host the event. Sunningdale Golf Club joined the rotation for the first time in 1997, with Karrie Webb capturing the second of her three titles. The following year, Steinhauer won the first of her three at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club.

Until 1994, the Ricoh Women’s British Open was an official tour event only on the Ladies European Tour. That year, it became an official LPGA event, which boosted the quality of the field and the prestige of the event. In 2001, it became an official LPGA major, replacing the du Maurier Classic.

Last year, the Ricoh Women’s British Open was held at the Sunningdale Golf Club, where Jiyai Shin jump-started a remarkable summer and fall season by carding an 18-under-par 270 en route to her first professional major championship.

Winners before the tournament became an LPGA sanctioned event
Year Winner Course Score
1976 Jenny Lee-Smith Fulford 299
1977 Vivien Saunders Lindrick 306
1978 Janet Melville Foxhills 310
1979 Alison Sheard Southport & Ainsdale 301
1980 Debbie Massey Wentworth 294
1981 Debbie Massey Northumberland 295
1982 Marta Figueras-Dotti Royal Birkdale 296
1983 No Championship
1984 Ayako Okamoto Woburn 289
1985 Betsy King Moor Park 300
1986 Laura Davies Royal Birkdale 283
1987 Alison Nicholas St. Mellion 296
1988 Corinne Dibnah Lindrick 295
1989 Jane Geddes Ferndown 274
1990 Helen Alfredsson Woburn 288
1991 Penny Grice-Whittaker Woburn 284
1992 Patty Sheehan Woburn (3 rounds) 207
1993 Karen Lunn Woburn 275

Winners after the tournament became an LPGA sanctioned event
1994 Liselotte Neumann Woburn 280
1995 Karrie Webb Woburn 278
1996 Emilee Klein Woburn 277
1997 Karrie Webb Sunningdale 269
1998 Sherri Steinhauer Royal Lytham 292
1999 Sherri Steinhauer Woburn 283
2000 Sophie Gustafson Royal Birkdale 282

Winners after the tournament became an LPGA major
2001 Se Ri Pak Sunningdale 277
2002 Karrie Webb Turnberry 273
2003 Annika Sorenstam Royal Lytham 278
2004 Karen Stupples Sunningdale 269
2005 Jeong Jang Royal Birkdale 272
2006 Sherri Steinhauer Royal Lytham 281
2007 Lorena Ochoa St. Andrews 287
2008 Jiyai Shin Sunningdale 270