Lorie Kane and Janice Moodie to defend Hyundai Team Matches title

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:46:28

"DANA POINT, Calif., -- Lorie Kane and Janice Moodie will defend their title this week, Nov. 16-17, at the Hyundai Team Matches at Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point, Calif. In 2001, the duo defeated Wendy Ward and Grace Park, 5 and 4, in the final LPGA match for their first title in the three-Tour, team match-play competition. The team match play event, entering its ninth season, features the top stars from all three major tours competing in a four-ball match play format.

Defending champions Kane and Moodie are joined by fellow LPGA players Laura Diaz/Heather Bowie; Grace Park/Beth Bauer and four-time Hyundai Team Matches champions Dottie Pepper and Juli Inkster.

In the event's first two years, Kelly Robbins and Tammie Green won back-to-back LPGA titles (1994-95). Pepper and Inkster won the matches in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000; they were not held in 1998. Park and Bauer, the 2002 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, received a sponsor's exemption this year, the eighth staging of the event.

This year's eight-person LPGA line-up includes four 2002 LPGA tournament champions: Moodie; Inkster (2); Diaz (2) and Park. Pepper is making her return to competition after taking the majority of the year off after undergoing shoulder surgery on March 1, 2002. Pepper returned to competitive golf in late June at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, but experienced recurring pain and stiffness in the shoulder prior to the U.S. Women's Open and had to withdraw.

Representing the PGA Tour are the teams of Fred Couples/Mark Calcavecchia, Rich Beem/Peter Lonard, Jerry Kelly/Chris Smith and Peter Jacobson/Scott McCarron. The teams of Allen Doyle/Dana Quigley, Bob Gilder/Jim Thorpe, Doug Tewell/Bruce Lietzke and Bruce Fleisher/David Graham represent the Senior PGA Tour in this week's competition.

In 2001, the Kane/Moodie team advanced to the finals by defeating Karrie Webb and Kelly Robbins in the semifinals, 2 and 1. In the finals, Kane and Moodie got off to a great start in their match by winning the first two holes to go 2-up. They increased their lead to 3-up when Kane posted a birdie on the ninth hole. Moodie's birdie on hole 11 brought the match to 4-up.

The team of Ward/Park won their first hole of the day on 12 when Ward made birdie. Kane answered with a birdie on hole 13 to bring the match back to 4-up. Ward and Park made bogey on the par-3 14th hole, allowing Kane and Moodie to win the hole and the match with a par.
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