Meet the LIJA Tour Style Leaders...
Our Tour Style Leaders represent an outstanding group of talented players devoted to looking and peforming their best in all conditions. They are passionate, inspired and empowered by the game of golf.
LPGA TOUR
Marisa Baena
Baena's LPGA Tour careers is highlighted by 13 top-10 finishes, the most notable being her victory at the 2005 Women's World Match Play event. The Colombia native - her country's first to play on the LPGA or PGA Tours - has earned nearly $2 million since her rookie season in 1999, and for the last 2 years has organized a charity golf event that has raised over $100,000 to help Colombian children. "Thanks to golf I am able to give back to my country and that is an incredible feeling," says Baena. "I am very proud to say that I have brought hope back to Colombia through golf."
Jennifer Greggain
Following a groundbreaking amateur career that included being the first female member of the boys' golf team at her high school in Washington, Greggain joined the Futures Tour and then the Canadian Women's Tour where she finished seventh on the 2007 Order of Merit. She joined the LPGA Tour in 2005 and again in 2008 after finishing tied for 46th at last year's LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. Greggian's reasons for playing the game include taking advantage of her media coverage to highlight various world initiatives, such as relief missions in Haiti following Hurricane Gene.
Jimin Kang
The 27-year old South Korean's LPGA Tour career follows a highly successful season on the Futures Tour in 2004 where she topped the money list and claimed Futures Tour Player of the Year honors. In 2007, Kang finished tied-for-sixth at The Mitchell Company LPGA Tournament of Champions and claimed top-25s at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill and U.S. Women's Open.
Christina Kim
The two-time LPGA Tour winner recorded six top 10s in 2007, including back-to-back runner-up finishes at the LPGA State Farm Classic and Safeway Classic. Known for her outgoing personality and unique sense of style, the 23-year old Kim has notched a Solheim Cup appearance, becoming the youngest player in LPGA Tour history to earn $1million and ranked in the top 25 on the money list three times. With these achievements, Christina has become a role model for many young women - a position she takes great pride in. Her advice to these young women is that "beauty comes from within, and clothes as fun, gorgeous and comfortable as LIJA help to bring that beauty out."
Leta Lindley
During her 12-year LPGA Tour career, Lindley has claimed nearly 30 top-10 finishes. Although she missed most of the 2006 season after giving birth to her second child, she returned in 2007 to finish in the top-25 at the Wegmans LPGA and is ranked among the Tour's top-75 in career earnings. "At the end of the day, the most important lesson I've learned is that I am not defined by my golf score," she says. "I am so much more - I am a woman, a wife, a mother, a daughter and a friend. I just happen to be a successful LPGA golfer."
Jane Park
Following a stellar amateur career that included two Curtis Cup competitons and winning the 2004 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, the 22-year-old recorded two top-10s on the Futures Tour in 2007. The former member of the UCLA women's golf team the won the LPGA Qualifying Tournament to earn exempt status for 2008, and promptly donated her prize money to a children's charity. "The main reason I took up golf was to help other people," says Park. "As a child, I had read and witnessed poverty not only in the United States but other countries like Korea and Japan. I also watched television programs that showed children and their families in destitution. These events impacted me in such a powerful way. As I embark on my journey, I have promised myself that I will do whatever I can to help those in need and always lend a helping hand."
FUTURES TOUR
Courtney Erdman
After finishing third in the 2001 California State Community College Championship, Erdman went on to compete in the 2002 and 2003 U.S. Women's Amateur Championships before turning professional in 2006. A contestant in the upcoming Big Break IX event in Ka'anapali Resort (Maui), she finished third at the United States Steel Golf Classic last year. "I have asked myself what I would do if I didn't play golf and I can't answer the question," says Erdman. "I love the game too much."
Brenda McLarnon
Entering her third professional season, the 24-year old from Belfast, Ireland, starred at the College of Charleston, where she helped lead the team to the National Junior College Athletic Association Women's Golf Championship in 2202, and finished third individually at the 2003 NJCAA Women's Golf Championship. Finding motivation in her father's love of the game, which in turn became her own, McLarnon turned professional in 2006.
LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
Georgina Simpson
The 37-year-old Brit's oustanding professional career includes nine top-10s on the LET. In 2007, Simpson recorded one of her best seasons, finishing second and third at the Wales Ladies Championship and KLM Ladies Open, respectively, and ranking No. 22 on the Order of Merit. "From the momen my dad put a 7-iron in my hand at age 13, I fell in love with the game," she says. Although ridiculed by her classmates for playing a game that was played by their grandparents, rather than their own age group, Simpson persevered and credits the sport with spurring her to be the determined person she is today.
