Taylor Karle to play in Safeway International

Taylor Karle, a Scottsdale, AZ amateur, will get an opportunity to play next week in the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola.  Karle who finished second in the recent Safeway International Amateur Open was given the spot that was being held for Michele Wie.  Wie will not play next week in Arizona due to a wrist injury which has kept her out of action since January.

Karle is the #9 ranked junior in the US, and likes the Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club Prospector Course where the tournament is being held.  During her last six competitive rounds there, from Safeway International qualifiers and an AJGA tournament in August, 2006, she is 18-under par.

Amateur Daffodil Sanchez of Mesa, AZ will replace Karle in the Monday Qualifier on March 19th, for the Safeway International, having finished third in the Amateur Open.  The two low rounds from the professional qualifier will earn playing spots in the tournament proper, which starts on Thursday, March 22. 

Karle will join an incredible field.  According to Tom Maletis, President of Tournament Golf Foundation, the event owners and organizers, “We are pleased that at this point we have all of the top 40 players from the 2006 LPGA Money List committed to playing in Phoenix.”

The list includes defending champion Juli Inkster, Annika Sorenstam, Paula Creamer, 2006 Rolex Player of the Year Lorena Ochoa, Natalie Gulbis, Morgan Pressel, Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr and former Phoenix tournament winners Se Ri Pak, Karrie Webb, Laura Davies, Christa Johnson, Danielle Ammaccapane and Rachel Hetherington.

Karle will also join fellow amateur Sydnee Michaels, a freshman at UCLA, who won the Safeway International Amateur Open last month to earn a spot.  Michaels won a similar event and played in Safeway’s other LPGA event, the Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi, held last August in Portland, OR.

The 2007 edition of the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola will be held at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club March 19-25.  The 2006 tournament drew record crowds of over 111,000 in spite of cold and wet weather for the final round.  The tournament features a purse of $1.5 million and all four rounds, March 22-25, will be shown on the Golf Channel. 

Proceeds from the event benefit local Arizona charities through the Safeway Foundation.  Since 1983, the tournament has raised over $11 million for local charities, with the majority of proceeds directed to cancer care programs through Banner Health Foundation.  Charitable donations from the 2006 Safeway International were $900,000.

You can purchase two daily tickets for the price of one ($20) at the customer service desk of any Arizona Safeway store.  Weekly passes are $50.

For more information on the Safeway International and a complete tournament field list, visit www.safewaygolf.com