August 15, 2007

DePaulo wins 2007 SkyCaddie® LPGA T&CP Championship

PINEHURST, N.C., Aug. 15, 2007 – Lisa DePaulo, of Austin, Texas, used a mix of the past and present to claim the 2007 SkyCaddie® LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) Championship on Wednesday at Pinehurst No. 8 in Pinehurst, N.C. With the aid of the tournament’s official rangefinder, SkyGolf’s SkyCaddie®, a new driver and putter, and while channeling a past champion of Pinehurst, DePaulo (70-71-71=212) carded a 1-under 71 and held off 2006 LPGA T&CP Champion Karen Davies (73-71-70=214), of Carefree, Ariz., to claim the Championship Division title with a 4-under-par 212. Angela Aulenti (74-70-75=219), of Fairfield, Conn., won her first Senior Division title by one stroke over Sally Austin (73-73-74=220), of Chapel Hill, N.C.

“It feels so good. I had a lot of things working for me this week, and I have to call this a ‘tech win.’ I changed my driver and putter over the weekend, which is something I normally would never do, since I’m a conservative golfer. Between the new clubs and the SkyCaddie®, you can’t question advancements in technology,” DePaulo said. “The other day, I walked Pinehurst No. 2, and I could just feel Payne Stewart all over that course. We used to work for the same teacher, and I think he was out there with me this week.”

DePaulo, the President of Tournament Treasures in Austin, entered the final round trailing 36-hole leader and fellow Texan Patricia Beliard by one stroke. She began the day with nine-straight pars before recording birdies on holes 10 and 12. A three-putt on hole 16 put Davies within a stroke of the eventual champion, but DePaulo came back with another birdie on hole 17 after chipping to four feet on her third shot to secure her victory.

With the win, DePaulo claimed a $13,250 winner’s check and earned a spot in the 2008 McDonald’s LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, one of the LPGA’s four major championships.

“Playing at McDonald’s next year is going to mean a lot. It means that I’ll get to compete against the best players in the world again, and I might even get in a practice round with my buddy (Sherri) Steinhauer. It’s very cool,” DePaulo added.

Runner-up Davies and third-place finisher Dede Cusimano (72-72-71=215), of Fort Myers, Fla., entered Wednesday’s final round in a four-way tie for fourth place, but both posted sub-par round of 70 and 71, respectively, to round out the top-three finishers in the Championship Division.

In the Senior Division, Aulenti maintained her 36-hole lead to win the title while competing in the flight for the first time. Beginning her round on the back nine, Aulenti led off her round with a birdie on hole 10, and followed with a bogey on 11. After playing seven-straight holes at even par, Aulenti endured a two-stroke penalty on the par-5, 450-yard sixth hole for teeing off on the championship tees rather than the senior tees, and a final bogey on the ninth hole gave her a final-round score of 3-over-par 75.

“I had a senior moment, what else can I say? I had a three-shot lead at the beginning of that hole, but Sally (Austin) bogeyed, and I was able to hold onto the lead, even after that. Between the penalty and today’s heat, it was a survival test out there,” Aulenti said. “I can’t put into words what I feel right now. I don’t think it has quite hit me yet, because I just wasn’t expecting to walk away from here with the crystal. I’m absolutely excited, that’s for sure. I think I’ll wake up tomorrow and then everything will sink in.”

Austin carded a 2-over-par 74 in final-round conditions that reached a real-feel temperature of just over 100 degrees. 2002 Senior Division champion M.J. Smith (75-76-71=222), of Waldorf, Md., finished in third place in the Senior Division with a 6-over-par 222.

The SkyCaddie® LPGA T&CP Championship was sponsored by: platinum sponsors Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra; Callaway; Odyssey; and Rolex; and diamond sponsors Adams Golf; Etonic; Nancy Lopez Golf; PeakVision; and Yes!Golf.