Kristie Smith on the 8th hole at Royal Pines
Karrie Webb draws a crowd on the 7th hole
Japanese star Ai Miyazato at Royal Pines
Johanna Head plays out of a fairway bunker on 18th
Nikki Garrett and her caddie point the way
2008 winner Lisa Hall from England
Masters links
Photos: ANZ Ladies Masters 2010, day 1 Photos: 2009 Masters actionMasters winners
- 2009: Katherine Hull (Australia)
- 2008: Lisa Hall (England)
- 2007: Karrie Webb (Australia)
- 2006: Amy Yang (South Korea)
- 2005: Karrie Webb (Australia)
- 2004: Annika Sorenstam (Sweden)
- 2003: Laura Davies (England)
- 2002: Annika Sorenstam (Sweden)
- 2001: Karrie Webb (Australia)
- 2000: Karrie Webb (Australia)
- 1999: Karrie Webb (Australia)
- 1998: Karrie Webb (Australia)
- 1997: Gail Graham (Canada)
- 1996: Jane Crafter (Australia)
- 1995: Annika Sorenstam (Sweden)
- 1994: Laura Davies (England)
- 1993: Laura Davies (England)
- 1992: Jane Crafter (Australia)
- 1991: Jane Geddes (USA)
- 1990: Jane Geddes (USA)
About the ANZ Ladies Masters
March 4-7, 2010 - RACV Royal Pines Resort
THE ANZ Ladies Masters is the holy grail of women's golf in Australia and in 2010, will celebrate its 21st anniversary in style, with the best field ever assembled teeing off on the Gold Coast.
Three of the four LPGA major winners from 2009 will tackle the tricky Royal Pines layout from March 4-7.
American Brittany Linicome (Kraft Nabisco champion), Women's US Open champion Eun Hee Ji and McDonald's LPGA championship winner Anna Nordqvist will headline the 2010 event the first time three current major winners will feature in a tournament on Australian soil.
Queensland's World Golf Hall of Famer and six-time Ladies Masters winner Karrie Webb will also be here, along with top-10 players Suzann Pettersen (ranked third in the world) and Korean Yani Tseng (6).
And 2009 European No.1 Sophie Gustafson will return to the ANZ Ladies Masters for the first time in six years.
All up, the field will feature eight of the top 20, and 15 of the top 50 world ranked players.
State Treasurer Andrew Fraser has paid tribute to the strength of this year's line-up.
"The ANZ Ladies Masters is synonymous with the Gold Coast and Queensland and I am impressed at the quality of the field that has been announced," he said.
"There is no better place to play a tournament of this nature, and to have a field that is this strong is a testament to the event itself and its organisers."
The Masters, co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and Australian Ladies Professional Golf, is the cornerstone of women's golf in Australia and has a reputation for attracting the elite of women's golf from around the world every year.
The product of South Australian tournament director Bob Tuohy's promotional genius, the Ladies Masters has survived some tough times that have brought about the death of major men's events, the Palm Meadows Cup and the Sanctuary Cove Classic.
When Tuohy staged the first two Masters, under the banner of Tuohy, Allan and Associates, they were at Palm Meadows, then owned by giant Japanese corporation Daikyo.
When the company dropped the Palm Meadows Cup from its sporting budget, Tuohy negotiated with owners of Royal Pines Resort and the Masters was switched across the Nerang River to its current site.
In 1997 the event was played as part of the US LPGA Tour roster and remained a co-sanctioned event until 2000.
Last year, Sunshine Coaster Katherine Hull cemented her rising status by taking out the event ahead of fellow Aussie Tamie Durdin and Korea's So Yeon Ryu.
It continued the Masters' proud tradition of showcasing young players destined for stardom.
Laura Davies was already world No.1 when she first won the Gold Coast event in 1993, but Swede Annika Sorenstam was very much unheralded when she scored the first of her three Masters crowns in 1995.
Webb, whose first of six Masters victories came in 1998, went on to become the globe's best, while current women's world No.1 Lorena Ochoa (Mexico) also cut her teeth in the Masters, finishing fourth in her first professional start in 2003.
The Gold Coast's adopted teenage golf star Amy Yang, who spent four years at Robina High, was launched on to the world stage when she won the event as a 16-year-old amateur in 2006.
American Cristie Kerr added to that production line in 2007, finishing third in the Masters before going on to win the US Women's Open the same year for her first major success.
For more information on the event, see www.anzladiesmasters.com.au
