By Les Dixon / Sports Editor

The second annual 2009 Falls Auto Group Classic, which is a part of the LPGA Duramed Futures Tour, teed off today at 8 a.m. at London’s Crooked Creek Golf Course.

The three-day event features 144 players with hopes of some day playing in the LPGA Tour. Mindy Kim captured last year’s title after shooting 10-under, while winning the purse of $100, 000.

Kim was a part of the top finishers on each day, but trailed Stacy Lewis before pulling away the final two days of the event.

Bill Sergent, who is Crooked Creek’s Director of Golf, hopes to see the same excitement last year’s event brought to the London community.

“This is a huge event,” he said. “We’ve got 144 people participating and to have that many people playing with that type of talent is big.

“This is really big for the community,” Sergent added. “We had 677 nights of lodging last year and we expect the numbers to be good again this year — not too mention that a lot of those people that spent time down here last year, they also ate at different restaurants and things in that nature.”

Georgia’s Jean Reynolds enters the Falls Auto Group Classic as one of the players to beat. She is No. 1 on the money list, while California’s Kim Welsh and Mina Harigae also look to contend for the title.

“Jean Reynolds is a very good player,” Sergent said. “She finished in the top 20 of this year’s U.S. Women’s Open and was tied for second place at one time. Kim Welsh and Mina Harigae are both good players. Kim is probably the most visible face on the tour and Mina is No. 3 on the money list.

“Of course, we also have three local girls that will be playing, too,” he added. “We’ve got Glasgow’s Whitney Wade, Brandenburg’s Katie Fraley and Henderson’s Brittany Klein. Whitney Wade is No. 4 on the money list and if you finish in the top five, then you get to play on the LPGA Tour the following year. She got a win in Cincinnati in June and I’m sure she’s ready to play in this.”

With Mother Nature cooperating, Sergent said he expects the Falls Auto Group Classic to be a success this year.

“We’ve put in a lot of hard work and long hours, so we hope so,” he said. “We always look forward to this event and I believe the people that attend it will have a great time.

“Last year, people didn’t really know what to expect, but the interest has been bigger this year,” Sergent added. “I was worried for a while about the weather, but according to Fox 56, things don’t look that bad now. I really hope we get good weather, that would be a big plus for everyone.”

FINAL PLAYER ROSTER

Falls Auto Group Classic

London, Ky.

August 7-9, 2009

Jasi Acharya (Columbus, Mont.)

Jennifer Ackerson (Dallas, Texas)

Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico)

Devan Andersen (Guadalajara, Mexico)

Sofie Andersson (Angelholm, Sweden)

Heather Angell (Winston-Salem, N.C.)

Lori Atsedes (Ithaca, N.Y.)

Kim Augusta (Rumford, R.I.)

Rachel Bailey (Faulconbridge, Australia) Carmen Bandea (Atlanta, Ga.)

Missie Berteotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Molly Birmingham (Cornelius, N.C.)

Amanda Blumenherst (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Marlowe Boukis (Lutherville, Md.)

Alexandra Braga (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.)

Heather Burgner (Lakeland, Fla.)

Angela Buzminski (Oshawa, Ontario)

Charlotte Campbell (Heathrow, Fla.)

Michaela Cavener (Ponca City, Okla.)

Moah Chang (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Jane Chin (Mission Viejo, Calif.)

Aimee Cho (Orlando, Fla.)

Christine Cho (Kent, Wash.)

Misun Cho (Cheongju, South Korea)

Esther Choe (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Song Yi Choi (Seoul, South Korea)

Carling Coffing (Middletown, Ohio)

Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.)

Amanda Costner (Claremore, Okla.)

Laura Crawford (Lancaster, S.C.)

Tanya Dergal (Durango, Mexico)

Priscilla Duffield (Gold Coast, Australia)

Melissa Eaton (Port Shepstone, South Africa)

Nicola Eaton (Port Shepstone, South Africa)

Kathleen Ekey (Sharon Township, Ohio)

Maria Laura Elvira (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Juli Erekson (Chicopee, Mass.)

Lisa Ferrero (Lodi, Calif.)

Jeana Finlinson (Bloomington, Ind.)

Danah Ford (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Katie Fraley (Brandenburg, Ky.)

Jill Frantz (Iowa City, Iowa)

Kelly Froelich (Raizeux, France) 

Stephanie George (Myerstown, Pa.) 

Jenny Gleason (Clearwater, Fla.)

Kimberly Goedecke (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.)

Allison Goodman (San Diego, Calif.)

Ashley Grier (Hagerstown, Md.)

Mina Harigae (Monterey, Calif.)

Rebecka Heinmert (Hassleholm, Sweden)

Selanee Henderson (Apple Valley, Calif.)

Maria Hernandez (Pamplona, Spain)

Mallory Hetzel (Summerville, S.C.)

Madeleine Holmblad (Stockholm, Sweden)

Janell Howland (Boise, Idaho)

Noon Huachai (Bangkok, Thailand)

Brandi Jackson (Greenville, S.C.)

Liz Janangelo (West Hartford, Conn.)

Michelle Jarman (Wilmington, N.C.)

Lidya Jaya (Sidoarjo, Indonesia)

Nicole Jeray (Berwyn, Ill.)

Tiffany Joh (San Diego, Calif.)

Christina Jones (Jensen Beach, Fla.) 

Hannah Jun (San Diego, Calif.)

Mary J. Kim (Seoul, South Korea)

Su A Kim (Seoul, South Korea)

Yoora Kim (Seoul, South Korea)

Victoria Kiser (a) (Orlando, Fla.)

Brittainy Klein (Henderson, Ky.)

Ashley Knoll (The Woodlands, Texas)

Lene Krog (Lier, Norway)

Elena Kurokawa (Redondo Beach, Calif.)

Min Seo Kwak (Seoul, South Korea)

Cindy LaCrosse (Tampa, Fla.)

Kelly Lagedrost (Brooksville, Fla.)

Blair Lamb (Flat Rock, N.C.)

Caroline Larsson (Stockholm, Sweden)

Hwanhee Lee (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Jennie Lee (Henderson, Nev.)

Seo-Jae Lee (Seoul, South Korea)

Stella Lee (Seoul, South Korea)

Cindy Lee-Pridgen (Sabah, Malaysia)

Marcela Leon (Monterrey, Mexico)

Tzu-Chi Lin (Taichung, Taiwan)

Pernilla Lindberg (Bollnas, Sweden)

Meghan Little (Sturgis, S.D.)

Ulrika Ljungman-Smith (Daytona Beach, Fla.)

Courtney Mahon (Lee’s Summit, Mo.)

Mo Martin (Altadena, Calif.)

Amanda Mathis (Opelousas, La.)

Catherine Matranga (Fort Worth, Texas)

Lisa Meldrum (Montreal, Quebec)

Gerina Mendoza (Roswell, N.M.)

Katie Miller (Jeannette, Pa.)

Mary Kate Morgan (Longview, Wash.)

Whitney Myers (York, Pa.)

Susan Nam (Edmonton, Alberta)

Virada Nirapathpongporn (Bangkok, Thailand)

Lucy Nunn (Lawton, Okla.)

Jae Oh (Je Ju, South Korea)

Janice Olivencia (Caguas, Puerto Rico)

Sarah Olsen (Grosse Ile, Mich.)

Ryann O’Toole (San Clemente, Calif.)

Stephanie Otteson (Wilson, N.C.)

Sunny Park (Sydney, Australia)

Jenna Pearson (Wheaton, Ill.)

Pornanong Phatlum (Chaiyaphum, Thailand)

Garrett Phillips (St. Simons Island, Ga.)

Praewnapa Phol-Uayporn (Bangkok, Thailand)

Ashley Prange (Noblesville, Ind.)

Kylene Pulley (Kokomo, Ind.)

Violeta Retamoza (Aguascalientes, Mexico)

Jean Reynolds (Newnan, Ga.)

Samantha Richdale (Kelowna, British Columbia)

Carol Robertson (Virginia Beach, Va.)

Seema Sadekar (Toronto, Ontario)

Elisa Serramia (Barcelona, Spain)

Alejandra Shaw (Vina Del Mar, Chile)

Sophia Sheridan (Guadalajara, Mexico)

Maggie Simons (Raleigh, N.C.)

Michelle Simpson (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.)

Renee Skidmore (Everett, Wash.)

Kristie Smith (Perth, Australia)

Libby Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.)

Sae Hee Son (Seoul, South Korea)

Christine Song (Fullerton, Calif.)

Nontaya Srisawang (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Erica Still (a) (Waycross, Ga.)

Moon Su (Incheon, South Korea)

Jenny Suh (Fairfax, Va.)

Perry Swenson (Charlotte, N.C.)

Tiffany Tavee (Tempe, Ariz.)

Mayule Tomimbang (Kissimmee, Fla.)

Gina Umeck (Redlands, Calif.)

Briana Vega (Andover, Mass.)

Whitney Wade (Glasgow, Ky.)

Lee Ann Walker-Cooper (Southport, N.C.)

Alison Walshe (Westford, Mass.)

Gemma Webster (Glasgow, Scotland)

Kim Welch (Sacramento, Calif.)

Sam White (Potomac, Md.)

Lehua Wise (Kauai, Hawaii)

Hannah Yun (Bradenton, Fla.)