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Harder Hall Invitational Tees Off Today

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Daniella Lendl has improved her game over the past year and looks to be among the contenders at this week's Harder Hall Women's Invitational.

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By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: January 7, 2009

SEBRING - Hundreds of people walk through the clubhouse at the Harder Hall Country Club each day but few stop to look at the names that adorn the walls of this fabled course.

Jo Anne Carner's name is right at the top of the championship board, and anyone who knows golf can appreciate her contribution to the sport of women's golf.

Carner is the only woman to have won the USGA Girls' Junior, U.S. Women's Amateur and U.S. Women's Open titles and was the first person to ever win three different USGA championship events.

"The Great Gundy," as Carner was called after her maiden name Gunderson, was the most dominant woman in amateur golf from 1956 to 1968, having collected five U.S. Women's Amateur titles in that span.

Carner was the last amateur to win on the LPGA tour when she won the Burdine's Invitational in 1968.

But in 1968, Carner breezed through the doors of the historic course in Sebring for the Harder Hall Women's Invitational and walked away with a championship and her named etched into the event's history.

The event has had more than its fair share of future professional golfers stroll along the golf course and today, some other future star of the LPGA will have a chance to add their name to the dozens that have come before her, as the 54th annual Harder Hall Women's Invitational tees off at 8 a.m.

"Jo Anne was a fierce competitor and great for the sport of women's golf," said event chairman Carol Semple Thompson. "The beauty of this event is that you never know if you're watching the next shining star on the tour in your own back yard."

Semple Thompson, who's won the Invitational three times (1990-92), received the highest award a golfer can receiver this past year when she was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in November.

"That was an amazing honor for me," Semple Thompson said. "To be placed into the company of some of the greatest golfers who've ever played the game was totally unexpected and gratifying for me."

Cristie Kerr is another past Harder Hall champion who has made noise after taking home the trophy from Sebring.

Kerr has amassed 14 professional wins, including the 2007 US Women's Open Championship since turning pro in 1996.

In fact, four of the last five Harder Hall champions have earned their tour cards and are on or are rookies on the LPGA tour with 2007 champion Leah Wigger making her debut this season.

Last year's event was a shootout between Alison Walshe and Taylore Karle.

Walshe's tee shot went into the woods on No. 9 and she carded a triple bogey to go two shots down to Karle, but the University of Arizona golfer stayed the course and watched her opponent bogey the next three holes to give her the lead - a lead she would never relinquish by shooting a 4-under 68 and winning the championship by three shots.

Walshe has since gone on to earn a spot on the Duramed Futures Tour, which is the developmental tour for LPGA hopefuls and is on target to be in the big leagues soon enough.

Walshe and 2006 champion Stacy Lewis went undefeated to lead the squad from the United States of America to a 13-7 victory over Great Britain and Ireland at the 2008 Curtis Cup Match in Scotland over the summer.

Returning from last year's championship run are Isabelle and Daniela "Crash" Lendl, daughters of Hall of Fame tennis champion Ivan Lendl.

Isabelle had a great run at last year's event, where she was tied for fourth, while Daniela dramatically improved her game over the course of last season. She recently was tied for seventh and shot a 2-under 69 during the 2008 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at the Hartford Golf Course in West Hartford, Conn.

The economic woes that have been sweeping across the country have taken it's toll on the Harder Hall Women's Invitational, as the field is lower in numbers than in year's past, but Semple Thompson believes that there is more quality than quantity this year.

"The economy has definitely played a roll in the smaller field this year, plus I believe that many of the college kids are back in school and not able to participate," Semple Thompson said. "I think it is much easier for those kids to play in tournaments closer to home than travel across the country.

"I still like the field of players we've assembled and I think it's going to make for an exciting event."

The four-day event kicks off today at 8 a.m. and the public is welcome to attend. For more information on the tournament, visit www.harderhallwomens.com.

Harder Hall Women's Invitational

at Harder Hall Country Club

Today through Saturday

Tee times begin at 8 a.m.

Harder Hall Women's Invitational

Past Champions

1990 Carol S. Thompson

1991 Carol S. Thompson

1992 Carol S. Thompson

1993 Debbie Miho Koyama

1994 Emilee Klein

1995 Cristie Kerr

1996 Wendi Patterson

1997 Marla Jemsek-Weeks

1998 Jenny Chuasiriporn

1999 Beth Bauer

2000 Beth Bauer

2001 Natalie Gulbis

2002 Aree S. Wongluekiet

2003 Aree S. Wongluekiet

2004 Brittany Lincicome

2005 Morgan Pressel

2006 Stacy Lewis

2007 Leah Wigger

2008 Alison Walshe

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5837 or choffman@highlandstoday.com.

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