Mindy Kim Retains Lead at
Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Championship

LEAWOOD, Kan., May 17, 2008 – On the strength of a 2-under-par round 69, Mindy Kim of Diamond Bar, Calif., maintained her first-day lead during the second round of the Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Championship on Saturday. Kim has a two-day total of 137 (-5) for the tournament and carries a two-shot cushion over South Korean rookie M.J. Hur of Seoul, currently at 3-under-par (139).

Armed with two top-10 finishes to her credit this year, the 18-year old is primed for a wire-to-wire win that represents her first professional victory. She carded two birdies on the back nine after posting two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine.

“I didn’t think about the lead today and just took it one shot at a time,” Kim said. “Every day is different, but if you’re off, this course will get you.”

Kim came into Saturday holding a one-stroke lead and kept a steady pace on another sunny afternoon. The second-year Duramed FUTURES Tour pro hasn’t won since her junior playing days when she was an AJGA All-American in 2006.

“I was jump-started with a top-10 finish this year (in Lakeland, Fla.) because I was really never in contention as a rookie,” Kim said. “I’m playing better this year and catching some good breaks.”

A year of experience has done wonders for Kim, who says she has worked hard to not get frustrated, compared to her first season when she joined the professional ranks at age 17. Her previous career-best finish is a fifth-place showing at the 2007 Lakeland Duramed FUTURES Classic.

Right on her heels is Hur, who had the low round of the day with a 4-under-par 67. Already a tournament champion at the Louisiana Pelican Classic this year, playing in the leader’s group will be nothing new to the No. 3 placeholder in the Duramed FUTURES Tour money list.

Hur was magical with the putter again, needing only 26 putts in Saturday’s bogey-free round. Despite perceived driver troubles, Hur is feeling more comfortable playing the difficult layout and ready to make a run at her second professional win.

“I’m still nervous on every hole and my driver still isn’t going straight,” Hur said. “I was actually really worried about my putting during the practice round because I was hitting every single fairway with my driver.”

Hur also tied for third in the Jalapeno Duramed FUTURES Golf Classic in McAllen, Texas.

First-day struggles were the common theme on Friday with only four players coming in under par. On Saturday, it was a different story as the Leawood South Country Club surrendered red numbers to 12 players.

The final round begins Sunday morning at 8 a.m. off the first tee. The leaders take their first swing off the first tee at 12:20 p.m.

Eighty players made the 36-hole cut at 153 (+11).

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Weather: Sunny with a high of 83 degrees and winds blowing at 3 mph from the northwest.

Sluggish First Round Doesn’t Stop Stella Lee

It would have been really easy for Stella Lee of Seoul, South Korea, to get down on herself after shooting an 8-over-par 79 in Friday’s first-round play. Her confidence was at an optimum level and was on the heels of her best performance in her young career.

She was coming off a career-best finish with a tie for second last week at the El Paso Golf Classic. She also advanced through the first stage of the U.S. Women’s Open qualifiers on Monday in St. Louis.

After only four players came into the scoring tent with rounds under par on Friday, Lee regained her composure and confidence to shoot a 1-under-par 70 in second-round play, an eight-shot differential, on Saturday.

“Everybody has a bad round once in a while,” said Lee, a former two-time tournament winner at the University of California-Irvine. “I talked to my mom and she told me to refocus rest and relax – mom stuff. Yesterday, nothing was really off, but it wasn’t right either.”

Lee felt slightly drained mentally returning from Monday’s qualifier and said she hadn’t carried her own bag since junior golf – nearly seven years ago. Still, the fourth-year pro wouldn’t have changed anything for a shot at the U.S. Women’s Open.

“My confidence was really high until Monday,” she said. “But if I didn’t play in it, I think would have really regretted it.”

Lee’s second-round charge included three birdies on the front nine, while minimizing damage on the back nine with one bogey. She was the only player in the morning tee times other than Jennifer Ackerson of Dallas, Texas, to find red numbers for her second-round total.

“I had to keep it in the fairway and land on the greens or else it could have gotten really bad,” Lee said.

McCurdy and Mendoza Make Switch to Yes! Putters, Tied for 10th

It took a slight alteration and a tutorial from Yes! Golf putter representative Glen Kirk, but it has done wonders for Amanda McCurdy of Little Rock, Ark., as she sits in a 10th-place tie heading into Sunday’s final round. The former 2006 Curtis Cup member changed grips earlier in the week and worked extensively with Kirk, who delofted her putter.

“I don’t miss much left or right, but it really comes down to putting for me,” McCurdy said. “I could hit 15 greens per round but not make any putts.”

Despite a career-best finish for 10th last week at the El Paso Golf Classic, the former University of Arkansas All-American is on the verge of duplicating that performance or setting a new career-low finish.

“I realized this might be my last year because my priorities have changed,” said McCurdy, whose family has been dealing with health issues. “I hope I do well this year so it won’t be my last year out here.”

The back nine of the Leawood South Country Club has given players fits all week statistically and mentally. Duramed FUTURES Tour rookie Gerina Mendoza of Roswell, N.M., made sure that trend wasn’t going to affect her on Saturday, carving out four birdies on the back nine to head into the turn at 3-under par.

“This course is hard,” Mendoza said. “I have to give up some accuracy and this course isn’t very forgiving in that category.”

The former Conference USA champion continued to ascend the leaderboard, a trend that is becoming more frequent for the first-year player. Mendoza jumped into a tie to 10th after starting the day in 54th. After missing the cuts in her first two events, Mendoza has put together three straight paychecks, including a career-best 20^th-place finish in her home tournament for the El Paso Golf Classic.

Strangely enough, like Amanda McCurdy, also in 10th place, Mendoza made the putter switch to the Yes! Golf “Gina” model and has felt a world of difference.

“My confidence has gone up since El Paso,” Mendoza said. “I really learned a lot from yesterday because I double-bogeyed my first hole and today I started out with two birdies. I guess everyone is entitled to bad holes.”

Contact: Ben Schlesselman, 386-274-7096, Ben@duramedfuturestour.com.