Mindy Kim Completes Wire-To-Wire Win at
Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Championship

LEAWOOD, Kan., May 18, 2008 – Second-year Duramed FUTURES Tour player Mindy Kim of Diamond Bar, Calif., claimed her first professional title in wire-to-wire fashion as she pulled away in the final round of the Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Championship on Sunday. Kim finished the tournament at 3-under-par (210), four shots ahead of Jessica Shepley of Oakville, Ontario, who closed at 1-over-par (214) for the weekend.

Kim shattered the previous inaugural tournament record held by current LPGA Tour professional Liz Janangelo, who finished as the 2007 champion with a score of 4-over-par on a wet and long-playing Leawood South Country Club course.

An emotional Kim took the stage on the 18th green to accept her check of $12,600 and crystal hardware as she savored her first win at 18 years of age.

“I feel great because I never thought I would be able to pull it off,” Kim said. “The wheels kind of fell off on the back nine, but I’m so excited to get my first pro win at 18.”

Holding a two-shot advantage over South Korean rookie M.J. Hur of Seoul heading into Sunday, Kim’s lead was extended to as much as six strokes through the front nine, showing no signs of relinquishing the momentum she held through every round.

Kim struggled through the back nine after posting two birdies on the front but had already built up enough cushion and strolled up the 18th fairway knowing victory was imminent. She could finally exhale after having a hard time sleeping on Saturday night waiting for her 12:20 p.m. tee time on Sunday.

“I was so nervous coming into today,” said Kim, a former AJGA All-American. “I’ve been pressured about the money list so I just had to hang in there. I just haven’t been in contention in nearly two years.”

Despite a win, Kim pinpointed an area of her game she needs to work on before heading to Lake Geneva, Wis., for the Aurora Health Care Championship.

“I had a really tough time chipping,” Kim said. “I’ll work with my coach because I was chunking, topping and doing everything I could do that didn’t help.”

With the pressure of moving up in the money list alleviated by making a move up to fourth from her newfound earnings, Kim had kind words for her adversary and newly-found friend after the awards ceremony.

“M.J. (Hur) had some bad breaks out there today, but she’s a great player, especially with the putter,” Kim said. “She’s my friend and I enjoyed being out there with her.”

Even though Hur couldn’t close the gap on Kim, the 2008 Louisiana Pelican Classic champion passed Vicky Hurst of Melbourne, Fla., and Leah Wigger of Louisville, Ky., to become the new leader on the season money list with a tie for third.

Shepley posted a career-best finish, earning sole possession of runner-up honors, and finished the weekend with back-to-back rounds of 70 (-1).

“I just stayed patient and focused on making pars,” said Shepley, who surpassed her sixth-place tie in the Bright House Networks Open this year in Lakeland, Fla. “I didn’t get rattled when I made a bogey and stuck with my game plan. I’ve been working so hard on many areas in my life and it just reminds me of why I’m out here.”

The Duramed FUTURES Tour is idle next week before continuing its Midwest swing through Lake Geneva, Wis., for the Aurora Health Care Championship.

For real-time scoring and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.

Weather: Sunny with a high near 75 degrees and winds at 5-10 mph.

Umeck Finds Ace in the Cards on No. 2

Gina Umeck of Redlands, Calif., was off to the races in Sunday’s final round as she drained a hole-in-one on the par-3, 167-yard second hole. The third-year Tour pro fired a 5-iron off the tee for her second career ace. For the single shot, Umeck will receive a $500 check through the Duramed Hole-In-One Challenge.

Even though she didn’t see her shot off the tee disappear into the hole, an unlikely source did. Umeck didn’t know about the shot until she heard a voice booming from a neighbor that echoed from a porch by a neighboring home.

“He kept saying, ‘It went in the cup!’” Umeck said imitating his gruff voice. “It was actually the most anticlimactic hole because there was no clapping.”

Umeck carded her first hole-in-one at the 2006 Hunters Oak FUTURES Golf Classic in Queenstown, Md., and nearly had another on the par-3, 139-yard seventh hole during Sunday’s final round in Kansas.

“You know it’s going to bounce so you can’t be too precise,” she said.

In six events this year, there have been as many aces, including two in last week’s El Paso Golf Classic by Lynn Valentine of East Lyme, Conn., and Cristina Baena of Pereira, Colombia.

The only tournament on the Duramed FUTURES Tour schedule that didn’t see a hole-in-one drop came at the Jalapeno Duramed FUTURES Golf Classic in McAllen, Texas.

Ashley Prange Latest Sunday Recipient of 8 GB iPod Touch

Two-time Tour winner Ashley Prange of Noblesville, Ind., saved her best for last with a low round of 4-under-par 67 to claim the coveted Apple 8 GB iPod Touch that coincides with the Duramed Sunday Low Round Award. Prange tied for fifth, vaulting up the leaderboard from 38th-place.

“The first two days I was locked up, but today I was free and just let it go,” Prange said. “The pins were tucked in on the back nine and I just had to go for the ones I could reach.”

Prange, a former LPGA Tour member in 2007, had set a realistic goal with the absence of top money winners Vicky Hurst of Melbourne, Fla., and Leah Wigger of Louisville, Ky. Already with a runner-up finish to her credit in McAllen, Texas, Prange came into Leawood wanting to take advantage of a rare opportunity because she felt the reverse effect in 2006.

“I know what it’s like to miss a tournament and be high on the money list,” Prange said. “I missed the Queenstown (Md.) event to take my Big Break exemption (Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore.) and I got knocked out of the top five with three tournaments left in the year.”

Prange solved the perilous back nine of the Leawood South Country Club, making birdie on No. 10, and then posting back-to-back birdies on holes 15 and 16. The presence of her father, PGA Professional Bob Prange, as a caddie proved to be a calming influence throughout the weekend as she posted her second top-five finish of the year.

“The first two days out here were really frustrating and the course took its punches at me,” Prange said. “My dad helps me manage myself well [on the golf course] and that’s why I wanted him to fly out this week.”

Reynolds Emerging as Quiet Force, Posts Career-Best Finish

Jean Reynolds of Newnan, Georgia, has made all six cuts to date in impressive fashion and is enjoying a fine rookie season on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. Add a career-best finish to her list of accomplishments with a fifth-place showing on Sunday and the former Georgia Bulldog has quickly become a force to be reckoned with.

She showed resiliency to battle back from a tough front nine in Saturday’s second round to finish in a tie for fifth and was just one of five players to score under par in Sunday’s final round.

“The course was playing really tough today,” Reynolds said. “There were a lot of pins over bunkers and that made it hard to get close.”

The former Georgia Bulldog is embracing the chance to compete and is quickly finding out that she belongs on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. Reynolds made her professional debut with a 17th-place tie in Lakeland, Fla., and added a 21st-place performance in Daytona Beach shortly after.

“There are just so many good players out here,” Reynolds said. “I like my progress from week to week and I’m just enjoying being out here and competing.”

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