Friday, October 11, 2013

Standard Life Investments becomes first Worldwide Partner in Ryder Cup history


Standard Life Investments becomes first Worldwide Partner in Ryder Cup history











PGA.COM March 20, 2013 8:26 AM

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By PGA of America


The 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles will welcome the first designated Worldwide Partner in the event's history following an agreement between Standard Life Investments, Ryder Cup Europe and the PGA of America that will see the global asset management company become a Worldwide Partner to both the 2014 and 2016 Ryder Cups.

Never before has a company partnered with The Ryder Cup on both sides of the Atlantic, with the new ground-breaking agreement enabling Standard Life Investments to promote and market its association with The Ryder Cup on a truly global scale.

With a potential daily TV audience of 500 million people across 183 countries, The Ryder Cup has evolved into one of the sport's most valuable and prestigious global brands, making it the perfect partner for a dynamic company such as Standard Life Investments.

Keith Skeoch, CEO, Standard Life Investments, said: "Standard Life Investments is thrilled to become the first Worldwide Partner of The Ryder Cup. This sponsorship complements our reputation as a leading global asset manager with strong performance and a distinctive team culture. It is an integral part of our long-term brand building strategy and is a perfect match in terms of our heritage, client base and strong team ethos."

Pete Bevacqua, Chief Executive Officer of the PGA of America, said: "We are delighted to welcome Standard Life Investments as a Worldwide Partner to both the 2014 and 2016 Ryder Cups in what is an historical agreement.

"We believe The Ryder Cup is among the most valuable sponsorship investments in sport and are confident that Standard Life Investments will reap tremendous value from their Worldwide Partnership on both sides of the Atlantic.

"This announcement follows the launch of the unified Ryder Cup global brand identity and the stated aim of Ryder Cup Europe and the PGA of America to secure global partnerships going forward."

Richard Hills, Europe's Ryder Cup Director, added: "As a company, with a strong global reach and Scottish heritage, Standard Life Investments share our commitment to teamwork and helping people achieve their full potential.

"We look forward to working closely with the Standard Life Investments team in delivering a world class Ryder Cup at The Gleneagles Hotel; a Ryder Cup that will create a positive and long lasting legacy for the game in the 'Home of Golf'."

Notes on Standard Life Investments / Standard Life

With assets under management of £163.4bn ($263.9bn) Standard Life Investments is one of Europe's major investment houses. Employing over 1,000 people and headquartered in Edinburgh, Standard Life Investments maintains offices in a number of locations around the globe including Boston, Hong Kong, London, Beijing, Montreal, Sydney, Dublin, Paris and Seoul. In January 2012 Standard Life Investments teamed up with John Hancock Mutual Funds to make its award-winning Global Absolute Return Strategies (GARS) Fund available to the United States retail marketplace.

Standard Life Investments was launched as an investment management company in 1998. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Life Investments (Holdings) Limited, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Life plc. With a reputation for innovation in pursuit of client investment objectives Standard Life Investments' capabilities span equities, bonds, real estate, private equity, multi-asset solutions, fund-of-funds and absolute return strategies.

Established in 1825, Standard Life is a leading provider of long term savings and investments to around 6 million customers worldwide. Headquartered in Edinburgh, Standard Life has around 9,000 employees internationally.

The Standard Life group includes savings and investments businesses, which operate across its UK, Canadian and European markets; corporate pensions and benefits businesses in the UK and Canada; and its Chinese and Indian Joint Venture businesses. The Group has total assets under administration of over £211bn ($342bn).

Standard Life plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has approximately 1.5 million individual shareholders in over 50 countries around the world. It is also listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, ranking it among the top 10% of sustainable companies in the world. All figures at 30 September 2012

About Ryder Cup Europe

Ryder Cup Europe, which comprises representatives of The European Tour (60%), of the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland (20%) and The Ryder Cup European Development Trust (RCEDT) (20%), owns the rights of The Ryder Cup when the competition is held in Europe. The European Tour is the Managing Partner and has prime responsibility for all matters concerning The European Team; the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland is the Founding Partner; and The Ryder Cup European Development Trust is responsible for the management of the Trust.

About The PGA of America Since its founding in 1916, The PGA of America has maintained a twofold mission: to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. By establishing and elevating the standards of the golf profession through world-class education, career services, marketing and research programs, The PGA enables its professionals to maximize their performance in their respective career paths and showcases them as experts in the game and in the multi-billion dollar golf industry. By creating and delivering world-class championships and innovative programs, The PGA of America elevates the public's interest in the game, the desire to play more golf, and ensures accessibility to the game for everyone everywhere. As The PGA nears its centennial, the PGA brand represents the very best in golf.

Watson gives back one U.S. captain's pick for Ryder Cup


Watson gives back one U.S. captain's pick for Ryder Cup










The Sports Xchange March 20, 2013 10:50 AMThe SportsXchange



Tom Watson is relinquishing one of the four captain's picks for the 2014 Ryder Cup matches in Scotland with the intention of fielding a more representative team.

Watson said the top nine U.S. players in the Ryder Cup standings will qualify and he will make three captain's selections.

"Giving our players one more opportunity to earn a spot on merit, I believe, is the right thing to do," Watson said Wednesday at a news conference. "I will use all possible resources in choosing these three captain's choices to complete the best possible team in order to win the cup back for the United States."

Before the 2008 Ryder Cup, Paul Azinger expanded the U.S. captain's picks to four, used a points system based on PGA Tour earnings rather than top-10 finishes and weighted results from the year in which the Ryder Cup was being played more heavily.

The result was an American victory over Europe at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., in 2008. But the U.S. side has since dropped the last two matches.

From 1989 until 2006, the U.S. captain had two wild-card selections.

LPGA: Defending champ Tseng forced out of Kia Classic


LPGA: Defending champ Tseng forced out of Kia Classic










The Sports Xchange March 20, 2013 3:20 PMThe SportsXchange



Defending champion Yani Tseng was forced to withdraw from this week's Kia Classic after oversleeping and missing her tee time for Wednesday's pro-am.

"I'm embarrassed to admit that I wasn't feeling well last night and accidentally overslept and missed my tee time for the pro-am this morning," Tseng said in a statement. "I was extremely excited to compete this week to defend my title at the Kia Classic and to try to regain the No. 1 spot. This was an unfortunate mistake and I want to apologize to Kia, my sponsors and all of the fans."

Tseng won last year's event at the Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, Calif. by six strokes. She was aiming to recapture the No. 1 spot in the Rolex World Rankings after American Stacy Lewis took over the top spot for the first time in her career with her second consecutive victory last week in Phoenix.

Tseng's pursuit will have to wait at least one more tournament, but she remains one of the most popular players on the LPGA Tour. She was one of at least 60 people Lewis said texted her to congratulate Lewis on taking over the No. 1 ranking.

"The coolest one I think is the one I got from Yani. I know she may have said that she wanted to lose that spot to kind of help her, but I know she didn't want to lose No. 1 and she was very just very nice to me and congratulations, you played awesome, and kind of added at the end that she was coming after me now and to watch out," Lewis said. "We kind of have a cool relationship built over the last few years and I think it's something that's going to continue."

Also hot on Lewis' heals is third-ranked Na Yeon Choi, who also had an opportunity to take over the No. 1 spot with a victory last week.

"I just know that I'm going to have fun," Lewis said of playing with the No. 1 ranking. "I know there's a lot of people that would love to be in my position right now and that's why I just want to have fun and enjoy it.

"I'm not going to say I want to be in this position for a certain number of weeks or years because you can't do that, there's too many other good players out here. So I'm going to just enjoy this position and keep trying to win golf tournaments."

Jane Park leads after first round of Kia Classic


Jane Park leads after first round of Kia Classic










Forrest Lee, The Sports Xchange March 21, 2013 11:01 PMThe SportsXchange


CARLSBAD, Calif. -- The good vibes on the golf course had been missing for a while for Jane Park. But after a strong opening round at the Kia Classic at Aviara Golf Club on Thursday, Park couldn't help but relish in her fortune.


"I love this style of golf course, so maybe that's why I played pretty well today," Park said.

Park shot a six-under par 66 to lead the field heading into Friday's second round at the $1.7 million event. Park recorded birdies on four of the initial six holes and finished with six overall. She shot par the rest of the round and finished with no bogeys.

"Well the weather was fantastic today like it always is in San Diego and I just wanted to take advantage of that and the fresh greens this morning," said Park, who is seeking her first LPGA tour win. "And fortunately I made a ton of putts today."

She also said it felt great to be completely healthy for the first time in three years. Back and neck pains and tendonitis in her wrist had plagued her. And she also battled maturity issues.

"Some injuries and some personal family issues, and I don't know, just growing up, I guess," said Park, currently ranked 298th. "I got on Tour pretty young. I was only 19, fresh out of my first year at UCLA, and thinking back it might have been a little premature. But yeah, it was just growing pains."

She added, "I think my preparation in the off-season was much better this off-season than it has been in the past. My career's been riddled with injuries and different things here and there, but I prepared really well and I was confident coming into the week."

Park turned pro in 2006. She managed runner-up finishes at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay and the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship in 2008 and finished 25th on the money list.

But her struggles began in 2010, when she failed to register a top-10 finish for three seasons. In 2012, she made the cut in only seven of 15 events. This year, she missed the cut at the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup in Phoenix last week and tied for 48th at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open in February.

But all that seemed to be behind her Thursday.

"It's great to finally get a good round under my belt," Park said. "It's a little difficult to not play as well as I know I can, but I think with a lot of hard work I can get up there."

Caroline Hedwall and Karrie Webb were a stroke back at 67. Hedwall had eight birdies overall, including six on the front nine, but suffered a double bogey on the 10th hole and a bogey on 16.

"It's always nice to get off to a good start and you're up there right away," Hedwall said.

Webb had six birdies overall and a bogey on 13.

Giulia Sergas and Jessica Korda were tied for fourth at 68. Paula Creamer, Se Ri Pak and Amanda Blumenherst, who had an eagle, were among 10 players three shots off the lead.

Blumenherst was especially pleased with her round.

"I just had a very solid round of golf," she said. "I really didn't line it up where I was dropping long putts. I was hitting the ball really well and when I hit it within six feet, they were birdie putts and the eagle, so I just played consistent golf."

Stacy Lewis, the No. 1 player in the world who won the past two events, finished four shots back at 70. Lewis birdied the first three holes on the front nine, but bogeyed the 9th and 14th.

Lewis, who captured the HSBC Women's Championship in Singapore and the RR Donnelley Founders Cup in Phoenix last week, is shooting for her third consecutive Tour victory.

Regardless of who prevails, a new champion will be crowned when the event concludes Sunday. Yani Tseng, the defending champ, was withdrawn Wednesday morning after she overslept and missed her pro-am time.

NOTES: With March Madness tipping off Thursday, it was inevitable the conversation would turn to hoops. Blumenherst, a Duke grad, predictably said she the Blue Devils would win the national championship despite family conflicts. "My parents went to Indiana, though, so I have them in the finals. So we have a family house divided." Jane Park, who attended UCLA, was asked which team goes further in the postseason, the Lakers or UCLA. "I'm going to say UCLA," she said.