August 18, 2003

Mother-To-Be Patricia Meunier-Lebouc Will Face New Challenges At The Samsung World Championship, October 6-12, At The Woodlands Resort

Winner of Kraft Nabisco Championship Will Become Second Pregnant Player
To Compete in Prestigious Event for 20 of the Greatest Women Players in the World

The Woodlands, Texas - French golf star Patricia Meunier-Lebouc is finding new balance in her life and golf swing. It's all part of a learning process that goes with being an expectant mother while playing on the LPGA Tour.

"It really is quite exciting," said Meunier-Lebouc, who will become the second pregnant player ever to compete in the Samsung World Championship. The $800,000 tournament, which features 20 of the greatest women players in the world, will be played Oct. 6-12, at The Tournament Players Course (TPC™) at Woodlands Resort.

In the storied, 22-year history of the Championship, there have been 14 players who either had children at the time, or had them later. But only one of them, Juli Inkster, a three-time winner of the Championship and one of the most successful moms in the history of the LPGA Tour, was an expectant mother when she played in the Championship. She was nearly four months pregnant (with Hayley, who was born 2/4/90) when she played in the 1989 Nestle World Championship at Stouffer PineIsle Resort in Buford, Georgia.

Meunier-Lebouc, who will be nearly five months pregnant when she plays in the Samsung World Championship, is still getting used to the changes going on in her body. It has changed the rhythm and balance of her swing in a good way.

"I am swinging a little easier," Meunier-Lebouc told reporters recently at the Weetabix Women's British Open, where she was the third-round leader and eventually finished fifth. "One other thing is how I conduct myself on the course. I used to speak badly to myself, but now I have to be nice."

Although the experience is new to Meunier-Lebouc, there are a lot of players on the LPGA Tour she can turn to for advice. There are currently 28 moms on tour with a combined 45 children. The newest mother is Pearl Sinn-Bonanni, who gave birth to her first baby (Madeline) on July 30.

Nancy Lopez, who won the World Championship in 1984, won twice while pregnant and 21 times after the birth of her first child in 1983. She is one four moms in the LPGA Hall of Fame. The others are Inkster, who won 16 times after the birth of her first child, Patty Sheehan and Judy Rankin.

"There is no reason you can't play late into your pregnancy," Lopez said. "I always felt like I had a little helper out there. It's the decisions you make after the baby is born that will have an affect on the rest of your career."

Inkster was one who had to figure out how to balance motherhood with a career. "I was taking my babies on the road when they were only 6 weeks old," she said. "That wasn't the way to do it. Nothing is more important than spending the time with your kids. If you want to have a career, too, you have to work it into your schedule."

The LPGA Tour has done its part to help make things easier for the mothers on tour. In 1992, with the help of the J.M. Smucker Co., it started the LPGA Child Development Center, the first-ever traveling child-care center in professional sports.

Meunier-Lebouc is one of three players who have qualified to play in the Samsung World Championship. She qualified by winning the first major championship of the year - the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Others who have qualified are Annika Sorenstam and Hilary Lunke.

The Samsung World Championship field includes the winners of the four LPGA major championships-the Kraft Nabisco Championship (Meunier-Lebouc), the McDonald's LPGA Championship (Sorenstam), the U.S. Women's Open (Lunke), and the Weetabix Women's British Open (Sorenstam), as well as the 2002 Vare Trophy winner (Sorenstam), the defending champion (Sorenstam) and the LPGA Tour's leading money winners from 2002 (Sorenstam) and the current year.

A selection committee awards additional positions in the field to the leading international players from the Ladies European Tour (LET), the Japanese Tour (JLPGA) and the Korean Tour (KLPGA). Rounding out the field are other leading money winners from the LPGA Tour's current year.

The 72-hole Championship is an officially sanctioned LPGA Tour event featuring 20 of the top women players in the world. It is a world-wide event, which has been contested on five continents in its rich 22-year history. It will be broadcast on NBC on Saturday and Sunday, with ESPN providing early round coverage on Thursday and Friday.

The elite-field championship pays $167,500 to the winner. In 2002, Sorenstam broke the Championship scoring record by shooting a 22-under par 266 at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in Vallejo, Calif., to defeat Cristie Kerr by six strokes (also a Championship record).

The players will be well-tested in the Championship at the TPC™ at The Woodlands Resort, a par-72 course that measures 7,018 yards from the back tees. TPC™ at The Woodlands Resort, which had been the home of the PGA TOUR's Shell Houston Open for the past 17 years, is a picturesque course that places a premium on hitting fairways. The two closing holes on the layout rank among the top-four toughest holes in the state of Texas.

A victory at the Samsung World Championship would make Meunier-Lebouc the first pregnant player ever to win the tournament. Others who solidified their place in the history of the tournament include three-time winners Sorenstam (1996, 1996 and 2002), Beth Daniel (1980, 1981 and 1994), and Inkster (1997, 1998 and 2000), and Hall of Famers JoAnne Carner (1982, '83), Lopez (1984), Amy Alcott (1985), Pat Bradley (1986), and Betsy King (1989).

For sponsorship, volunteer or general information about the Samsung World Championship, call the championship office, locally at 281-419-4141 or toll free at 1-888-345-LPGA (5742). Or visit the championship website at www.samsung.com. Tickets are currently on sale to the public.

About Samsung

Samsung is a world leader in electronics, finance, and trade and services. Headquartered in Korea, Samsung is a world leader in electronics, finance, and trade and services. The company employs approximately 175,000 people worldwide, with 2002 net sales of US $116.8 billion.

Samsung believes that sports play a unique role in unifying people regardless of age, race, or gender. Samsung is a passionate supporter and active corporate sponsor of amateur and professional sporting events, training programs, teams and individual athletes in Korea and around the world.

The company extended its commitment to sports by becoming a worldwide Olympic Partner of the International Olympic Committee in 1997. Samsung's official Olympic Games partnership will continue with the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

For more information, please visit our website: www.samsung.com.

About The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center

Nestled in pristine woods 27 miles north of Houston and just 20 minutes from George Bush Intercontinental Airport, The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center is an award-winning, multi-faceted resort that features 490 deluxe rooms and suites, unique restaurants and lounges, plus more than 60,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including 32 dedicated meeting rooms. Recreational activities are highlighted by the new Forest Oasis Waterscape(tm), two additional pools, a full service spa and fitness center as well as six golf courses. For further information, contact The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center: 2301 North Millbend Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77380; Telephone: 800-433-2624; Fax: 281-364-6299; Web site: www.woodlandsresort.com.

About The Woodlands

The Woodlands is a 27,000-acre forested community where people live, work, play, and learn as families and companies. Located 27 miles north of downtown Houston on I-45, it encompasses seven residential villages with an eighth now in development, three commercial centers, a resort and conference center, a luxury hotel and convention center, hospitals and health care facilities, and exceptional shopping, dining, entertainment, and recreational amenities. More than 70,000 people live in The Woodlands, and 30,000 people work in the community. The Woodlands is a project of The Woodlands Operating Company, L.P., a Crescent Real Estate Equities and Morgan Stanley limited partnership. For more information, visit www.thewoodlands.com, or call 1-888-504-5050.