Hooray for Stupples

On national TV Sunday afternoon, new Women's British Open winner Karen Stupples wore a baseball cap that proclaimed her association with Dalhousie Golf Club. Stupples, the Cape Girardeau club's touring pro, made Dalhousie and the region proud of her.

The five-shot victory was the first major championship of her career and her second win of the season.

Stupples ranks sixth on the LPGA tour in winnings this season with $711,930 banked. Annika Sorenstam leads that tour category and many others. Stupples is seventh on tour in the important statistic of scoring average, averaging 70.8 strokes per round. She also is one of the LPGA's big hitters, averaging 266.4 yards per drive.

Stupples, a native of Dover, England, has a home in Orlando, Fla., and spends about five weeks each year in Cape Girardeau fulfilling her obligations to Dalhousie. No doubt a big celebration is planned when she returns in a week or so. Managing member Cord Dombrowski and the club deserve much credit for being able to spot Stupples' talent years ago before she'd ever won.

When she spoke to the Cape West Rotary Club during her most recent trip here in April, her genuineness was apparent. She has, as the coaches say, her head on straight. She's also become a terrific golfer.