Dalhousie celebrates Stupples' first victory on the LPGA Tour

For a golfer born and raised in England, Karen Stupples has quite a hotbed of fans an ocean and a half continent away.

The fans, who are also her business partners at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, had plenty to cheer about on Sunday in the LPGA Tour's first event of the year.

Stupples, contracted two years ago as Dalhousie's Touring professional, claimed her first LPGA Tour victory with a five-stroke win at the Welch's/Fry's Championship .

Stupples, wearing a Dalhousie Golf Club hat and sporting the club's name on her golf bag, went into the final round with a one-stroke lead over Grace Park and shot a final round 63 on the par-70 layout. She seized control of her first victory on No. 13, where an eagle putt turned a one-shot lead into a three-stroke advantage.

"When she made that eagle putt on 13, I almost hit my head on the ceiling," said Dalhousie director of golf Jack Connell, who watched the final round at Dalhousie's clubhouse with several members.

Stupples, playing in the final group with childhood idol Laura Davies, only widened her lead from there, finishing five strokes ahead of Park and Jung Yeon Lee.

Stupples eyes watered on the 18th green as she waited for her turn to close out her first victory.

"That had to be an experience for her," Connell said. "I know she's been working hard to get into that position."

On a nice day for golf in Cape Girardeau, Connell said he knew there were a lot of members who stayed at home and followed Stupples on television.

The members have become quite familiar with Stupples, who spends five weeks during the season in Cape Girardeau. Besides serving as a public relations person for Dalhousie while on tour, Stupples, 30, helps members with their game when in town. She helps out at clinics, plays rounds with members and will play an important role in the club's new youth program.

Among those watching was Dalhousie managing member Cord Dombrowski, who contracted Stupples before the club opened in 2002. Stupples was ranked around 90th on the LPGA Tour when the partnership began but has steadily climbed the rankings.

She recently finished second to Annika Sorenstam in the Australian Masters, her previous best professional finish. She had finished as high as third in an LPGA Tour event.

"We knew this was going to be a breakout year," Dombrowki said. "We just felt it, being with her for three years. It was just a tremendous surprise to do it at this point of the year."

Stupples recently signed a two-year extension with Dalhousie through the 2005 season.

With the club seeking national exposure to increase memberships, the partnership has been a bonanza the last couple of days with Stupples front and center on national television, sporting the Dalhousie name. The Golf Channel aired all four rounds.

"To the untrained eye, we all thought she had tremendous potential," Dombrowski said. "She fit into our plans very nicely. She's just a good person. We thought she would represent what Cape Girardeau is all about. There's not a lot of gold necklaces and watches around her. We just thought it would be a very good match. So far it's worked out very well."

Dombrowski said Stupples will play in a couple more tournaments before spending some time in Cape Girardeau next month.

"We can't wait for her to get here," Dombrowski said.