Golf Babes

Kirsty Taylor is the subject of a feature on the LET Web site about her weight-loss efforts, and her cancer prevention and awareness efforts. She'll be working on three of those things simultaneously on June 21 when she takes part in the Cancer Research UK's Race for Life 5k run. Kirsty's father succumbed to cancer six years ago, and June 21 is Father's Day in Britain. There are actually two Kirsty Taylors on the LET; this one is Kirsty S. Taylor, the younger of the two, and the 2002 LET Rookie of the Year. Last season was Kirsty's best since that 2002 rookie year. In 2008, Kirsty finished 39th on the money list, with a best showing of fourth place at the ABN AMRO Ladies Open. She had nine other Top 30 finishes for the season.

Jade Schaeffer is a French golfer, born on Reunion Island but now living in Paris, who is the younger sister of LET golfer Fanny Schaeffer. Jade, age 23, is herself an LET member, having won the 2006 Q-School tournament. And her first official victory on the Ladies European Tour came today at the Ladies German Open. Jade shot a 67 in the final round, coming from six strokes behind third-round leader Paula Marti to tie Marti and force a playoff. Which Schaeffer then won with a birdie on the first playoff hole.

Do me a favor. Before reading further, take a look at the photos of Play Golf Designs professionals we've posted here over the last couple years by clicking this link . It will open in a new window so you won't be taken away from this post. Go ahead. I'll wait. Back? OK, good. Now, what did you see? You saw glamour shots, right? You did not see anything risque, anything revealing (in a physical sense), anything exploitative, anything in poor taste, anything - for lack of a better word - skanky. Right? Right. Glamour shots. Simple glamour shots. What's the point of this intro? Recently, a writer for Time.com penned an attack on Play Golf Designs that was headlined, "Lady Golfers for Rent: Escort Service for Duffers?" In fairness to that writer, Sean Gregory, he almost certainly had nothing to do with that insulting and very stupid headline. He did, however, make a reference to escort services himself within the body of the article. The article is a screed aga

Johanna Westerberg is a veteran of seven seasons on the Ladies European Tour, and today in the first round of the Ladies German Open she posted her career low, a 65. Westerberg's career best finish on the LET are runners-up at the 2007 Finnair Masters and 2008 Turkish Ladies Open. She finished 22nd on the money list in '07, and was 36th in earning in 2008. Johanna is getting a little help from her fiancee in Germany this week. That would be fellow Swede Joachim Johansson, who is caddying for her. Joachim Johansson ... does that name sound familiar? If you're a tennis fan, it surely does. Johansson - whose nickname is "Pim Pim" - is a professional tennis player. And a pretty good one. He was a player on the rise in 2004 and 2005, reaching the semifinals at the 2004 U.S. Open, before shoulder injuries derailed his career. He's undergone a couple surgeries since then and played sporadically. But before the injuries, he peaked at No. 9 in the WTA world singles ran

"Ash & Ash" are Ashley Davis (left) and Ashleigh Korzack, whom you probably remember from the Golf Channel series Highway 18 . The lifelong friends are back on "television" with a new show on Golfweek TV called The Look . Ashleigh described the show to me as "a weekly fashion and lifestyle show," and in the sneak peak clip you can see Ash & Ash talking to Geoff Ogilvy and Padraig Harrington, among others. Ash & Ash are also writing a blog on the Golfweek Web site. "We don't plan on just covering the PGA and LPGA," Ashleigh said, "we want to get out there to the Futures Tour, Hooters Tour, Nationwide, Champions, AJGA, USGA, etc. ... We want to be everywhere checking to see what is happening and what's hot in the fashion world of golf!" Ashleigh also said the duo hopes to expand their coverage into other lifestyle areas such as travel, cars, luxury goods and even real estate.

We've already featured two other winners from this weekend - Marianne Skarpnord on the LET and Elisa Serramia on the Futures - but, of course, the bigger winner from the weekend was the winner on the LPGA Tour: Ji Young Oh. Ji Young was the winner at the Sybase Classic, outdueling playing partner Suzann Pettersen over the final round and ultimately pulling away for a 4-stroke victory. It's the second career LPGA win for Ji Young, who is in her third season. The first was the 2008 LPGA State Farm Classic, and Oh finished 26th on the money list last year. This victory moves her up to eighth on this year's money list.

Elisa Serramia was the winner over the weekend of the Duramed Futures Tour's Mercedez-Benz of Kansas City Championship. It's her first win on the Futures Tour in what is her rookie season. But she's not a rookie tour player - before coming to the Futures Tour, Elisa spent several seasons playing the Ladies European Tour. The native of Spain turned pro in 2004 after winning the British Ladies Amateur Championship in 2003. In 2005, Elisa earned Rookie of the Year honors on the LET with a 47th-place finish on the money list. She improved to 32nd in 2006, posting multiple Top 10s including a career-to-date best on the LET of third at the 2006 Ladies Italian Open. Previous posts about Elisa Serramia

Congratulations to Marianne Skarpnord, who earned her first career win on the Ladies European Tour on Sunday at the Deutsche Bank Ladies Open. Skarpnord, from Norway, is in her fifth season with LET status, and she's had success before, but no wins until now. Skarpnord had seven Top 10 finishes on the LET in 2008, including a runner-up at the Ladies Irish Open. She finished 16th on the LET money last year and with the win at the Deutsche Bank moves into first on the 2009 money list. In 2007 Skarpnord played mostly on the Telia Tour, winning three times and leading that LET-feeder tour in money. Marianne's Web site is available in both Norwegian and English and includes her blog.

Jay Busbee of Yahoo's Devil Ball Golf does one little post about Maria Verchenova, and the Web explodes in a Verche nova . The Web cries Maria. Behold the power of Devil Ball. Actually, behold the power of Maria Verchenova, the first Russian golfer to make a name for herself on a professional tour. We've written about Maria several times here on Golf Babes; check out more Maria Verchenova pics . The above image is from Maria's photo shoot for Golf Punk magazine.

A native of Charleston, S.C., who grew up in Florida, Tiffany Prats was an All-State selection in high school who went on to play collegiately at Miami. She graduated from Miami in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in Sports Management (and a minor in Business Administration), but following shoulder surgery stayed at Miami into 2007 for her senior season - during which she was a team captain. After a college career with many Top 10 finishes, Tiffany turned pro in 2007 (although her first taste of pro game was in a single Futures Tour appearance in 2005). Her pro career was delayed a bit by a second shoulder surgery. Tiff got into another Futures Tour event last year, but mostly played on the Suncoast Series. She posted a third-place finish in the Suncoast's Q-School Prep Series tournament last September. And in 2009, Tiffany is a rookie on the Duramed Futures Tour. She has picked up a few sponsors, including Sassy Golf and Mic (a new apparel company). If you'd like to "bef

Ashley Prange recently completed a new photoshoot, and we thank her for sharing the above photo with Golf Babes. Ashley says of her outlook this year: "I am looking forward to just being myself this season and playing some great golf. Even though patience is a virtue, it is time for me to move on and get to that next level. "My goal this season is to step onto the first tee and tee it up with no expectations. I have learned over the years that I tend to put an immense amount of pressure on myself. This year I just want to enjoy myself and just let it happen without trying to force things. Even though I will still keep my aggressive swagger on the links ... haha." Ashley started the year off with a bang, finishing third in the Futures Tour season opener in late March. Her schedule (and yours) permitting, you can book a round of golf with Ashley, or book her for a clinic or outing, through Play Golf Designs .

Congratulations to Cristie Kerr on her big win in the LPGA Michelob Ultra Open on Sunday. It's career win No. 12 for Cristie, who in addition to being one of the most talented players on tour is also one of the most consistent.

LPGA.com points out that two LPGA stars recently had the honor of throwing out the first pitch at major-league ballgames. Brittany Lincicome (above) did so on April 30 in Tampa Bay, and Momoko Ueda (below) did so earlier in April in San Diego.