Golf News: - Posted 18th March 1998

Laura Davies bids for history in Phoenix

Phoenix, Arizona - Britain's Laura Davies attempts to make golf history in Phoenix, Arizona, this week, when she tries to become the first professional golfer to win the same title five years in a row.

Four-time defending champion Davies heads a global field at the $850,000 (£530,000) Standard Register Championship at Moon Valley Country Club, including Australia's Karrie Webb and Sweden's Annika Sorenstam.

Davies is already in select company, having joined Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen as the only players to win the same event four years in a row - and the tension has been building for Davies since last year.

"The pressure of winning the fifth is something I've been thinking about since I won the fourth," Davies said. "It's going to be very difficult. There's going to be stiff competition. It would be great."

In addition to a winner's purse of $127,000 (£80,000), Laura Davies would receive a $300,000 (£187,500) bonus for achieving the feat - the biggest payout ever by an LPGA tournament - plus a $1million (£625,000) charity contribution.

Davies, whose best finish this year was third at the Hawaiian Open, is 10th on this year's LPGA money list.

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