Golf fans around the globe can mark their calendars and begin planning for 2005, as the dates for The Solheim Cup at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., have been announced: Sept. 9-11. Considered one of the most prestigious events in women's golf, The Solheim Cup returns to the famed Carmel, Ind., golf course for the ninth staging of the event and the fifth in the United States. Crooked Stick Golf Club was announced as the 2005 venue in August 2002. Last month it also was announced the 2005 event will be carried live on The Golf Channel.

The Solheim Cup was started by Karsten and Louise Solheim, founders of Karsten Manufacturing Corporation; Karsten Manufacturing has sponsored The Solheim Cup since its inception in 1990. The 2005 event will be a joint venture between the LPGA and the Indiana Sports Corporation.

"We are particularly pleased to be involved in the ultimate international team competition for women golfers in the same year we are hosting the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four," said Indiana Sports Corporation Chairman of the Board Earl Goode. "Our goal is to use these two prestigious events to present 2005 as the year of the female athlete in Indianapolis."

Crooked Stick Golf Club, located in Carmel, Ind., just outside Indianapolis, was home to the memorable 1991 PGA Championship won by John Daly and the 1993 U.S. Women's Open Championship title captured by Lauri Merten. Opened in 1964, Crooked Stick is considered the representative club of Dye's design. A Scottish-style links course, it is one of Indianapolis' premiere courses and, among its numerous accolades, has been ranked the number-one golf course in Indiana by Golf Digest and nationally number fifty-four (54).

The Solheim Cup is a biennial, trans-Atlantic team match-play competition featuring the best U.S.-born players from the LPGA Tour and the best European-born players from the Evian Ladies European Tour (LET). The U.S. Team leads the competition, 4-2, and has never lost on home soil. This year, The Solheim Cup will be contested at Barseb�ck Golf and Country Club near Malm� in Sweden from Sept. 12-14, where the European Team looks to reclaim The Cup after a dramatic loss in 2002.

Tickets to the 2005 Solheim Cup will go on sale in the fall of 2004. Corporate opportunities that include advertising, hospitality and event credentials are available now. For more information on corporate opportunities, contact Kelly Hyne or Brad Carlson at (317) 237-5000.

Sponsored by PING golf equipment, The Solheim Cup is named in honor of the company's founder, Karsten Solheim, and his family. In 1990, the Solheim family, in conjunction with the LPGA and the then Women Professional Golfers' European Tour, developed the concept and became the title sponsor for The Solheim Cup, professional golf's international match-play competition for women. Held every two years, the event has grown into a prestigious international women's professional golf event. The Cup is the most highly coveted trophy in women's professional golf team competition; some of the most memorable moments in women's golf have happened during one of the Solheim Cups, and berths on the U.S. and European teams are highly sought after by players from both organizations.

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Media Contact:
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