A year ago, Paula Creamer ended a 19-month victory drought when she started her third LPGA season by winning the SBS Open at Turtle Bay. Tomorrow, she opens defense of her title at the Palmer Course after finishing third on the 2007 LPGA money list behind Lorena Ochoa and Suzann Pettersen.

Creamer, 21, was LPGA Rookie of the Year after winning twice in 2005 — the inaugural victory coming four days before she graduated from high school. She had 14 top-10 finishes the following year, but no wins. That came to an abrupt halt a year ago, as Creamer hammered in a 40-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to edge Paraguay's Julieta Granada by a stroke.

The average score that day at blustery Turtle Bay was 75-plus. Granada and Se Ri Pak were the only golfers to shoot in the 60s and Creamer was among nine to break par in the final round. She closed out 2007 with eight consecutive top-12 finishes, including a fourth career victory, in November.

Eight of the top-10 money winners from last season are at Turtle Bay, with Ochoa and Mi Hyun Kim the only ones missing.

Their loss is eased by Annika Sorenstam's presence. This will be her first appearance in the SBS Open, which is in its fourth year and negotiating another multi-year contract. Sorenstam, who has won 69 LPGA titles, hasn't played in Hawai'i since she won the 2002 LPGA Takefuji Classic at Waikoloa Beach.

She had finished second at Kona Country Club the previous two years and also had four top-5 finishes in six starts at the Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open, played at Ko Olina and Kapolei. Sorenstam's success here goes back to her college days at Arizona. She won the 1991 and '92 Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitationals while playing for Arizona.

She is coming off her first winless year since 1994. The eight-time LPGA Player of the Year played just 13 tournaments last year because of a back injury.

The SBS field also includes a few not-so-well-known, but highly ranked, players.

That includes Momoko Ueda, 21, who is the highest ranked player from Japan at No. 13 in the Rolex Rankings. Ueda turned pro in 2006 and won five times last year, becoming the youngest to ever top the JLPGA money list. She was 45th at last year's Fields Open in Hawai'i and earned exempt status on the LPGA tour when she won the Mizuno Classic later in the year. Ueda just signed a three-year deal with Sony Corporation. She will play again in the Fields Open next week

South Korea's Ji-Yai Shin and Na Yeon Choi received sponsor exemptions, along with Punahou graduate Bridget Dwyer. Shin is ranked seventh in the world and recently lost a playoff against Karrie Webb at the Women's Australian Open. Choi, No. 49, is an LPGA rookie this year after finishing 20th at the Qualifying School. She has won four Korean LPGA events.

The SBS Open has received more than 60 requests for media credentials. The 138-player field includes six Kims, six Parks and four Lees.