Two young American stars will be in the spotlight when the season-ending championship of the Ladies European Tour, the Dubai Ladies Masters, starts at the Majlis course of Emirates Golf Club on Wednesday.The 500,000 euro tournament features the cream of European Ladies golf, but it is the head-to-head battle between Michelle Wie and history-making teenage star Alexis Thompson which is the big topic here before the tournament.The 21-year-old Wie has been making headlines ever since winning the US Womens Amateur Public Links Championship at the age of 13, while earlier this year, 16-year-old Thompson became the youngest ever winner on the LPGA Tour when she triumphed by five shots at the Navistar LPGA Classic in Alabama.Not only did the Coral Springs, Florida-based player break the existing record by almost two years, she also forced the LPGA Tour to give special consideration to her case and make her a full member ahead of the 18-year age rule.Wie, who is making her third trip to the Emirates, said she is looking forward to ending what has been a disappointing season on a high by recording her first win of the year.It was an interesting season. I started off pretty good and then struggled a bit in the middle. It was a work in progress kind of year. I worked a lot on trying to improve, and I am sure it will pay off next year. I didnt play as well as I wanted to, but hopefully, I can end the year with a bang.I didnt have a win this year, so a win this week would mean a lot to me, said Wie, the highest ranked player in the field at world number 17.Thompson, who finished tied 22nd last year, said, Winning definitely gave me a lot more confidence, so I now go into every event knowing I can win.I know its not going to happen every time, so you just need to take it shot by shot and hope it goes well. But I had an amazing time last year, and I have been looking forward to this tournament for a while.With Japans Ai Miyazato already securing the Order of Merit crown, the other interesting battle for second place is between red-hot Swedish rookie Caroline Hedwall, who moved up to third place in the Money List after her impressive win last week in the Womens Indian Open, and second-ranked Melissa Reid of England.
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