Kim Welch could be the most recognized player on the Duramed Futures Tour.

Winner of The GolfChannel’s Big Break IX Ka’anapoli series, a made-for-TV competition with a berth in an LPGA tournament at stake, Welch showed off her skills as the longest hitter on the Futures Tour.

Known for playing with multi-color scarves and dark sunglasses, Welch used the Big Break triumph as a springboard for her career. She won her first professional tourn­ament in the recent Alliance Bank Golf Classic in Syracuse, and is ninth on the Futures Tour money list with $33,768.

When the annual ILOVENY Championship begins today at Capital Hills at Albany, Welch, who finished third in last year’s

local event, should be among the top contenders.

A native of Sacramento and a graduate of Washington State Univ­ersity, Welch, 25, recorded 29 top-10 finishes as a collegian, including 11 victories.

But despite her vast amateur experience, Welch never experienced the pressure, or the notoriety, that she endured while competing in Big Break IX.

“The Big Break show definitely made me more recognizeable,” she said. “I used to go about my bus­iness and do my own thing. But after the show, random strangers came up to me wanting an autograph and wanting to talk. It taught me a lot about myself. I’m basically a shy person, but I’m breaking out of my shell. The show taught me to deal with the media a little better.”

The Big Break also helped her deal with enormous pressure.

“I’ve been playing competitively since I was 12, and I’ve been playing professionally for the last three years,” she said. “But to be on that show and experience that kind of pressure is nothing like I ever felt before. You know the cameras are on, and that there are a ton of people watching the show.

“You can’t prepare yourself enough for it. When I got up to make my first shot, my hands were shaking. That kind of pressure is a little different. I wanted to see how I could handle it. I’m glad I got through it. I’m definitely a stronger player because of it.”

Welch enjoyed the Big Break victory, but she said winning her first pro tournament was an even bigger thrill.

“It’s a completely different setting when you compare the Big Break to real tournament golf,” she said. “It was great getting a win on the Big Break, but it was so much sweeter to win on this tour. This is what I’ve been doing for the last three years. My goal was to win out here, and I felt that I finally broke out with that first win.”

Welch’s tremendous length off the tee was showcased on the Big Break series, but it was the other parts of her game that she worked on the most over the last few months.

“Just as it is with everybody, it comes down to the short game. I’ve been working hard on it, especially with putting. I feel more confident and relaxed on the putting green compared to last year. It was one of the weaker parts of my game, but it’s something that I really worked hard on during the offseason.”

The Futures Tour recently announced that it is expanding the number of LPGA Tour cards from the top five on the money list to the top 10, following this weekend’s tournament. Only the top five will receive full membership, while the second five earn conditional

status.

“It’s an exciting thing for everybody who is in and around the top 10,” Welch said. “To know that there are an extra five memberships is great, but at the same time, my goal is to be in the top five, because the status is completely different. I want to have full status, and play in every tournament.”

Vicky Hurst of Melbourne, Fla., paces the money list with $88,472 and has four wins this season. Rounding out the top five are Mindy Kim of Diamond Bar, Calif. ($69,270, three wins); M.J. Hur of Seoul, South Korea ($42,577, one victory); Jin Young Pak of Kang Leung, South Korea ($39,808); and Song Yi Choi of Seoul, South Korea ($37,623).

Bailey Cocca, a 14-year-old who plays out of Shaker Ridge Country Club, earned a berth in the tourn­ament through last weekend’s local qualifier.

Other players with Capital Reg­ion ties include Auburn University graduate Nicole Hage, whose father, Joe, was a standout football player at Amsterdam, and 22-year-old Jackie Barenborg, a Florida Southern graduate whose father, Ed and mother, Terri, are from Niskayuna and Shenendehowa High Schools, respectively.

Tickets are $10 per day and $15 for a two-day package. Children under 12 will be admitted free.

PAIRINGS

1st tee

7:30 — Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico), Brittainy Klein (Henderson, Ky.), Kellee Booth (McKinney, Texas); 7:40 — Whitney Wade (Glasgow, Ky.), Airey Chiapella (Memphis, Tenn.), Chelsea Chiapella (Memphis, Tenn.); 7:50 — Manuela Tarazona (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Morgan Olds (Stamford, Conn.), Jeana Finlinson (Bloomington, Ind.); 8:00 — Libby Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.), Sarah Lynn Sargent (St. Charles, Ill.), Mary Moan (New Haven, Conn.); 8:10 — Lenna Wicks (Brighton, Mich.), Juli Erekson

(Mapleton, Urah), Maria K ostina (Nakhab­ino, Russia); 8:20 — Vicky Hurst (Melbourne, Fla.), Kate Machado (Austin, Texas), Courtney Mahon (Lee’s Summit, Mo.); 8:30 — Jessica Shepley (Oakville, Ontario), Christine Boucher (Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec), Katie Allison (Little River, S.C.); 8:40 — Mindy Kim (Diamond Bar, Calif.), Kristina Tucker (Stockholm, Sweden), Jessica Carafiello (Coral Springs, Fla.); 8:50 — Marcela Leon (Monterrey, Mexico), Pamela Feggans (Patna, Scotland), Ashley Prange (Noblesville, Ind.); 9:00 — Lori Atesedes (Ithaca), Jenny Gleason (Clearwater, Fla.), Meghan Little (Sturgis, S.D.); 9:10 — Aimee Cho (Orlando, Fla.), Haeji Kang (Seoul, South Korea), Jeanne Cho-Hunicke (Longwood, Fla.).

12:10 — Jenny Suh (Fairfax, Va.), Kim Augusta (Rumford, R.I.), Amanda McCurdy (Little Rock, Ark.); 12:20 — Lisa Ferrero (Lodi, Calif.), Gina Umeck (Redlands,

Calif.), Camila Mori (Santiago, Chile); 12:30 — Angela Buzminski (Oshawa, Ontario), Kelly Froelich (Raizeux, France), Ulrika Ljungman-Smith (Stockholm, Sweden); 12:40 — Hannah Yun (Bradenton, Fla.), Jenna Peaerson (Wheaton, Ill.), Susan Choi (Natick, Mass.); 12:50 — Kelly Lagedrost (Brooksville, Fla.), Tiffany Tavee (Temple, Ariz.), Audry Longo (Middleton, Conn.); 1:00 — Esther Moon (Nashville, Tenn.), Carol Green-Robertson (Tazewell, Va.), Anna Green (Fort Pierce, Fla.); 1:10 — Nontaya Srisawang (Chiang Mai, Thailand), Mel­issa Eaton (Port Shepstone, South Africa), Maggie Steciuk (Lonton, Ontario); 1:20 — Amanda Mathis (Opelousas, La.), Katie Fraley (Brandenburg, Ky.), Danah Ford (Indianapolis, Ind.); 1:30 — Lorraine Ballerano (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), Brenda McLarnon (Belfast, Ireland); Paula Pearson-Tucker (Miami); 1:40 — Kim Welch (Sacramento, Calif.), Leah Wigger (Louisville, Ky.), Cindy Figg-Currier (Austin, Texas); 1:50 — Devan

Andersen (Guadalajara, Mexico), Elin

Andersson (Eskilstuna, Sweden), Steph­anie George (Myerstown, Pa.).

10th tee

7:30 — Sarah Olsen (Grosse Ile, Mich.), Amaanda Costner (Claremore, Okla), Haley Gildea (East Greenwich, R.I.); 7:40 — Ashley Grier (Hagerstown, Md.), Amber Prange (Noblesville, Ind.), Sam White (Potomac, Md.); 7:50 — Taya Battistella (Portland, Ore.), Charlotte Campbell (Heathrow, Fla.), Stephanie Godare (Conroe, Texas); 8:00 — Brandi Jackson (Greenville, S.C.), Lynn Valentine (East Lyme, Conn., Bailey Cocca (Latham); 8:10 — Chella Choi (Seoul, South Korea), Caroline Larsson (Stockholm, Sweden), Jill Frantz (Iowa City, Iowa); 8:20 — M.J. Hur (Seoul, South Korea), Anastasia Kostina (Nakhabino, Russia), Ashley Mylton (Charlotte, N.C.); 8:30 — Misun Cho (Cheongju, South Korea), Michelle Jarman (Wilmington, N.C.), Jackie Barenborg (Vero Beach, Fla.); 8:40 — Sarah-Jane Kenyon (Queensland, Australia), Andrea VanderLende (Longwood, Fla.), Sohi Moon (Seoul, South Korea); 8:50 — Gerina Mendoza (Ros­well, N.M.), Nikki Hadd (Crestview, Fla.), Shelley Anderson (Clarksville, Tenn.); 9:00 — Mo Martin (Altadena, Calif.), Sophie Sheridan (Guadalajara, Mexico), Vikki Laing (Musselburgh (Scotland); 9:10 — Samantha Richdale (Kelowana, British Columbia),

Nicole Hage (Coral Springs, Fla.), Cindy Lee-Pridgen (Sabah, Malaysia).

12:10 —Sarah Brown (Tucson, Ariz.), Bing Lim (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Stephanie Ruiz (Edmond, Okla.) ; 12:20 — Kristen Samp (Moberly, Mo.), Vera Meixner (Seeboden, Austria), Eileen Vargas (Ibague, Colombia); 12:30 — Song Y i Choi (Seoul, South Korea), Janell Howland (Boise, Idaho), Stephanie Otteson (Wilson, N.C.); 12:40 — Briana Vega (Andover, Mass.), Jin Young Pak (Kang Leung, South Korea), Maru Martinez (Maracaibo, Venezuela); 12:50 — Lisa Meldrum (Montreal); Christine Cho (Kent, Wash.), Kelly Kronen (New Fairfield, Conn.); 1:00 — Nicole Jeray (Berwyn, Ill.), Molly Birmingham (Cornelius, N.C.), Kyla Jones (Nanuet); 1:10 — Carling Coffing (Middletown, Ohio), Rebecka Heinmert (San Jose, Calif.), Alissa Kuczka (Phoenix); 1:20 —Sunny Oh (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Kaylin Isler (Southlake, Texas, Stephanie Kim (Orlando, Fla.); 1:30 — Sookhee Baek (Altamonte Springs, Fla.), Nicola Eaton (Port Shepstone, South Africa), Sue Ginter (Appleton, Wis.); 1:40 — Whitney Myers (York, Pa.), Sofie Andersson (Angelholm, Sweden), Carmen Bandea (Atlanta).