KAREN STUPPLES produced another memorable performance at the weekend when she finished third in the LPGA Tournament of Champions event in Alabama.

Deal’s British Open champion finished five shots behind the winner, American Heather Daly-Donofrio, with a 14-under par total of 274.

Her reward was a cheque for $48,250 which lifted Stupples’ US Women’s Tour earnings for the year to $952,102 (£513,608).

It means that, with one event of the US Tour season to go, this week’s ADT Championship in Florida, Stupples has the chance to become the first Briton to earn one million dollars in an LPGA season.

She said: “That has been my goal for the last few tournaments because I’m feeling quite tired now and I’m looking forward to a break at Christmas, but the thought of crossing the million-dollar mark has helped to keep me going.”

Karen will be returning home to spend Christmas in Deal, and she has had to bring her flight forward a few days after being invited to a Christmas reception with the Queen at Buckingham Palace on December 7.

She said: “I have been invited because of my victory in the British Open. I had already booked my flight and I was supposed to fly home on December 9, but I managed to get it changed and I am very excited about going to Buckingham Palace and meeting the Queen.”

Stupples, who currently stands sixth on the US Women’s Tour money list, the highest-ranked Briton, is set for a busy time when she is back home with her family in James Hall Gardens.

The former Walmer School pupil has also received an invitation to the BBC’s Sports Review of the Year programme on December 12, and the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, where Karen is a member, are holding a reception on December 17 to mark her British Open triumph at Sunningdale in July.