KAREN STUPPLES is aiming to improve on last year's second place finish at the ANZ Ladies' Masters, which starts on Thursday at the Royal Pines resort on Australia's Gold Coast.

Stupples was runner-up to Annika Sorenstam in last year's event, after the Swedish world number one finished with two rounds of 65.

Sorenstam's finish denied the 31-year-old from Deal what would have been her first title, but she went on to win the Weetabix Women's British Open at Sunningdale later in the year and admits the defeat was part of a learning curve.

She said: I learned a lot from watching her play. Once she's got the tournament by the throat she doesn't want to let it go. She just keeps pounding away and wants to make more and more birdies and I think I learned a valuable lesson from that."

Sorenstam is not competing at this year's event, but Stupples recognises there is still a strong field and she will have to play well to win.

"I don't have Annika to beat this year but there is plenty of other good opposition to beat," she said.

That opposition includes former world number one Karrie Webb, who won this event four times in a row between 1998-2001, Laura Davies, champion on three occasions, and 19-year-old Japanese sensation Ai Miyazato, who won the World Cup in South Africa two weeks ago alongside Rui Kitada.