LPGA
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The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, with headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world which runs from February to December each year. In 2007 prize money on the LPGA Tour will be USD $54.285 million. [1]
Other "LPGA"s exist in other countries, each with a geographical designation in its name, but the U.S. organization is the largest and best known. The LPGA is also an organization for female club and teaching golf professionals. This is different from the PGA Tour which runs the main professional tours in the U.S. and, since 1968, has been independent of the club and teaching professionals' organization, the PGA of America.
The LPGA was founded in 1950 by a group of 13 women, including Babe Didrikson Zaharias. It is now the oldest ongoing women's professional sports organization in the United States.[2][3] Carolyn Bivens is the current LPGA Commissioner.
[edit] LPGA Tour tournaments
Most of the LPGA Tour's events are held in the United States. In 2007 there are two tournaments in Mexico and one in Canada. Two events are co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour: the Women's British Open and the Evian Masters in France, held the preceding week. An autumn Asian swing includes tournaments in Korea, Thailand, and Japan.
The LPGA's annual major championships are:
- Kraft Nabisco Championship
- McDonald's U.S. LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola
- U.S. Women's Open
- Weetabix Women's British Open (held in cooperation with Ladies European Tour)
[edit] International presence
In its early decades the LPGA Tour was dominated by American players. Vivien Saunders of the United Kingdom became the first player living outside the United States to gain an LPGA tour card in 1969. The non-U.S. contingent is now very large. The last time an American player topped the money list was in 1993, the last time an American led the tour in tournaments won was in 1996, and from 2000 through 2006 non-Americans won 22 of 28 major championships. In 2007 there are 117 non-Americans from 26 countries, including 45 from South Korea, 15 from Sweden, 9 from Australia, 9 from Great Britain (4 from England, 4 from Scotland, 1 from Wales) and 7 from Canada. [2]
Of the 33 events in 2006, only seven were won by Americans, with Cristie Kerr the only American to win more than once (three times). By contrast, Swede Annika Sörenstam won three events, Australian Karrie Webb five, Mexican Lorena Ochoa six, and nine different South Koreans combined to win 11 events. The season-ending LPGA Playoffs at The ADT was won by Paraguayan Julieta Granada. The other seven finalists in that event featured only two Americans (Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis); the others were Ochoa, Webb, Koreans Il Mi Chung and Mi Hyun Kim, and Japanese Ai Miyazato.
[edit] Other tours organized by the LPGA
Besides the main LPGA Tour, the LPGA operates a second-level developmental tour, the Futures Tour. Top finishers at the end of each season on that tour receive playing privileges on the main LPGA Tour for the following year.
The LPGA also administers an annual Qualifying School similar to that conducted by the PGA Tour. Depending on a golfer's finish in the Qualifying School tournament, she may receive full or partial playing privileges on the LPGA Tour.
In 2001, the LPGA established the Legends Tour, now called The Legends Tour, for women professionals aged 45 and above.
[edit] LPGA Playoffs
Since 2006, all LPGA tournaments have been part of a playoff system, leading up to the November LPGA Playoffs at The ADT. The LPGA schedule is divided into two halves, with 15 players from each half qualifying for the ADT Championship based on their performance. Two wild-card selections are also included in the Playoffs. The 2007 winner of the ADT Championship, which features three days of “playoffs” plus the final championship round, will earn $1 million.
[edit] 2007 LPGA Tour
ADT Playoff Categories:
- winner: Official LPGA Tour events with a purse of at least $2,000,000. Winners of these events automatically qualify for the ADT Championship.
- standard: Winners do not automatically qualify for the ADT Championship; the ADT points system is used.
- unofficial These events are not official LPGA Tour events and participation is not part of the ADT Playoff system.
The number in parentheses after winners' names show the player's total number of official money, individual event wins on the LPGA Tour including that event.
Tournaments in bold are majors.
[edit] Historical tour schedules and results
| Year | Number of tournaments |
Countries hosting tournaments |
Total prize money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 Tour | 36 | 10 | $50,275,000 |
| 2005 Tour | 35 | 9 | $45,100,000 |
| 2004 Tour | 33 | 6 | $42,875,000 |
[edit] LPGA Tour awards
The LPGA Tour presents several annual awards. Three are awarded in competitive contests, based on scoring over the course of the year.
- The Rolex Player of the Year is awarded based on a formula in which points are awarded for top-10 finishes and are doubled at the LPGA's four major championships and at the season-ending ADT Championship. The points system is: 30 points for first; 12 points for second; nine points for third; seven points for fourth; six points for fifth; five points for sixth; four points for seventh; three points for eighth; two points for ninth and one point for 10th.
- The Vare Trophy, named for Glenna Collett-Vare, is given to the player with the lowest scoring average for the season.
- The Louis Suggs Rolex Rooke of the Year Award is awarded to the first-year player on the LPGA Tour who scores the highest in a points competition in which points are awarded at all full-field domestic events and doubled at the LPGA's four major championships. The points system is: 150 points for first; 80 points for second; 75 points for third; 70 points for fourth; and 65 points for fifth. After fifth place, points are awarded in increments of three, beginning at sixth place with 62 points. Rookies who make the cut in an event and finish below 41st each receive five points. The award is named after Louise Suggs, one of the founders of the LPGA.
[edit] Leading money winners by year
1 The five players with who won three titles in 1988 were Juli Inkster, Rosie Jones, Betsy King, Nancy Lopez, and Ayako Okamoto.
[edit] Leading career money winners
The table below shows the top 20 career money leaders on the LPGA Tour at the end of the 2006 season. There is a more complete list, updated weekly during the Tour season, on the LPGA's official site here.
| Position | Player | Country | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Annika Sörenstam |  Sweden |
20,304,562 |
| 2. | Karrie Webb |  Australia |
12,826,995 |
| 3. | Juli Inkster |  United States |
11,255,669 |
| 4. | Se Ri Pak |  Republic of Korea |
8,966,948 |
| 5. | Meg Mallon | United States |
8,818,462 |
| 6. | Beth Daniel | United States |
8,755,733 |
| 7. | Rosie Jones | United States |
8,355,068 |
| 8. | Laura Davies |  England |
7,716,726 |
| 9. | Betsy King | United States |
7,637,621 |
| 10. | Dottie Pepper | United States |
6,827,284 |
| 11. | Cristie Kerr | United States |
6,731,130 |
| 12. | Mi Hyun Kim | Republic of Korea |
6,581,844 |
| 13. | Lorie Kane |  Canada |
6,501,734 |
| 14. | Lorena Ochoa |  Mexico |
6,069,222 |
| 15. | Pat Bradley | United States |
5,755,951 |
| 16. | Liselotte Neumann | Sweden |
5,676,328 |
| 17. | Kelly Robbins | United States |
5,621,742 |
| 18. | Pat Hurst | United States |
5,519,509 |
| 19. | Patty Sheehan | United States |
5,513,409 |
| 20. | Nancy Lopez | United States |
5,320,877 |
[edit] Total prize money awarded in past decades
- 2000 $38,500,000
- 1990 $17,100,000
- 1980 $5,150,000
- 1970 $435,040
- 1960 $186,700
- 1950 $50,000
[edit] See also
- Golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
- Golfers with most LPGA major championship wins
- Women's World Golf Rankings
- Professional golf tours
- 2007 in golf
[edit] References and notes
- ^ [1], lpga.com, Bivens announces 2007 Schedule.
- ^ The Golf Channel (2000). LPGA Tour: History. Thegolfchannel.com. Retrieved on April 8, 2007.
- ^ LPGA (2007). About the LPGA. lpga.com. Retrieved on April 8, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Seoul Sisters - fansite about the many South Koreans on the LPGA Tour
- LPGA Tour Fan discussion forum
