The 2009 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world that took place from February through November 2009. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States based Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).
2009 saw a reduction in both the number of tournaments and the total prize money on the Tour. Official prize money was $47.6 million, the lowest total in since 2005. There were 28 official tournaments, the lowest number since at least 2004.
Rookie Jiyai Shin topped the money list, earning $1,807,334. In addition Shin took Rookie of the Year honors. Shin and Lorena Ochoa each won three tournaments during the season. Ochoa also won the Player of the Year trophy for the fourth consecutive year and the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average, also for the fourth consecutive year.
Anna Nordqvist was runner-up in the Rookie of the Year race, topping off a season that began with her having only conditional status on the LPGA Tour. She won the fifth tournament in which she played in 2009, the McDonald's LPGA Championship, a major, and also won the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship, ending the season 15th on the official money list.
The four major championships were won by: Brittany Lincicome (Kraft Nabisco Championship), Anna Nordqvist (LPGA Championship), Eun-Hee Ji (U.S. Women's Open), and Catriona Matthew (Women's British Open). All major winners were first-time major winners. Matthew won her the British Open 10 weeks after giving birth to her second child.
The LPGA experienced a turn-over in leadership in 2009, when commissioner Carolyn Bivens resigned under pressure from players in July. At the time of Bivens' resignation, the tour had only 14 events committed for the 2010 schedule, having failed to sign key long-term tournaments, notably the LPGA Corning Classic.[1] On October 28, the LPGA board of directors announced that marketing executive Michael Whan had been hired as the permanent replacement for Bivens and would assume his duties in January 2010.[2]
For details of what happened in the main tournaments of the year see 2009 in golf.
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The number in parentheses after winners' names show the player's total number wins in official money individual events on the LPGA Tour, including that event.
An asterisk next to a tournament name means that the event is unofficial.
Tournaments in bold are majors.
Money List leaders
| Rank | Player | Country | Earnings ($) | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiyai Shin | South Korea | 1,807,334 | 25 |
| 2 | Cristie Kerr | United States | 1,519,722 | 25 |
| 3 | Ai Miyazato | Japan | 1,517,149 | 22 |
| 4 | Lorena Ochoa | Mexico | 1,489,395 | 22 |
| 5 | Suzann Pettersen | Norway | 1,369,717 | 23 |
| 6 | Na Yeon Choi | South Korea | 1,341,078 | 26 |
| 7 | Yani Tseng | Taiwan | 1,293,755 | 27 |
| 8 | In-Kyung Kim | South Korea | 1,238,396 | 25 |
| 9 | Paula Creamer | United States | 1,151,864 | 24 |
| 10 | Angela Stanford | United States | 1,081,916 | 21 |
Full 2009 Official Money List - navigate to "2009"
Scoring Average leaders
| Rank | Player | Country | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lorena Ochoa | Mexico | 70.16 |
| 2 | Jiyai Shin | South Korea | 70.26 |
| 3 | Cristie Kerr | United States | 70.28 |
| 4 | Ai Miyazato | Japan | 70.33 |
| 5 | Yani Tseng | Taiwan | 70.44 |
Full 2009 Scoring Average List - navigate to "2009", then "Scoring Average"
The three competitive awards given out by the LPGA each year are:
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