LPGA Championship

The LPGA Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Wegmans LPGA Championship, is the second-longest running tournament in the history of the Ladies Professional Golf Association surpassed only by the U.S. Women's Open. It is one of four majors on the LPGA tour. It is not recognized as a major by the Ladies European Tour, which does not recognize any of the three majors played in the United States.

Professional-amateur controversy

Prior to 2005, the LPGA Championship had a "professionals only" rule. This is similar to the men's PGA Championship, but contrasts with the U.S. and British Opens, which have long had both amateur and professional entrants through qualifying. The LPGA Championship is the LPGA's own event, and the LPGA was created specifically to provide opportunities for women in professional golf. In 2005 this rule was revoked, effectively to allow then-amateur Michelle Wie of the U.S. to compete, in order to attract more media coverage and sell more tickets, though this was not publicly acknowledged by the LPGA. Some professionals objected to this move, as they felt that places given to amateurs would come at the expense of the LPGA Tour's less successful professionals, who need to play regularly to make a living. One of the leading professionals, Laura Davies, stated objections to the change were shortsighted.^[1] In 2006, the LPGA Championship reverted to its "professionals only" status, with only pros in the field. Michelle Wie participated that year as a professional, having turned pro the previous October upon signing multi-million dollar endorsement contracts with Nike, Sony, and other sponsors.

Tournament names and locations

Tournament names through the years:

• 1955–1970: LPGA Championship
• 1971–1972: Eve-LPGA Championship
• 1973–1986: LPGA Championship
• 1987–1993: Mazda LPGA Championship
• 1994–2000: McDonald's LPGA Championship
• 2001–2003: McDonald's LPGA Championship presented by AIG
• 2004–2009: McDonald's LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola
• 2010: LPGA Championship presented by Wegmans
• 2011–2012: Wegmans LPGA Championship

Tournament locations through the years:

• 1955: Orchard Ridge Country Club, Fort Wayne, Indiana
• 1956: Forest Lake Country Club, Detroit, Michigan
• 1957–1958: Churchill Valley Country Club, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• 1959–1960: Sheraton Hotel Country Club, French Lick, Indiana
• 1961–1966: Stardust Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada
• 1967–1968: Pleasant Valley Country Club, Sutton, Massachusetts
• 1969: Concord Golf Course, Kiamesha Lake, New York
• 1970–1974: Pleasant Valley Country Club, Sutton, Massachusetts
• 1975–1976: Pine Ridge Golf Course, Baltimore, Maryland
• 1977: Bay Tree Golf Plantation, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
• 1978–1989: Jack Nicklaus Sports Center, Kings Island, Ohio
• 1990–1993: Bethesda Country Club, Bethesda, Maryland
• 1994–2004: DuPont Country Club, Wilmington, Delaware
• 2005–2009: Bulle Rock Golf Course, Havre de Grace, Maryland
• 2010–2012: Locust Hill Country Club, Pittsford, New York

Course layout

The current course layout from Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York.

Winners

Multiple champions

This table lists the golfers who have won more than one LPGA Championship.

Champions by nationality

This table lists the total number of titles won by golfers of each nationality.

References

External links

• Official website
• LPGA official tournament microsite