The LPGA , in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association , is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters are 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 that runs from February to December each year. In 2009, total prize money on the LPGA Tour was just under $50 million, a decrease of over $10 million from 2008, and there were 29 total official events, down from 34 in 2008. The 2010 season will see a further reduction in events, with 24 officially announced in November 2009, although the LPGA left open the possibility of one or two more events being added before the 2010 season began.
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 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. Retired Rear Admiral Marsha J. Evans is the current interim LPGA Commissioner. She took over from Carolyn Bivens, who resigned under pressure from players in July 2009. At the time of Bivens' resignation, the tour only had 14 events locked in for 2010. On October 28, 2009 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.
LPGA Tour tournaments
Most of the LPGA Tour's events are held in the United States. In 2009, three tournaments are scheduled for Mexico and one each in Singapore, Canada, France, England, China, South Korea, Thailand, and Japan. Four of the tournaments held outside North America are co-sanctioned with other professional tours. The Ladies European Tour co-sanctions the Evian Masters in France and the Women's British Open, held the following week. The other two co-sanctioned events — the Hana Bank-KOLON Championship (LPGA of Korea Tour) and Mizuno Classic (LPGA of Japan Tour) — are held in successive autumn weeks in Asia.
The LPGA's annual major championships are:
- Kraft Nabisco Championship
- LPGA Championship presented by Wegmans
- U.S. Women's Open
- Ricoh Women's British Open (held in cooperation with Ladies European Tour)
International presence
In its early decades, the LPGA Tour was dominated by American players. Sandra Post of Canada became the first player living outside the United States to gain an LPGA tour card in 1968. 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 2008, non-Americans won 28 of 36 major championships. In 2009, there are 122 non-Americans from 27 countries, including 47 from South Korea, 14 from Sweden, 10 from Australia, eight from the United Kingdom (four from England, three from Scotland and one from Wales), seven from Canada, five from Taiwan, and four from Japan.
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, Mexican Lorena Ochoa won seven events, Australian Karrie Webb five, Swede Annika Sörenstam three, and nine South Koreans (Joo Mi Kim, Meena Lee, Sung Ah Yim, Mi Hyun Kim (2), Hee-Won Han(2), Seon Hwa Lee, Se Ri Pak, Jeong Jang, and Jin Joo Hong) combined to win 11 events. (See 2006 LPGA Tour for more details on the 2006 season.)
In 2007, Americans saw a relative resurgence, winning 12 events. For the first time since 2000, two Americans won majors. However, only one American, Paula Creamer, won more than one event, while Mexico's Lorena Ochoa won eight times and Norway's Suzann Pettersen five. Koreans won only four events, seven fewer than the 11 they won in 2006.
Other tours organized by the LPGA
Besides the main LPGA Tour, the LPGA also owns and operates the Duramed Futures Tour, the official developmental tour of the LPGA. 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, Jane Blaylock's JBC Marketing established the Women's Senior Golf Tour, now called The Legends Tour, for women professionals aged 45 and older. This is affiliated with the LPGA, but is not owned by the LPGA.
LPGA Playoffs
Since 2006, the LPGA has played a season-ending championship tournament, now known as the LPGA Tour Championship, and known through the 2008 season as the LPGA Playoffs at The ADT. The tournament is held in November. From 2006 through 2008 the LPGA schedule was divided into two halves, with 15 players from each half qualifying for the Championship based on their performance. Two wild-card selections were also included for a final field of 21 players. The winner of the LPGA Tour Championship, which features three days of “playoffs” plus the final championship round, earns $1 million.
In 2009, the Tour Championship field will be increased to 120 players. The qualification criteria was not announced as of May 31, 2009.
2009 LPGA Tour
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.
- ^ Because Song was not an LPGA member in 2009, her victory in the Mizuno Classic did not count as an official tour win.
- ^ Due to inclement weather, the event was shortened to 54 holes, and the final round was delayed a day from its scheduled date of November 22.
2009 money leaders
Top ten official money leaders
T=tied for position
Change=change from previous week
Source and complete list: LPGA official website.
Also see: Women's World Golf Rankings
Note: Jiyai Shin's earnings in the Honda LPGA Thailand are not included in accordance with LPGA rules and her total event count also reflects this rule.Historical tour schedules and results
- Official tournaments are tournaments in which earnings and scores are credited to the players' official LPGA record.
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 Tour 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 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie 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 based on a player's finish in a event. 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 decrements of three, beginning at sixth place with 62 points. Points are doubled in the major events and at the season-ending Tour Championship. 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.
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.
Leading career money winners
The table below shows the top 20 career money leaders on the LPGA Tour at the end of the 2009 season. There is a more complete list, updated weekly during the Tour season, on the LPGA's official site.
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
See also
- Golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
- Golfers with most LPGA major championship wins
- Former LPGA Tour events
- Women's World Golf Rankings <
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