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 2008 prize money on the LPGA Tour exceeds $58 million.
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.[1][2] 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 2008, three tournaments will be held 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 formerly included tournaments in Korea, Thailand, and Japan, but the Thailand tournament was dropped for 2008 and replaced with a new tournament in Mexico hosted by current world number 1 player Lorena Ochoa. However, there will still be three events in Asia, as a new tournament will be held in the spring in Singapore.
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
- Ricoh 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 2008 there are 121 non-Americans from 26 countries, including 45 from South Korea, 15 from Sweden, 11 from Australia, 9 from the United Kingdom (4 each from England and Scotland and one from Wales), 6 from Canada, 5 from Taiwan, and 4 from Germany.[3]
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 six events, Australian Karrie Webb five, Swede Annika Sörenstam three, and nine different South Koreans 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 won in in 2006.
[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 Women's Senior Golf Tour, now called The Legends Tour, for women professionals aged 45 and above.
[edit] LPGA Playoffs
Since 2006, all official 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 winner of the ADT Championship, which features three days of “playoffs” plus the final championship round, earns $1 million.
[edit] 2008 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.
*The Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge will be held on November 17. It will be broadcast on television on December 20 and 21. The official LPGA Tour schedule lists the tournament dates based on the television broadcast.
[edit] Historical tour schedules and results
| Year | Number of tournaments |
Countries hosting tournaments |
Total prize money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 Tour | 35 | 11 | $54,285,000 |
| 2006 Tour | 36 | 10 | $50,275,000 |
| 2005 Tour | 35 | 9 | $45,100,000 |
| 2004 Tour | 33 | 6 | $42,875,000 |
[edit] LPGA Tour awards
The LPGA Tour presents several annual awards. Three are awarded in competitive contests, based on scoring over the course of the year.
- The Rolex Player of the Year is awarded based on a formula in which points are awarded for top-10 finishes and are doubled at the LPGA's four major championships and at the season-ending ADT Championship. The points system is: 30 points for first; 12 points for second; nine points for third; seven points for fourth; six points for fifth; five points for sixth; four points for seventh; three points for eighth; two points for ninth and one point for 10th.
- The Vare Trophy, named for Glenna Collett-Vare, is given to the player with the lowest scoring average for the season.
- The Louise Suggs Rolex Rooke of the Year Award is awarded to the first-year player on the LPGA Tour who scores the highest in a points competition in which points are awarded at all full-field domestic events and doubled at the LPGA's four major championships. The points system is: 150 points for first; 80 points for second; 75 points for third; 70 points for fourth; and 65 points for fifth. After fifth place, points are awarded in increments of three, beginning at sixth place with 62 points. Rookies who make the cut in an event and finish below 41st each receive five points. The award is named after Louise Suggs, one of the founders of the LPGA.
[edit] Leading money winners by year
1 The five players with who won three titles in 1988 were Juli Inkster, Rosie Jones, Betsy King, Nancy Lopez, and Ayako Okamoto.
[edit] Leading career money winners
The table below shows the top 20 career money leaders on the LPGA Tour at the end of the 2007 season. There is a more complete list, updated weekly during the Tour season, on the LPGA's official site here.
| Position | Player | Country | Earned | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Annika Sörenstam |  Sweden |
1993-2007 | 20,837,280 |
| 2. | Karrie Webb |  Australia |
1995-2007 | 13,457,025 |
| 3. | Juli Inkster |  United States |
1983-2007 | 11,701,376 |
| 4. | Lorena Ochoa |  Mexico |
2003-2007 | 10,434,216 |
| 5. | Se Ri Pak |  South Korea |
1997-2007 | 9,787,077 |
| 6. | Meg Mallon | United States |
1987-2007 | 8,885,694 |
| 7. | Beth Daniel | United States |
1979-2007 | 8,755,733 |
| 8. | Rosie Jones | United States |
1982-2006 | 8,355,068 |
| 9. | Laura Davies |  England |
1986-2007 | 8,168,615 |
| 10. | Mi Hyun Kim | South Korea |
1999-2007 | 6,827,284 |
| 11. | Cristie Kerr | United States |
1997-2007 | 7,830,051 |
| 12. | Betsy King | United States |
1977-2005 | 7,637,621.50 |
| 13. | Dottie Pepper | United States |
1988-2004 | 6,827,284 |
| 14. | Lorie Kane |  Canada |
1996-2007 | 6,644,027 |
| 15. | Pat Hurst | United States |
1991-2007 | 5,911,397 |
| 16. | Pat Bradley | United States |
1974-2004 | 5,755,951 |
| 17. | Liselotte Neumann | Sweden |
1988-2007 | 5,734,653 |
| 18. | Kelly Robbins | United States |
1991-2007 | 5,621,742 |
| 19. | Sherri Steinhauer | United States |
1986-2007 | 5,617,672 |
| 20. | Patty Sheehan | United States |
1980-1999 | 5,513,409 |
[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] Referencess
- ^ The Golf Channel (2000). LPGA Tour: History. Thegolfchannel.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-08.
- ^ LPGA (2007). About the LPGA. lpga.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-08.
- ^ LPGA. "LPGA Information: 2008 International Players" (PDF). Press release. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Seoul Sisters - fansite about the many South Koreans on the LPGA Tour
- LPGA Tour Fan discussion forum
