LPGA

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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 will be nearly $55 million, a decrease of about $5 million from 2008, and 31 total official events, down from 34 in 2008.^[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 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.

Contents 1 LPGA Tour tournaments 2 International presence 3 Other tours organized by the LPGA 4 LPGA Playoffs 5 2009 LPGA Tour 5.1 2009 money leaders 6 Historical tour schedules and results 7 LPGA Tour awards 8 Leading money winners by year 9 Leading career money winners 10 Total prize money awarded in past decades 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

[edit] 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
• 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. 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.^[4]

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.

[edit] Other tours organized by the LPGA

Besides the main LPGA Tour, the LPGA operates a second-level developmental tour, the Duramed 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 older.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 2009 LPGA Tour

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.

Dates	Tournament	Location	Winner
Jan 24-25	HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup*	Brazil	Catriona Matthew (2)
Feb 12-14	SBS Open at Turtle Bay	Hawaii	Angela Stanford (4)
Feb 26-Mar 1	Honda LPGA Thailand	Thailand	Lorena Ochoa (25)
Mar 5-8	HSBC Women's Champions	Singapore	Jiyai Shin (1)*
Mar 20-22	MasterCard Classic	Mexico	Pat Hurst (6)
Mar 26-29	J Golf Phoenix LPGA International	Arizona	Karrie Webb (36)
Apr 2-5	Kraft Nabisco Championship	California	Brittany Lincicome (3)
Apr 23-26	Corona Championship	Mexico	Lorena Ochoa (26)
May 7-10	Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill	Virginia	Cristie Kerr (12)
May 14-17	Sybase Classic	New Jersey	Ji Young Oh (2)
May 21-24	LPGA Corning Classic	New York	Yani Tseng (2)
Jun 4-7	State Farm Classic	Illinois	In-Kyung Kim (2)
Jun 11-14	McDonald's LPGA Championship	Maryland	Anna Nordqvist (1)
End of first half of the season
Jun 25-28	Wegmans LPGA	New York	Jiyai Shin (2)*
Jul 2-5	Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic	Ohio	Eunjung Yi (1)
Jul 9-12	U.S. Women's Open	Pennsylvania
Jul 23-26	Evian Masters	France
Jul 30-Aug 2	Ricoh Women's British Open	England
Aug 21-23	The Solheim Cup	Illinois
Aug 28-30	Safeway Classic	Oregon
Sep 3-6	CN Canadian Women's Open	Alberta, Canada
Sep 11-13	P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship	Arkansas
Sep 17-20	Samsung World Championship	California
Sep 24-27	Longs Drugs Challenge	California
Oct 1-4	Navistar LPGA Classic	Alabama
Oct 15-18	Kapalua LPGA Classic	Hawaii
Oct 23-25	Grand China Air LPGA	China
Oct 30-Nov 1	Hana Bank-KOLON Championship	South Korea
Nov 6-8	Mizuno Classic	Japan
Nov 12-15	Lorena Ochoa Invitational	Mexico
Nov 19-22	Stanford Financial Tour Championship	Texas
TBD	Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge*	Nevada

An asterisk next to a tournament name means that the event is unofficial. Tournaments in bold are majors.
* Jiyai Shin had three wins in 2008 before becoming an LPGA member. Because she was not an LPGA member, these wins did not count on the LPGA official money list.

[edit] 2009 money leaders

Top ten official money leaders as of June 28, 2009.

Rank	Change	Player	Country	Events	Prize money ($)
1	▲3	Jiyai Shin	South Korea	12	1,001,139
2	▼1	Cristie Kerr	United States	13	840,507
3	▲2	Yani Tseng	Taiwan	13	832,621
4	▼2	In-Kyung Kim	South Korea	12	774,141
5	▼2	Lorena Ochoa	Mexico	9	711,105
6	▬	Angela Stanford	United States	10	626,289
7	▬	Suzann Pettersen	Norway	12	590,907
8	▬	Paula Creamer	United States	11	568,436
9	▬	Lindsey Wright	Australia	12	543,231
10	▲5	Kristy McPherson	United States	13	512,281

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.

[edit] Historical tour schedules and results

Year	Number of official tournaments	Countries hosting tournaments	Tournaments in United States	Tournaments in other countries	Total prize money
2008 Tour	34	8	24	10	$60,000,000
2007 Tour	31	8	23	8	$54,285,000
2006 Tour	33	8	25	8	$50,275,000
2005 Tour	32	7	25	7	$45,100,000
2004 Tour	32	6	27	5	$42,875,000

• Official tournaments are tournaments in which earnings and scores are credited to the players' official LPGA record.

[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 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 LPGA 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.

Year	Player of the Year	Vare Trophy	Rookie of the Year
2008	Lorena Ochoa	Lorena Ochoa	Yani Tseng
2007	Lorena Ochoa	Lorena Ochoa	Angela Park
2006	Lorena Ochoa	Lorena Ochoa	Seon Hwa Lee
2005	Annika Sörenstam	Annika Sörenstam	Paula Creamer
2004	Annika Sörenstam	Grace Park	Shi Hyun Ahn
2003	Annika Sörenstam	Se Ri Pak	Lorena Ochoa
2002	Annika Sörenstam	Annika Sörenstam	Beth Bauer
2001	Annika Sörenstam	Annika Sörenstam	Hee-Won Han
2000	Karrie Webb	Karrie Webb	Dorothy Delasin
1999	Karrie Webb	Karrie Webb	Mi Hyun Kim
1998	Annika Sörenstam	Annika Sörenstam	Se Ri Pak
1997	Annika Sörenstam	Karrie Webb	Lisa Hackney
1996	Laura Davies	Annika Sörenstam	Karrie Webb
1995	Annika Sörenstam	Annika Sörenstam	Pat Hurst
1994	Beth Daniel	Beth Daniel	Annika Sörenstam
1993	Betsy King	Betsy King	Suzanne Strudwick
1992	Dottie Mochrie	Dottie Mochrie	Helen Alfredsson
1991	Pat Bradley	Pat Bradley	Brandie Burton
1990	Beth Daniel	Beth Daniel	Hiromi Kobayashi
1989	Betsy King	Beth Daniel	Pamela Wright
1988	Nancy Lopez	Colleen Walker	Liselotte Neumann
1987	Ayako Okamoto	Betsy King	Tammie Green
1986	Pat Bradley	Pat Bradley	Jody Rosenthal
1985	Nancy Lopez	Nancy Lopez	Penny Hammel
1984	Betsy King	Patty Sheehan	Juli Inkster
1983	Patty Sheehan	JoAnne Carner	Stephanie Farwig
1982	JoAnne Carner	JoAnne Carner	Patti Rizzo
1981	JoAnne Carner	JoAnne Carner	Patty Sheehan
1980	Beth Daniel	Amy Alcott	Myra Blackwelder
1979	Nancy Lopez	Nancy Lopez	Beth Daniel
1978	Nancy Lopez	Nancy Lopez	Nancy Lopez
1977	Judy Rankin	Judy Rankin	Debbie Massey
1976	Judy Rankin	Judy Rankin	Bonnie Lauer
1975	Sandra Palmer	JoAnne Carner	Amy Alcott
1974	JoAnne Carner	JoAnne Carner	Jan Stephenson
1973	Kathy Whitworth	Judy Rankin	Laura Baugh
1972	Kathy Whitworth	Kathy Whitworth	Jocelyne Bourassa
1971	Kathy Whitworth	Kathy Whitworth	Sally Little
1970	Sandra Haynie	Amy Alcott	JoAnne Carner
1969	Kathy Whitworth	Kathy Whitworth	Jane Blalock
1968	Kathy Whitworth	Carol Mann	Sandra Post
1967	Kathy Whitworth	Kathy Whitworth	Sharron Moran
1966	Kathy Whitworth	Kathy Whitworth	Jan Ferraris
1965	–	Kathy Whitworth	Margie Masters
1964	–	Mickey Wright	Susie Berning
1963	–	Mickey Wright	Clifford Ann Creed
1962	–	Mickey Wright	Mary Mills
1961	–	Mickey Wright	–
1960	–	Mickey Wright	–
1959	–	Betsy Rawls	–
1958	–	Beverly Hanson	–
1957	–	Louise Suggs	–
1956	–	Patty Berg	–
1955	–	Patty Berg	–
1954	–	Babe Zaharias	–
1953	–	Patty Berg	–

[edit] Leading money winners by year

Year	Player	Country	Earnings ($)	Most wins
2008	Lorena Ochoa	Mexico	2,754,660	7 - Lorena Ochoa
2007	Lorena Ochoa	Mexico	4,364,994	8 - Lorena Ochoa
2006	Lorena Ochoa	Mexico	2,592,872	6 - Lorena Ochoa
2005	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	2,588,240	10 - Annika Sörenstam
2004	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	2,544,707	8 - Annika Sörenstam
2003	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	2,029,506	6 - Annika Sörenstam
2002	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	2,863,904	11 - Annika Sörenstam
2001	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	2,105,868	8 - Annika Sörenstam
2000	Karrie Webb	Australia	1,876,853	7 - Karrie Webb
1999	Karrie Webb	Australia	1,591,959	6 - Karrie Webb
1998	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	1,092,748	4 - Annika Sörenstam, Se Ri Pak
1997	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	1,236,789	6 - Annika Sörenstam
1996	Karrie Webb	Australia	1,002,000	4 - Laura Davies, Dottie Pepper, Karrie Webb
1995	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	666,533	3 - Annika Sörenstam
1994	Laura Davies	England	687,201	4 - Beth Daniel
1993	Betsy King	United States	595,992	3 - Brandie Burton
1992	Dottie Mochrie	United States	693,335	4 - Dottie Mochrie
1991	Pat Bradley	United States	763,118	4 - Pat Bradley, Meg Mallon
1990	Beth Daniel	United States	863,578	7 - Beth Daniel
1989	Betsy King	United States	654,132	6 - Betsy King
1988	Sherri Turner	United States	350,851	3 - 5 players (see 1)
1987	Ayako Okamoto	Japan	466,034	5 - Jane Geddes
1986	Pat Bradley	United States	492,021	5 - Pat Bradley
1985	Nancy Lopez	United States	416,472	5 - Nancy Lopez
1984	Betsy King	United States	266,771	4 - Patty Sheehan, Amy Alcott
1983	JoAnne Carner	United States	291,404	4 - Pat Bradley, Patty Sheehan
1982	JoAnne Carner	United States	310,400	5 - JoAnne Carner, Beth Daniel
1981	Beth Daniel	United States	206,998	5 - Donna Caponi
1980	Beth Daniel	United States	231,000	5 - Donna Caponi, JoAnne Carner
1979	Nancy Lopez	United States	197,489	8 - Nancy Lopez
1978	Nancy Lopez	United States	189,814	9 - Nancy Lopez
1977	Judy Rankin	United States	122,890	5 - Judy Rankin, Debbie Austin
1976	Judy Rankin	United States	150,734	6 - Judy Rankin
1975	Sandra Palmer	United States	76,374	4 - Carol Mann, Sandra Haynie
1974	JoAnne Carner	United States	87,094	6 - JoAnne Carner, Sandra Haynie
1973	Kathy Whitworth	United States	82,864	7 - Kathy Whitworth
1972	Kathy Whitworth	United States	65,063	5 - Kathy Whitworth, Jane Blalock
1971	Kathy Whitworth	United States	41,181	5 - Kathy Whitworth
1970	Kathy Whitworth	United States	30,235	4 - Shirley Englehorn
1969	Carol Mann	United States	49,152	8 - Carol Mann
1968	Kathy Whitworth	United States	48,379	10 - Carol Mann, Kathy Whitworth
1967	Kathy Whitworth	United States	32,937	8 - Kathy Whitworth
1966	Kathy Whitworth	United States	33,517	9 - Kathy Whitworth
1965	Kathy Whitworth	United States	28,658	8 - Kathy Whitworth
1964	Mickey Wright	United States	29,800	11 - Mickey Wright
1963	Mickey Wright	United States	31,269	13 - Mickey Wright
1962	Mickey Wright	United States	21,641	10 - Mickey Wright
1961	Mickey Wright	United States	22,236	10 - Mickey Wright
1960	Louise Suggs	United States	16,892	6 - Mickey Wright
1959	Betsy Rawls	United States	26,774	10 - Betsy Rawls
1958	Beverly Hanson	United States	12,639	5 - Mickey Wright
1957	Patty Berg	United States	16,272	5 - Betsy Rawls, Patty Berg
1956	Marlene Hagge	United States	20,235	8 - Marlene Hagge
1955	Patty Berg	United States	16,492	6 - Patty Berg
1954	Patty Berg	United States	16,011	5 - Louise Suggs, Babe Zaharias
1953	Louise Suggs	United States	19,816	8 - Louise Suggs
1952	Betsy Rawls	United States	14,505	6 - Betsy Rawls, Louise Suggs
1951	Babe Zaharias	United States	15,087	7 - Babe Zaharias
1950	Babe Zaharias	United States	14,800	6 - Babe Zaharias

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 2008 season. There is a more complete list, updated weekly during the Tour season, on the LPGA's official site.

Position	Player	Country	Earned	Prize money ($)
1	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	1993-2008	22,573,192
2	Karrie Webb	Australia	1995-2008	14,311,587
3	Lorena Ochoa	Mexico	2003-2008	13,197,409
4	Juli Inkster	United States	1983-2008	12,447,217
5	Se Ri Pak	South Korea	1997-2008	10,153,220
6	Meg Mallon	United States	1987-2008	9,019,694
7	Cristie Kerr	United States	1997-2008	8,938,890
8	Beth Daniel	United States	1979-2007	8,755,733
9	Laura Davies	England	1986-2008	8,532,295
10	Rosie Jones	United States	1982-2006	8,355,068
11	Mi Hyun Kim	South Korea	1999-2008	8,294,443
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	1996-2008	6,697,214
15	Pat Hurst	United States	1991-2008	6,163,586
16	Jeong Jang	South Korea	2000-2008	6,109,187
17	Sherri Steinhauer	United States	1986-2008	5,929,838
18	Liselotte Neumann	Sweden	1988-2008	5,833,099
19	Paula Creamer	United States	2005-2008	5,816,733
20	Pat Bradley	United States	1974-2004	5,755,951

[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
• 2009 in golf

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site

v • d • e LPGA Tour seasons 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008

v • d • e Women's Professional Golf Tours Major tours LPGA Tour · Ladies European Tour · LPGA of Japan Tour · LPGA of Korea Tour · ALPG Tour Development tours Duramed FUTURES Tour · SAS Masters Tour Other tours Ladies Asian Golf Tour · Pro Women's Victory Golf Tour Senior tours Legends Tour