LPGA

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 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 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. Carolyn Bivens is the current LPGA Commissioner.

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 each in Singapore, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, China, South Korea, 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 Korea Championship (LPGA of Korea Tour) and Mizuno Classic (LPGA of Japan Tour)—are held in successive autumn weeks in Asia. This Asian swing formerly included a tournament in Thailand, but that event was dropped for 2008 and replaced with a new tournament in China.

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)

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 2008, there are 121 non-Americans from 26 countries, including 45 from South Korea, 15 from Sweden, 11 from Australia, nine from the United Kingdom (four each from England and Scotland and one from Wales), six from Canada, five from Taiwan, and four from Germany.

In August 2008, the LPGA Tour announced a new policy that would have required all players who had been on the tour for two years to be able to speak English or face suspension. They rescinded the policy two weeks later amidst increasing criticism, including criticism from LPGA sponsors. Commissioner Bivens will be announcing a revised policy that will not include penalties. The LPGA has not disclosed by what standards English proficiency will be judged or provided information on whether it will provide education, tutoring, or classes for players whose native language is not English. The LPGA has not required monolingual English-speakers to learn another language. One American commentator, Ron Sirak of Golf World magazine, said after the demise of the English-only proposal that "The LPGA was hit by a sucker punch — after setting itself up as the sucker," adding that the single biggest source of revenue for the tour is the sale of television rights in South Korea.

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 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 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.

LPGA Playoffs

Since 2006, all official LPGA tournaments have been part of a playoff system, leading up to the LPGA Playoffs at The ADT, held in November. 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.

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.

Dates	Tournament	Location	ADT Playoff Category	Winner
Jan 18-20	Women's World Cup of Golf	South Africa	unofficial	(Jennifer Rosales / Dorothy Delasin)
Feb 14-16	SBS Open at Turtle Bay	Hawaii	standard	Annika Sörenstam (70)
Feb 21-23	Fields Open in Hawaii	Hawaii	standard	Paula Creamer (5)
Feb 28-Mar 2	HSBC Women's Champions		winner	Lorena Ochoa (18)
Mar 14-16	MasterCard Classic		standard	Louise Friberg (1)
Mar 27-30	Safeway International	Arizona	standard	Lorena Ochoa (19)
Apr 3-6	Kraft Nabisco Championship	California	winner	Lorena Ochoa (20)
Apr 10-13	Corona Championship		standard	Lorena Ochoa (21)
Apr 17-20	Ginn Open	Florida	winner	Lorena Ochoa (22)
Apr 24-27	Stanford International Pro-Am	Florida	winner	Annika Sörenstam (71)
May 1-4	SemGroup Championship	Oklahoma	standard	Paula Creamer (6)
May 8-11	Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill	Virginia	winner	Annika Sörenstam (72)
May 15-18	Sybase Classic	New Jersey	winner	Lorena Ochoa (23)
May 22-25	LPGA Corning Classic	New York	standard	Leta Lindley (1)
May 29-Jun 1	Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika	South Carolina	winner	Seon Hwa Lee (3)
Jun 5-8	McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola	Maryland	winner	Yani Tseng (1)
End of first half of the season
Jun 19-22	Wegmans LPGA	New York	winner	Eun-Hee Ji (1)
Jun 26-29	U.S. Women's Open	Minnesota	winner	Inbee Park (1)
Jul 4-6	P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship	Arkansas	standard	Seon Hwa Lee (4)
Jul 10-13	Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic	Ohio	standard	Paula Creamer (7)
Jul 17-20	State Farm Classic	Illinois	standard	Ji Young Oh (1)
Jul 24-27	Evian Masters		winner	Helen Alfredsson (6)
Jul 31-Aug 3	Ricoh Women's British Open		winner	Ji-Yai Shin (1)
Aug 14-17	CN Canadian Women's Open	Ontario, Canada	winner	Katherine Hull (1)
Aug 22-24	Safeway Classic	Oregon	standard	Cristie Kerr (11)
Sep 11-14	Bell Micro LPGA Classic	Alabama	standard	Angela Stanford (2)
Sep 25-28	Navistar LPGA Classic	Alabama	standard	Lorena Ochoa (24)
Oct 2-5	Samsung World Championship	California	standard	Paula Creamer (8)
Oct 9-12	Longs Drugs Challenge	California	standard
Oct 16-19	Kapalua LPGA Classic	Hawaii	standard
Oct 24-26	Grand China Air LPGA		standard
Oct 31-Nov 2	Korea Championship		standard
Nov 7-9	Mizuno Classic		standard
Nov 13-16	Lorena Ochoa Invitational		standard
Nov 20-23	LPGA Playoffs at The ADT	Florida	n/a
Dec 20-21*	Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge	Nevada	unofficial

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.

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

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 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 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 decrements 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.

Year	Player of the Year	Vare Trophy	Rookie of the Year
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	–

Leading money winners by year

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

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		1993-2007	20,837,280
2	Karrie Webb		1995-2007	13,457,025
3	Lorena Ochoa		2003-2007	11,834,216
4	Juli Inkster		1983-2007	11,701,376
5	Se Ri Pak		1997-2007	9,787,077
6	Meg Mallon		1987-2007	8,885,694
7	Beth Daniel		1979-2007	8,755,733
8	Rosie Jones		1982-2006	8,355,068
9	Laura Davies		1986-2007	8,168,615
10	Mi Hyun Kim		1999-2007	6,827,284
11	Cristie Kerr		1997-2007	7,830,051
12	Betsy King		1977-2005	7,637,621.50
13	Dottie Pepper		1988-2004	6,827,284
14	Lorie Kane		1996-2007	6,644,027
15	Pat Hurst		1991-2007	5,911,397
16	Pat Bradley		1974-2004	5,755,951
17	Liselotte Neumann		1988-2007	5,734,653
18	Kelly Robbins		1991-2007	5,621,742
19	Sherri Steinhauer		1986-2007	5,617,672
20	Patty Sheehan		1980-1999	5,513,409