The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is 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.
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 golfers: Alice Bauer, Patty Berg, Bettye Danoff, Helen Dettweiler, Marlene Bauer Hagge, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Betty Jameson, Sally Sessions, Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork, Louise Suggs, and Babe Zaharias. It is now the oldest ongoing women's professional sports organization in the United States.
Since 2010 Michael Whan has been the commissioner of the LPGA. He is the eighth commissioner in the history of the LPGA.
In addition to the main LPGA Tour, the LPGA also owns and operates the LPGA 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 Blalock'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.
In 2010, total official prize money on the LPGA Tour was $41.4 million. This represented a decrease of over $6 million from
2009. In 2010 there were 24 official tournaments, down from 28 in 2009 and 34 in 2008. Despite the loss in total tournaments, in 2010, the number of tournaments hosted outside of the United States stayed the same. All four lost tournaments had been hosted in the United States.
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 2009, non-Americans won 31 of 40 major championships.
Particularly, one of the notable trends seen in the early 21st century in the LPGA is the rise and dominance of Korean golfers. Se Ri Pak's early success in the LPGA sparked the boom in Korean women golfers on the LPGA Tour. In 2009, there were 122 non-Americans from 27 countries on the tour, 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, a total of 11were won by Koreans and only seven were won by Americans. (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 (See ''2007 LPGA Tour'' for more details on the 2007 season.) In 2008, Americans grew in dominance, winning 9 of 34 events, tied with Koreans, but no majors, one of which was won by a Mexican player, one by Taiwanese, and the other two by teenage Korean players (See ''2008 LPGA Tour'' for more details on the 2008 season.) In 2009, Americans won 5 of 28 official events, including one major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship while Koreans won 11 events (See ''2009 LPGA Tour'' for more details on the 2009 season.)
Most of the LPGA Tour's events are held in the United States. In 2010, two tournaments were played in
Mexico and one each in
Singapore,
Canada, France, England,
Malaysia,
South Korea,
Thailand, and
Japan. Unofficial events were also held in
Brazil and
Jamaica. In 2011, the unofficial Jamaica event drops from the schedule, and the tournament that was held in England rotates to
Scotland; all other countries will retain their tournaments. In addition, events will be added in
China and
Taiwan, while the biennial USA–
Europe team competition, the
Solheim Cup. will be played in
Ireland.
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 LPGA Hana Bank Championship (LPGA of Korea Tour) and Mizuno Classic (LPGA of Japan Tour)—are held during the tour's autumn swing to Asia.
The LPGA's annual major championships are:
Kraft Nabisco Championship
Wegmans LPGA Championship
U.S. Women's Open
Ricoh Women's British Open (held in cooperation with Ladies European Tour)
Since 2006, the LPGA has played a season-ending championship tournament. Through the 2008 season, it was known as the LPGA Playoffs at The ADT; in 2009 and 2010, it was known as the
LPGA Tour Championship; and in 2011, the event will be known as the
CME Group Titleholders. 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 was increased to 120 players, with entry open to all Tour members in the top 120 on the money list as of three weeks prior to the start of the tournament. The total purse was $1.5 million with $225,000 going to the winner.
The CME Group Titleholders, which resurrects the name of a former LPGA major championship (the Titleholders Championship), was first played in 2011. Its field is made up of three qualifiers from each official tour event during the season, specifically the top three finishers who have not already qualified for the Titleholders.
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.
Tournaments in bold are majors.
1 Unofficial events
Top ten official money leaders
''Through the completion of the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic on April 29, 2012''
!Rank !Change !! Player !! Country !! Events !! Prize money(United States dollar | $) |
! 1
|
align=center | |
Yani Tseng |
| | 7 |
958,126
|
2
| align=center | |
Ai Miyazato |
| | 8 |
629,783
|
3
| align=center | |
Sun-Young Yoo |
| | 8 |
553,742
|
4
| align=center | 6 |
Stacy Lewis |
| | 8 |
436,746
|
5
| align=center | 1 |
Jiyai Shin |
| | 7 |
326,713
|
6
| align=center | 1 |
Na Yeon Choi |
| | 7 |
324,129
|
7
| align=center | 1 |
Angela Stanford |
| | 8 |
311,119
|
8
| align=center | |
So Yeon Ryu |
| | 7 |
304,337
|
9
| align=center | 2 |
Shanshan Feng |
| | 6 |
283,795
|
10
| align=center | 1 |
Azahara Muñoz |
| | 8 |
277,835
|
Change=change from previous ranking.
Source and complete list: LPGA official website.
Year !! Number of official tournaments !! Countries hosting tournaments !! Tournaments inUnited States !! Tournaments inother countries !! Total prizemoney
|
2011 LPGA Tour | 2011 |
23 |
11 | | 13 |
10 |
$41,500,000
|
2010 LPGA Tour | 2010 |
24 | | 10 |
14 |
10 |
$41,400,000
|
2009 LPGA Tour | 2009 |
28 | | 9 |
18 |
10 |
$47,600,000
|
2008 LPGA Tour | 2008 |
34 | | 8 |
24 |
10 |
$60,300,000
|
2007 LPGA Tour | 2007 |
31 | | 8 |
23 |
8 |
$54,285,000
|
2006 LPGA Tour | 2006 |
33 | | 8 |
25 |
8 |
$50,275,000
|
2005 LPGA Tour | 2005 |
32 | | 7 |
25 |
7 |
$45,100,000
|
2004 LPGA Tour | 2004 |
32 | | 6 |
27 |
5 |
$42,875,000
|
Official tournaments are tournaments in which earnings and scores are credited to the players' official LPGA record.
The LPGA established the Hall of Fame of Women's Golf in 1951, with four charter members:
Patty Berg,
Betty Jameson,
Louise Suggs, and
Babe Zaharias. After being inactive for several years, the
Hall of Fame moved in 1967 to its first physical premises, in
Augusta, Georgia, and was renamed the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. In 1998 it merged into the
World Golf Hall of Fame.
The LPGA Tour presents several annual awards. Three are awarded in competitive contests, based on scoring over the course of the year.
The Rolex Player of the Year is awarded based on a formula in which points are awarded for top-10 finishes and are doubled at the LPGA's four major championships and at the season-ending Tour Championship. The points system is: 30 points for first; 12 points for second; nine points for third; seven points for fourth; six points for fifth; five points for sixth; four points for seventh; three points for eighth; two points for ninth and one point for 10th.
The Vare Trophy, named for Glenna Collett-Vare, is given to the player with the lowest scoring average for the season.
The Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award is awarded to the first-year player on the LPGA Tour who scores the highest in a points competition in which points are awarded based on a player's finish in a event. The points system is: 150 points for first; 80 points for second; 75 points for third; 70 points for fourth; and 65 points for fifth. After fifth place, points are awarded in decrements of three, beginning at sixth place with 62 points. Points are doubled in the major events and at the season-ending Tour Championship. Rookies who make the cut in an event and finish below 41st each receive five points. The award is named after Louise Suggs, one of the founders of the LPGA.
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%;"
!Year !!Player !!Country !!Earnings ($) !!Most wins
|-
|2011 ||
Yani Tseng || || 2,921,713 ||7 –
Yani Tseng
|-
|2010 ||
Na Yeon Choi || || 1,871,166 ||5 –
Ai Miyazato
|-
|2009 ||
Jiyai Shin || ||1,807,334 ||3 –
Jiyai Shin,
Lorena Ochoa
|-
|2008 ||
Lorena Ochoa || ||2,754,660 ||7 –
Lorena Ochoa
|-
|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.
The table below shows the top 20 career money leaders on the LPGA Tour at the end of the 2011 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 |
| | 1993–2008 |
22,573,192
|
!2
|
Karrie Webb |
| | 1995–2011 |
16,517,245
|
!3
|
Lorena Ochoa |
| | 2003–2010 |
14,863,331
|
!4
|
Cristie Kerr |
| | 1997–2011 |
13,531,143
|
!5
|
Juli Inkster |
| | 1983–2011 |
13,394,110
|
!6
|
Se Ri Pak |
| | 1997–2011 |
11,385,189
|
!7
|
Meg Mallon |
| | 1987–2009 |
9,044,059
|
!8
|
Beth Daniel |
| | 1979–2010 |
8,786,563
|
!9
|
Paula Creamer |
| | 2005–2011 |
8,778,805
|
!10
|
Laura Davies |
| | 1986–2011 |
8,734,041
|
!11
|
Mi Hyun Kim |
| | 1999–2011 |
8,620,511
|
!12
|
Rosie Jones |
| | 1982–2006 |
8,355,068
|
!13
|
Suzann Pettersen |
| | 2000–2011 |
8,185,481
|
!14
|
Betsy King |
| | 1977–2005 |
7,637,622
|
!15
|
Yani Tseng |
| | 2009–2011 |
7,541,083
|
!16
|
Catriona Matthew |
| | 1995–2011 |
6,932,284
|
!17
|
Pat Hurst |
| | 1991–2011 |
6,886,292
|
!18
|
Lorie Kane |
| | 1996–2011 |
6,835,539
|
!19
|
Dottie Pepper |
| | 1988–2004 |
6,827,284
|
!20
|
Hee-Won Han |
| | 2001–2011 |
6,590,006
|
{|
|2010 || align=right|$41,400,000
|-
|2000 || align=right|$38,500,000
|-
|1990 || align=right|$17,100,000
|-
|1980 || align=right|$5,150,000
|-
|1970 || align=right|$435,040
|-
|1960 || align=right|$186,700
|-
|1950 || align=right|$50,000
|}
Golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
Golfers with most LPGA major championship wins
Former LPGA Tour events
Women's World Golf Rankings
Professional golf tours
Professional Golfers Association
Official site
Category:Professional golf tours
Category:Golf in the United States
Category:Golf associations
Category:Sports leagues established in 1950
Category:Women's sports organizations in the United States
ast:LPGA
da:Ladies Professional Golf Association
de:LPGA Tour
es:LPGA
fr:Ladies professional golf association
ko:LPGA
nl:LPGA Tour
ja:全米女子プロゴルフ協会
no:Ladies Professional Golf Association
pl:LPGA
sv:Ladies Professional Golf Association
th:แอลพีจีเอ