Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)

The Ladies Professional Golf Association is the premiere organization behind women’s professional golf. While there are LPGAs in several countries, the United States-based organization is the best known and most influential.

The LPGA Tour gathers an elite group of professional golfers from around the world - from February to December every year - for the sport’s highest caliber women’s events. The tour provides the best opportunities for female golfers in regards to media exposure and cash winnings.

Now the oldest women’s professional sports organization in the U.S., the LPGA was founded by a group of 13 golfers in 1950. In 2010, the total prize money on the LPGA Tour was $41.4 million, awarded through 24 international tournaments. The tour remains strong even though the number of annual tournaments has declined in recent years with the loss of four competitions held in the U.S.

The LPGA’s major tournaments are the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA Championship presented by Wegmans, the U.S. Women’s Open and the Ricoh Women’s British Open that is held in conjunction with the Ladies European Tour.

Every November since 2006, the LPGA has held a season-ending championship. Through 2008, it was known as the LPGA Playoffs; in 2009 and 2010 it became the LPGA Tour Championship. In 2011, the tournament will be called the Titleholders.