LPGA 2004 Schedule posted 11-29-03
The LPGA Tour has announced its 2004 schedule. The schedule consists of 33 events for better than $42 million in prize money.
"The LPGA Tour is enjoying one of the most prosperous times and robust fan bases in LPGA history," stated LPGA Commissioner Ty Votaw. "Attendance, viewership and LPGA.com traffic are up, and our sponsors are responding with sizable purse increases. Our players are competing for more money than ever before week-in and week-out as a result of the tremendous support and commitment from our tournament sponsors.
"We are extremely pleased with the strength of the 2004 schedule.
All official money events from 2003 will return in 2004, many with significant purse increases, and with a new event in Nashville, we are poised for an very successful tournament season. We look forward to continuing to showcase the very best in women’s golf in markets worldwide."
Highlights of the 2004 schedule include:
·
33 events, including 24 full-field events, eight limited-field events and
one unofficial money event;
·
Full-field purses are expected to be at least $31.4 million, a $2.4
million increase from 2003;
·
Players are expected to compete for an average of $1,308,000 per
full-field official money event, the highest-ever average.
·
The LPGA returns to the Nashville, Tenn., area with the Franklin
American Mortgage Championship Benefiting Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital hosted by Amy Grant and Vince Gill;
·
The Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill will offer a $2.2 million purse,
$600,000 more than in 2003 and representing the highest LPGA purse besides the U.S. Women’s Open;
·
The Sybase Classic presented by Lincoln Mercury in New Rochelle, N.Y.,
will offer a $1.25 million purse, $300,000 more than in 2003;
·
The Office Depot Championship Hosted by Amy Alcott will offer a $1.75
million purse, an increase of $250,000 from 2003;
·
In addition to the Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi in Portland, Ore.,
Safeway has expanded its involvement with the LPGA by taking over the full sponsorship of a second LPGA event, the Safeway International presented by Coca-Cola, in Phoenix. The Safeway International purse will increase by $200,000 from 2003. Each Safeway-sponsored LPGA event will feature a $1.2 million purse.
·
The LPGA’s Toledo, Ohio, stop welcomes the addition of Owens Corning
to the LPGA title sponsor family with the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic presented by Kroger, featuring a $1.1 million purse, $100,000 more than 2003;
·
The Wegmans Rochester LPGA Presented by Lincoln Mercury increased
its purse by $100,000 ($1.3 million), and the Samsung World Championship, a limited-field event, increased its purse by $25,000 ($825,000);
There will be 24 full-field events, up from 23 in 2003.
The television schedule for 2004 will be released after the first of the
year, and coverage is expected to remain consistent with past years. In
2003, 30 of 34 events were televised, including this week’s ADT
Championship, representing more than 260 hours of coverage in the United
States.
The purses, dates and sites for the LPGA’s four majors are: the Kraft
Nabisco Championship, $1.6 million, March 25-28, at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.; the McDonald’s LPGA Championship, $1.6 million, June 10-13, at the DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Del.; the U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA, $3.1 million, July 1-4, at The Orchards in South Hadley, Mass.; and the Weetabix Women’s British Open, $1.6 million, July 29-Aug. 1, at Sunningdale Golf Club in Sunningdale, Berkshire, England.
The LPGA’s membership includes
touring, teaching and club professionals. The LPGA Tour in 2003 features 34 events, with more than 260 hours of television coverage, and total prize
money of nearly $40 million. Since 1981, the LPGA and its tournaments have raised more than $139.5 million for charity. From the dreams of its 13 founders in 1950, the LPGA has evolved into the world’s preeminent women’s professional sports organization. The LPGA has grown from its roots as a playing tour into a non-profit organization involved in every facet of golf.
The LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) membership boasts a total of nearly 1,200 women golf professionals who serve as teachers, golf
professionals, club managers and coaches.
2004 LPGA Schedule
March 11-14 Welch’s/Fry’s Championship $ 800,000
Randolph North Golf Complex, Dell Urich Golf Course, Tucson, AZ
March 18-21 Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola 1,200,000
Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club, Superstition, AZ
March 25-28 Kraft Nabisco Championship 1,600,000
Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, CA
April 2-4 Office Depot Championship Hosted by Amy Alcott 1,750,000
El Caballero Country Club, Tarzana, CA
April 15-17 LPGA Takefuji Classic 1,100,000
The Las Vegas Country Club, Las Vegas, NV
April 29-May 2 Chick-fil-A Charity Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez
TBD
Eagle’s Landing Country Club, Stockbridge, GA
May 6-9 Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill 2,200,000
Kingsmill Resort & Spa, Williamsburg, VA
May 13-16 Franklin American Mortgage Championship 900,000
benefiting Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital
Vanderbilt Legends Club, Franklin, TN
May 20-23 Sybase Classic Presented by Lincoln Mercury 1,250,000
Wykagyl Country Club, New Rochelle, NY
May 27-30 LPGA Corning Classic 1,000,000
Corning Country Club, Corning, NY
June 4-6 Kellogg - Keebler Classic 1,200,000
Stonebridge Country Club, Aurora, IL
June 10-13 McDonald’s LPGA Championship 1,600,000
Dupont Country Club,
Wilmington, DE
June 18-20 ShopRite LPGA Classic TBD
Marriott Seaview Resort & Spa (Bay Course), Galloway Twp., NJ
June 24-27 Wegmans Rochester LPGA Presented by Lincoln Mercury
1,300,000
Locust Hill Country Club, Pittsford, NY
July 1-4 U. S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA 3,100,000
Orchards Golf Club, South Hadley, MA
July 8-11 BMO Financial Group Canadian Women’s Open 1,300,000
Legends on the Niagara, Niagara Falls, Ontario
July 16-18 Giant Eagle LPGA Classic $1,000,000
Squaw Creek Country Club, Vienna, OH
July 21-24 Evian Masters 2,100,000
Evian Masters Golf Club, Evian-les-Bains, France
July 29-Aug 1 Weetabix Women’s British Open 1,600,000
Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire, England
Aug 5-8 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger 1,100,000
Highland Meadows Golf Club, Sylvania, OH
Aug 20-22 Wendy’s Championship for Children 1,100,000
Tartan Fields Golf Club, Dublin, OH
Aug 26-29 Wachovia LPGA Classic Hosted by Betsy King 1,200,000
Berkleigh Country Club, Kutztown, PA
Sept 2-5 State Farm Classic 1,200,00
The Rail Golf Course, Springfield, IL
Sept 10-12 John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic 1,000,000
Cedar Ridge Country Club, Tulsa, OK
Sept 17-19 Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi 1,200,000
Columbia Edgewater Country Club, Portland, OR
Sept 23-26 Longs Drugs Challenge 1,000,000
TBA, Sacramento, CA
Oct 7-10 Asahi Ryokuken International Championship at Mount Vintage
1,000,000
Mount Vintage Plantation Golf Club, North Augusta, SC
Oct 14-17 Samsung World Championship 825,000
The Player’s Course at The Woodlands, Woodlands, TX
TBD Sports Today Classic 1,500,000
TBD, S. Korea
Nov 5-7 TBA TBA
Nov 11-14 LPGA Tournament of Champions 750,000
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, TBD, AL
Nov 18-21 ADT Championship 1,000,000
Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach, FL
Dec 18-19 Wendy’s Three Tour Challenge 850,000
Reflection Bay Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas, Henderson, NV