LPGA up to 27 events in 2012, adds $6.6 million
Extending a dramatic upswing from a worldwide recession that left the LPGA tour in peril just two years ago, the organization continued to solidify its footing with another welcome addition to its 2012 schedule — a return to Kingsmill Resort after a two-year hiatus.
The schedule — which the tour will officially release later Tuesday — for now will feature 27 events, up from 23 last year, and includes the $1.3 million Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Va., which will be sponsored by Kingsmill and Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the resort's owner. The tournament will be played Sept. 6-9 this year — the week before the Ricoh Women's British Open— and will return in 2013 to a traditional early May date.
The Women's British Open is later in the schedule this year because of the Olympics.
SCHEDULE: This week in golf, at a glance
Among other highlights to be released includes overall purse increases to $47 million, a bump of $6.6 million from a year ago and an increase to 15 from 13 domestic events. Also, Golf Channel's weekend coverage of all 18 tournaments in North America will be live.
"It looks like a very healthy schedule, finally, in 2012," said world No. 2 Suzann Pettersen, who earned her first LPGA win at Kingsmill in 2007. "Kingsmill is by far one of my favorite golf courses. And it was one of the tournaments you really wanted to win. We all loved going to Kingsmill, and this is great news.
"The ship was going in the wrong direction in 2009. We had to stop the damage and turn the ship back in the right direction. I thought 2011 was a very positive year in many ways. It was a stepping stone for many reasons.
"Now we have to make sure the tour stays healthy."
The shape of the schedule began forming last year when the tour announced the 2012 additions of the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open, the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic and the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic. A week ago the tour announced its return to Hawaii after a two-year absence with the $1.7 million Lotte Championship Presented by J Golf to be played on Oahu.
The five new tournaments offset the departure of the State Farm LPGA Classic in Springfield, Ill.
Unlike last year, when the tour went dark for three consecutive weeks in April and had four other two-week periods of inactivity, the tour doesn't have an unwanted three-week break this season. Last year the tour was dark for 17 weeks from the beginning thought the end of the season. This year there are 14 dark weeks.
Further positive news for an LPGA tour that was ravaged by sponsor defections and vanishing tournaments in 2009 is the renewal of eight of the nine tournament contracts that were to expire in 2011 and 10 of 11 marketing partnerships that required new contracts; and a $1.5 million purse for the players for the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, which was established to celebrate the tour's history and plant seeds for the future of the game. The event made its debut last year, with the entire purse devoted to charity.
"I'm not convinced we're done announcing news for '12," said Michael Whan, who took over as commissioner in late 2009. "I'm not a status quo guy, and the bottom line right now is that we have some pretty solid momentum going our way. I think most people will talk about the tournament increase, but as I've said many times, you are not going to add events until your fundamentals are right. And our TV production is better, our TV viewership is better, our value proposition with our sponsors is better, the competition among our young players is better.
"And the stuff we're still working on, we've never had so many good things in process during my time here. We might still add another tournament in '12, and it's exciting to know what is already in the incubator for '13 and beyond."
Cristie Kerr became the only two-time winner at Kingsmill when she won in 2009. Turns out, she does get to defend her title — three years later.
"It's not quite the same, but it will be cool," Kerr said. "The hard work of the community there and the hard work of Michael Whan have certainly paid off. I am thrilled to be going back. It almost feels like home there.
"Returning to Kingsmill is just the latest in a wave of good news for the LPGA tour. We're moving in the right direction and 2012 should be great."
2012 LPGA schedule
Feb. 9-12: ISBS Handa Women's Australian Open. Victoria, Australia. $1.1 million.
Feb. 16-19:Honda LPGA Thailand. Chonburi, Thailand. $1.5 million.
Feb. 23-26: HSBC Women's Champions. Singapore. $1.4 million.
March 15-18: RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup. Phoenix. $1.5 million.
March 22-25: Kia Classic. Carlsbad, Calif. $1.7 million.
March 29-April 1: Kraft Nabisco Championship. Rancho Mirage, Calif. $2 million.
April 18-21: LPGA LOTTE Championship presented by J Golf. Oahu, Hawaii. $1.7 million.
April 26-29: Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. Mobile, Ala. $1.25 million.
May 17-20: Sybase Match Play Championship. Gladstone, N.J. $1.5 million.
June 1-3: ShopRite LPGA Classic. Galloway, N.J. $1.5 million.
June 7-10: Wegmans LPGA Championship. Pittsford, N.Y. $2.5 million.
June 21-24: Manulife Financial LPGA Classic. Waterloo, Ontario. $1.3 million.
June 29-July 1: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. Rogers, Ark. $2 million.
July 5-8: U.S. Women's Open Kohler, Wis. $3.25 million.
July 26-29: Evian Masters Presented by Societe Generale. Evian les Baines, France. $3.25 million.
Aug. 9-12: Jamie Farr Toledo Classic Presented by Kroger, owens Corning and O-I. Sylvania, Ohio. $1.3 million.
Aug. 17-19: Safeway Classic Presented by Coca cola. North Plains, Ore. $1.5 million.
Aug. 23-26: CN Canadian Women's Open. Coquitlam, British Columbia. $2 million.
Sept. 6-9: Kingsmill Championship. Williamsburg, Va. $1.3 million
Sept. 13-16: RICOH Women's British Open. Wirral, England. $2.75 million.
Sept. 20-23:Navistar LPGA Classic. Prattville, Ala. $1.3 million.
Oct. 12-14: Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. $1.9 million.
Oct. 19-21: LPGA HanaBank Championship. Incheon, South Korea. $1.8 million.
Oct. 25-28: Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship 2012. Yang Mei, Taiwan. $2 million.
Nov. 2-4:Mizuno Classic. Shima-Qshi Mie, Japan. $1.2 million.
Nov. 8-11: Lorena Ochoa Invitatnonal Presented by Banamex and Corona Light. Guadalajara, Mexico. $1 million.
Nov. 15-18: CME Group Titleholders. Naples, Fla. $1.5 million.