2009 LPGA Tour
Introduction The '''2009 LPGA Tour''' was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world that took place from February through November 2009.The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States-based Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).2009 saw a reduction in both the number of tournaments and the total prize money on the Tour. Official prize money was $47.6 million, the lowest total in since 2005.There were 28 official tournaments, the lowest number since at least 2004.Rookie Jiyai Shin topped the money list, earning $1,807,334.In addition Shin took Rookie of the Year honors. Shin and Lorena Ochoa each won three tournaments during the season. Ochoa also won the Player of the Year trophy for the fourth consecutive year and the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average, also for the fourth consecutive year.Anna Nordqvist was runner-up in the Rookie of the Year race, topping off a season that began with her having only conditional status on the LPGA Tour. She won the fifth tournament in which she played in 2009, the McDonald's LPGA Championship, a major, and also won the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship, ending the season 15th on the official money list.The four major championships were won by: Brittany Lincicome (Kraft Nabisco Championship), Anna Nordqvist (LPGA Championship), Eun-Hee Ji (U.S. Women's Open), and Catriona Matthew (Women's British Open). All major winners were first-time major winners. Matthew won her the British Open 10 weeks after giving birth to her second child.The LPGA experienced a turn-over in leadership in 2009, when commissioner Carolyn Bivens resigned under pressure from players in July. At the time of Bivens' resignation, the tour had only 14 events committed for the 2010 schedule, having failed to sign key long-term tournaments, notably the LPGA Corning Classic. On October 28, the LPGA board of directors announced that marketing executive Michael Whan had been hired as the permanent replacement for Bivens and would assume his duties in January 2010.
Tournament schedule and results The number in parentheses after winners' names show the player's total number wins in official money individual events on the LPGA Tour, including that event. Date  Tournament  Location  Winner  1st prize ($) Jan 25  HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup*  Brazil   Catriona Matthew (n/a) ''100,000'' Feb 14  SBS Open at Turtle Bay  Hawaii   Angela Stanford (4) 180,000 Mar 1  Honda LPGA Thailand  Thailand   Lorena Ochoa (25) 217,500 Mar 8  HSBC Women's Champions  Singapore   Jiyai Shin (4) 300,000 Mar 22  MasterCard Classic  Mexico   Pat Hurst (6) 195,000 Mar 29  J Golf Phoenix LPGA International  Arizona   Karrie Webb (36) 225,000 Apr 5  '''Kraft Nabisco Championship'''  California   Brittany Lincicome (3) 300,000 Apr 26  Corona Championship  Mexico   Lorena Ochoa (26) 195,000May 10  Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill  Virginia   Cristie Kerr (12) 330,000May 17  Sybase Classic  New Jersey   Ji Young Oh (2) 300,000May 24  LPGA Corning Classic  New York   Yani Tseng (2) 225,000Jun 7  LPGA State Farm Classic  Illinois   In-Kyung Kim (2) 255,000Jun 14  '''McDonald's LPGA Championship'''  Maryland   Anna Nordqvist (1) 300,000Jun 28  Wegmans LPGA  New York   Jiyai Shin (5) 300,000Jul 5  Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic  Ohio   Eunjung Yi (1) 210,000Jul 12  '''U.S. Women's Open'''  Pennsylvania   Eun-Hee Ji (2) 585,000Jul 26  Evian Masters  France   Ai Miyazato (1) 487,500Aug 2  '''Ricoh Women's British Open'''  England   Catriona Matthew (3) 335,000Aug 23  Solheim Cup  Illinois   n/aAug 30  Safeway Classic  Oregon   M. J. Hur (1) 255,000Sep 6  CN Canadian Women's Open  Alberta   Suzann Pettersen (6) 412,500Sep 13  P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship  Arkansas   Jiyai Shin (6) 270,000Sep 20  Samsung World Championship  California   Na Yeon Choi (1) 250,000Sep 27  CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge  California   Sophie Gustafson (5) 165,000Oct 4  Navistar LPGA Classic  Alabama   Lorena Ochoa (27) 195,000Nov 1  Hana Bank-KOLON Championship  South Korea   Na Yeon Choi (2) 255,000Nov 8  Mizuno Classic  Japan   Bo Bae Song (1) 210,000Nov 10  Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge*  Nevada  LPGA Team ''500,000''Nov 15  Lorena Ochoa Invitational  Mexico   Michelle Wie (1) 220,000Nov 23  LPGA Tour Championship  Texas   Anna Nordqvist (2) 225,000''An asterisk next to a tournament name means that the event is unofficial. ''Tournaments in '''bold''' are majors.
Leaders '''Money List leaders'''RankPlayerCountryEarnings ($)Events1 Jiyai Shin  1,807,334  252 Cristie Kerr  1,519,722  253 Ai Miyazato  1,517,149  224 Lorena Ochoa  1,489,395  225 Suzann Pettersen  1,369,717  236 Na Yeon Choi  1,341,078  267 Yani Tseng  1,293,755  278 In-Kyung Kim  1,238,396  259 Paula Creamer  1,151,864  2410 Angela Stanford  1,081,916  21 ''Full 2009 Official Money List'' - navigate to "2009"'''Scoring Average leaders'''RankPlayerCountryAverage1 Lorena Ochoa   70.162 Jiyai Shin   70.263 Cristie Kerr   70.284 Ai Miyazato   70.335 Yani Tseng   70.44 ''Full 2009 Scoring Average List'' - navigate to "2009", then "Scoring Average"
Award winners The three competitive awards given out by the LPGA each year are:*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. 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. **2009 Winner:  Lorena Ochoa. Runner-up: Jiyai Shin*The '''Vare Trophy''', named for Glenna Collett-Vare, is given to the player with the lowest scoring average for the season. **2009 Winner:  Lorena Ochoa. Runner-up: Jiyai Shin*The '''Louis Suggs Rolex Rooke 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 increments 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. **2009 Winner:  Jiyai Shin. Runner-up:  Anna Nordqvist
See also *2009 in golf*2009 Duramed Futures Tour*2009 Ladies European Tour
References