Misplaced Pages

#311688

22-662: The event debuted in September 2008 at the Magnolia Grove location on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail , with total prize money of $ 1.4 million. Angela Stanford won the inaugural edition by one stroke over Shanshan Feng , which was televised on Golf Channel in the U.S., as well as internationally. The tournament was not played in 2009 , but was revived in 2010 and moved to mid-May. Heavy rains and lightning delayed and ultimately canceled

44-566: A living is reduced. They will be cut out of corporate and endorsement opportunities. I can't imagine that someone who has thought this through does not realize that in opposing this measure they are penalizing the very people they are trying to help." (ESPN Golf, Sep 1, 2008). This insistence drew a strong public backlash from foreign and domestic Tour players alike. The letter followed the announcement that several long-time tournaments would not be returning in 2010 and amidst complaints from tournament directors that Bivens's management style and approach

66-528: A new policy in August that would have required all players who had been on the tour for two years to show proficiency in English or face suspension. The Tour rescinded the policy two weeks later after increasing criticism from the media and from LPGA Tour sponsors. ADT Playoff Categories: The number in parentheses after winners' names show the player's total number of official money, individual event wins on

88-468: Is under construction in Mobile, scheduled to come online in 2015. Mobile previously hosted The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions on the Magnolia Grove courses from 1999 to 2007 . Crossings Course Final round was canceled because of rain and weather delays. Third round co-leaders Pak, Brittany Lincicome , and Suzann Pettersen played a sudden-death playoff to determine the winner; Pak won on

110-619: The Board of Directors of the LPGA received a letter from a group of top players on the Tour calling for Bivens' resignation with two years remaining in her contract. The overriding cause of the complaint had been Bivens' insistence that all Tour players become English-proficient. Bivens had proposed the change as being out of a concern for the foreign-speaking players' welfare: "If these players don't take this step [and learn English], their ability to earn

132-569: The LPGA Tour before the end of the year. Jiyai Shin , a 20-year-old non-LPGA member, set records on the LPGA Tour by winning three of the nine tournaments in which she played, including the Women's British Open and the season-ending ADT Championship with its $ 1 million first place prize. She became the first non-LPGA member ever to win three events. The LPGA organization also attracted attention in 2008 when commissioner Carolyn Bivens announced

154-638: The LPGA Tour was $ 60.3 million, which was the highest in the history of the tour until 2016. Lorena Ochoa topped the money list, earning $ 2,763,193. Ochoa also led the league in most wins with seven, including four consecutive tournaments in March and April and one major tournament. The four major championships were won by: Lorena Ochoa (Kraft Nabisco Championship), Yani Tseng (LPGA Championship), Inbee Park (U.S. Women's Open), and Jiyai Shin (Women's British Open). All major winners except Ochoa were not only first-time major winners, but first-time winners on

176-566: The LPGA Tour, including that event. Tournaments in bold are majors. **The Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge was held on November 17. It was broadcast on television on December 13 and 14. The official LPGA Tour schedule lists the tournament dates based on the date of the television broadcast. *Shin was not an LPGA member in 2008. Money List leaders Full 2008 Official Money List - navigate to "2008" Scoring Average leaders Full 2008 Scoring Average List - navigate to "2008", then "Scoring Average" The three competitive awards given out by

198-432: The LPGA Tour. Tseng, at 19 years old, and Park and Shin, both at 20 years old, became the youngest-ever winners of the respective majors. On May 12, a day after winning her third tournament of the season, Annika Sörenstam announced her intent to "step away" from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season. She continued to draw large crowds through the remainder of the season, though she did not win another tournament on

220-530: The LPGA acquired the Duramed Futures Tour , incorporating it more closely with the LPGA and formally making it the official development tour of the LPGA. In 2008, the LPGA constitution was amended to require the inclusion of an international player on the board of directors. In February 2009, Bivens unveiled two major television rights deals. On the domestic front, the LPGA agreed to a 10-year partnership with cable network Golf Channel, making it

242-413: The LPGA and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The LPGA search committee selected Bivens to serve in that capacity on the basis of her media and sales experience, with the intention of capitalizing on the brand value of the LPGA's deepening talent pool. At the time of her hire, the LPGA was experiencing an unprecedented influx of new potential superstars, many of whom fell into demographics new to

SECTION 10

#1732781123312

264-537: The LPGA each year are: Carolyn Bivens Carolyn Bivens (born December 29, 1952, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ) was the commissioner of the LPGA from 2005 until her resignation on July 13, 2009. She was the seventh person and the first woman to hold the position of commissioner since the LPGA was founded in 1950. Bivens was previously president and chief operating officer of Initiative Media North America,

286-401: The exclusive home of the LPGA Tour. Internationally, the LPGA and JoongAng Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) agreed to a five-year partnership that names J Golf the LPGA's official Korean media rights partner starting in 2010. JBC also will underwrite an event in the greater Los Angeles area on the 2010-2014 LPGA Tour schedules. J Golf's overall media rights investment in the LPGA over five years is

308-414: The final round, resulting in a sudden-death playoff between the three 54-hole leaders: Se Ri Pak , Brittany Lincicome , and Suzann Pettersen . Pak birdied the third playoff hole in the drizzle to win. In 2011, Maria Hjorth shot consecutive rounds of 67 (−5) on the weekend to finish at 278 (−10) and win by two strokes. The tournament was dropped for the 2015 season. In 2008 and 2010, Bell Microproducts

330-519: The first formal drug testing program in professional golf. The program was introduced in the 2008 season. At the second tournament of 2006, The Fields Open in Hawaii , the LPGA reached a stalemate with certain members of the press while negotiating media rights. Two Honolulu newspapers, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated , Golf World and other unnamed publications refused to cover

352-419: The first round of the tournament. Golf World continued to withhold coverage of the event for two subsequent rounds, before returning after reaching an agreement with the LPGA. Details of the dispute were never released by either side, despite frequent references to the dispute by the press. A year later, the LPGA made its media rights credential available to the public at LPGAMediaCredential.com. In July 2007,

374-431: The largest in LPGA history. On May 28, 2009, Bivens is purported to have said in an interview that she would, "love it if players Twittered during the middle of a round." Bloomberg removed the original interview without explanation, making it impossible to contextualize the remark, or to objectively evaluate the merits of the criticisms which followed. The article put in the place of the original interview focuses upon

396-699: The largest media services agency in the United States and part of the Interpublic Group of Companies . She also worked at USA Today , where she led the worldwide advertising operations for USA Today and USA Today ’s international edition. In 2002, Electronic Media magazine named Bivens one of the most powerful women in television. Bivens served as commissioner of the LPGA from late 2005 until her resignation in July 2009. The LPGA commissioner serves as chief executive and administrative officer of

418-425: The reactions of two highly ranked players, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel , who used Twitter itself to inform their fans that they would not be tweeting while on the green. On June 5, 2009, eight days after Bivens's original statement in the media, Bivens commented on the LPGA website that her remarks had been taken out of context, emphasizing that players would not be tweeting during rounds. In early July 2009,

440-549: The third playoff hole. 30°44′28″N 88°12′22″W  /  30.741°N 88.206°W  / 30.741; -88.206 2008 LPGA Tour The 2008 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world that took place from February through December 2008. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States–based Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) . In 2008, prize money on

462-444: The traditional LPGA audience. Bivens's strategy has been described by several writers as an attempt to re-align the business model of the LPGA with that of other professional sports organizations. Primary objectives of the plan included increasing tournament purse sizes, establishing greater control over event venues and LPGA-associated media rights, and the provision of viable pension and health care plans. In 2006, Bivens announced

SECTION 20

#1732781123312

484-471: Was the title sponsor; Avnet purchased Bell Micro in 2010 and was the title sponsor in 2011. Without a title sponsor in 2012, the tournament purse dropped slightly, from $ 1.30 million to $ 1.25 million. In January 2014 , the LPGA introduced Airbus , the European multinational aerospace and defense corporation, as the event's new title sponsor. The company's new final assembly facility for its A320 aircraft

#311688