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LPGA, Kraft Nabisco Championship Announce Criteria For Player Eligibility

Lang, Pressel, Wie to Compete in 2006 Tournament

RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. – The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the Kraft Nabisco Championship have announced the criteria for player eligibility into the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship (see complete criteria at the end of this document).

According to Carolyn Bivens, LPGA commissioner, and Terry Wilcox, Kraft Nabisco Championship tournament director, clarifications have been made in both the Automatic Qualification portion of the eligibility criteria as well as the portion covering Kraft Nabisco’s sponsor exemptions.

The following was moved from the Kraft Nabisco Brand Exemptions category to the Automatic Qualification section:

  • Any LPGA member who did not compete in the 2005 Kraft Nabisco Championship due to injury or illness, and who subsequently received a medical extension of membership from the LPGA in 2005 for the 2006 season and whose last year of eligibility for the Kraft Nabisco Championship was in 2005, and she is otherwise not qualified for the 2006 Championship.

    Under Kraft Nabisco Championship’s sponsor exemption section of the criteria, the following key clarifications were announced:

  • Non-LPGA professionals who finished in the top five in the previous year’s LPGA major championships to include the McDonald’s LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, the U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA, and the Weetabix Women’s British Open are eligible to be invited;
  • All non-LPGA professionals finishing in the top 20 in the previous year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship are eligible to be invited.

    As a result, 16-year-old Michelle Wie from Honolulu, Hawaii is eligible to be invited to compete. Wie, who turned professional last October, is eligible to be invited to compete in the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship as a result of her second-place finish at last year’s McDonald’s LPGA Championship, her third-place finish at the Weetabix Women’s British Open and her tie for 14th in last year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship. According to Wilcox, Wie has received an invitation to play in the 2006 tournament and has verbally accepted.

    Also expected to play in the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship is Morgan Pressel, who turned professional last year and was granted full LPGA Tour membership by Commissioner Bivens starting in January 2006. Pressel is eligible for the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship by virtue of her tie for second place in last year’s U.S. Women’s Open and her tie for 19th in last year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship.

    Additionally, Brittany Lang, who tied with Pressel for second at the U.S. Women’s Open, is also eligible under the Automatic Qualification category.

    "Every year, the LPGA regularly reviews the eligibility criteria for the tournament to help insure that the most competitive players will be invited to compete," Wilcox said. "In the past, LPGA members who finished in the top five in the three other majors or in the top 20 in the Kraft Nabisco Championship for the previous year were exempt for the following year’s championship. This exemption excluded players who were not LPGA members. With the explosion of outstanding young talent both in America and around the globe, the LPGA and Kraft Nabisco felt that this exemption was contrary to the overall goal of making sure that the best players have the opportunity to play in the tournament.

    "The LPGA has recommended and we agree that non-LPGA members who achieve the same level of success as LPGA members should be eligible to be considered for an invitation to participate. Now, amateurs or non-LPGA members who record a top-five finish in a women’s major championship will be eligible to be invited to the following year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship."

    Bivens added that, "The Kraft Nabisco Championship always assembles one of the most competitive fields in women’s golf and this year will not be an exception. The tournament will once again showcase the best players in the world on one of the most historic courses in golf for the first major championship of the season."

    Wilcox said that additional announcements regarding the tournament’s sponsor exemptions for amateur and international players are expected to be made within the next few weeks.

    The Kraft Nabisco Championship will celebrate its 35th anniversary March 27 – April 2 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. This year’s tournament will feature the best players in women’s professional golf, led by defending champion Annika Sorenstam who will be playing for her fourth Kraft Nabisco title. Most of the tournament’s past champions are also expected to return for the 35th anniversary celebration. For more information, please call 760/324-4546 or visit the tournament Web site at www.KNCGOLF.com.

    Contact:
    Donna Hahn

    Hahn Communications

    949/458-3983

    Larry Baumann

    Kraft Foods Inc.

    914/425-3890

    Connie Wilson

    LPGA

    386/274-6271

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