Fifteen top players have already qualified through golf’s first-ever playoff system; LPGA tournament revamps web site at www.adtchampionship.com
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 17, 2006 – Tickets to the ADT Championship – the culmination of the LPGA’s innovative new playoff system – are now available online, just as the first 15 players for the tournament have been announced at the conclusion of the season’s thrilling first half.
Fans eager to see the LPGA’s most exciting players compete for a record $1 million winner’s prize at the ADT Championship have multiple ticket options available to them. Specially created for this year’s championship is the Terrace Badge, a new option that permits fan access to the clubhouse patio as well as inside the Trump International Grill Room, where fans can purchase food and beverage from an upscale menu.
Tickets are available at the championship’s revamped web site, www.adtchampionship.com. The re-launched site also allows fans to track qualifiers for the 32-player field and provides insight on everything from the championship’s rich history to travel information.
The 11th annual ADT Championship will be held at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 16-19. This will be the sixth consecutive year the exclusive club has hosted this prestigious concluding event to the LPGA season. Annika Sorenstam is the reigning champion, owning four total ADT Championship titles and three of the past four.
U.S. Women’s Open champion Sorenstam, McDonald’s LPGA Championship winner Se Ri Pak, Kraft Nabisco Championship holder Karrie Webb and HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship winner Brittany Lincicome were the first four players to qualify in the first-class 32-player field.
Eleven other players qualified for the ADT Championship through the points system as the season’s first half concluded Sunday. Lorena Ochoa, winner of two tournaments this season and a top-10 finisher nine other times, easily topped the list of 11 points qualifiers with 467 points. Mi Hyun Kim (362), Cristie Kerr (323), Juli Inkster (316), Seon Hwa Lee (316), Hee-Won Han (300), Jeong Jan (288), Paula Creamer (266), Natalie Gulbis (254), Pat Hurst (233) and Meena Lee (166) were the other 10 points qualifiers.
Winners of major tournaments and other select events on the 2006 LPGA Tour schedule automatically secure a spot for the season-ending ADT Championship, which features the first-ever $1 million winner’s check on the LPGA. Fifteen more players will qualify – five via automatic qualification and 10 via their spot in the points standings – during the season’s second half, which begins next week at the Evian Masters, and two wild cards will be selected to fill out the 32-player field. The points slate is wiped clean with the beginning of the second half.
The ADT Championship will be played in the following format (a sudden-death playoff will be used at the end of each round in the event of a tie): The first cut will be after 36 holes to 16 players; the second cut will be after 54 holes to eight players (scores are cumulative through 54 holes). The final round will be played in four groups of two, with all players starting with a fresh scorecard. Whoever shoots the lowest score in the final round will win the ADT Championship and $1 million.
Advance ticket prices (Tickets purchased prior to Oct. 21, 2006, include free parking; afterward, parking will be $5 per day):
â?¢ Daily Ticket $20
â?¢ Sunday Ticket $30
â?¢ The Season Badge $50 ($55 after Oct. 21) Admission for all six days
â?¢ The Terrace Club $70 Admission for all six days; always
includes parking
At-the-gate prices:
Tuesday, Nov. 14 Practice Round $10
Wednesday, Nov. 15 Pro-Am $20
Thursday, Nov. 16 First round $25
Friday, Nov. 17 Second round $25
Saturday, Nov. 18 Third round $30
Sunday, Nov. 19 Final round $35
Summer special ($85):
2 Season Badges
2 ADT Championship hats
Free parking for the week
$25 gift certificate for the Trump International pro shop (valid Nov. 14-19, 2006)
*Special will end September 1, 2006
In addition to on-line ticketing, fans can purchase tickets by calling (866) 848-4639 or by calling the ADT Championship office at (561) 656-4400.
About ADT
Celebrating its 131st anniversary, ADT Security Services, a unit of Tyco Fire & Security, is the largest provider of electronic security services to more than six million commercial, government and residential customers throughout North America. ADT’s total security solutions include intrusion, fire protection, closed circuit television, access control, critical condition monitoring, electronic article surveillance, radio frequency identification (RFID) and integrated systems.
About IMG
IMG is the world’s premier Sports, Entertainment and Media Company. IMG is a diversified global business with two major business segments: IMG Sports & Entertainment, and IMG Media. IMG employs over 2,300 people in 30 countries. Forstmann Little & Co. purchased IMG in 2004.
IMG Sports & Entertainment includes: consulting services; event ownership and management; fashion events and models representation; licensing; golf course design; client representation in golf, tennis, baseball, broadcasting, hockey, football, European football, rugby, cricket, motorsports, coaching, Olympic sports and action sports. In addition, IMG Academies are the world’s largest and most advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport training and educational facilities, delivering world-class sports training experiences to over 12,000 junior, collegiate, adult and professional athletes each year.
IMG Media, which includes content production subsidiaries TWI and Darlow Smithson Productions, is recognized as a global leader in the delivery of traditional and new media content and services, with Internet, broadband and mobile expertise, transforming how audiences access and interact with content. IMG Media produces and distributes over 9,000 hours of sports, documentary, docu-drama, entertainment, and popular factual content annually, over multiple platforms across 200 countries, including award-winning television and radio programming. It also represents the broadcast rights to many of the world’s premier sporting events and has the world’s biggest sports archive with more than 200,000 hours of footage. More information about IMG is available at www.imgworld.com and www.darlowsmithson.com
About Ladies Professional Golf Association
Featuring the world’s best women golfers, the LPGA’s membership includes touring, teaching and club professionals. The LPGA Tour in 2006 features 34 events, with total prize money of nearly $50 million.
Since 1981, the LPGA and its tournaments have raised approximately $170 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. In addition to the LPGA Tour members, the LPGA membership includes nearly 1,200 certified Teaching and Club Professionals (T&CP) who serve the golf industry in teaching, coaching and management positions. The LPGA T&CP member programs focus on increasing the involvement of women, girls and youth in golf, as well as contribute to the growth of the sport overall. The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information on the LPGA, log on to www.LPGA.com.
Contact:
Steve Brener/Damian Secore/Brian Robin
Brener Zwikel & Associates, Inc.
(818) 344-6195, Ext. 103 / 114/ 110
