PINEHURST, N.C., July 20, 2006 — The 2006 Golf For Women Magazine LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) Championship will be held at the Pinehurst Resort’s No. 8 in Pinehurst, N.C., July 24-26. The event marks the 14th year that Golf For Women magazine has been the title sponsor. Highlighting the event will be Dana Dormann, of Pleasanton, Calif., who defends her title in the Championship Division. Two-time Senior Division defending champion Linda Groover, of Hobe South, Fla., will not compete this year due to an injury.
The event is the largest championship for female teaching professionals in the world, and with a $102,000 purse, it is the premier competition for the LPGA T&CP membership. The championship division has a $90,000 purse with the winner earning a spot in the 2007 McDonald’s LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, one of the LPGA’s four major championships. Both winners are guaranteed a spot in the 2007 Golf For Women Magazine LPGA T&CP Championship.
The 54-hole event features Championship Division players and Senior Division players. The Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra Pro-Am precedes the tournament on Sunday, July 23. A sponsor demonstration and display expo will also be set-up at the Pinehurst No. 8 practice facility. The general public will have an opportunity to test and view golf equipment, shoes and apparel supplied by tournament sponsors.
This year marks the first time that the Golf For Women Magazine LPGA T&CP Championship is being played at Pinehurst No. 8, which opened in 1996 to commemorate Pinehurst’s centennial year. Pinehurst No. 8 was also the site of the PGA Club Pro Championship in 1997 and 1998. Last year, the tournament was played at World Golf Village’s Slammer & Squire Golf Course in St. Augustine, Fla., after moving from LPGA International’s Legends Course in Daytona Beach, Fla. (2003-04) and The Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C., (2000-02).
Dormann, who is a site director for LPGA-USGA Girls Golf of Pleasanton, Calif., earned a $13,000 paycheck last year after a three-shot victory over Tiffany Faucette, of Ormond Beach, Fla. After coming into the day with a three-shot lead, Dormann survived scorching hot conditions to shoot a final-round 2-under-par 70 to take the title.
Dormann played on the LPGA Tour for 10 seasons, winning the Las Vegas LPGA International in 1992 and the McCall’s LPGA Classic in 1993. Her last full season on the LPGA Tour was in 2000, but she most recently tied for 49th-place at the 2006 U.S. Women’s Open Championship conducted by the USGA earlier this month.
Other past champions that will return to compete in the Championship Division include: Troy Beck (1994), Dede Cusimano (2003), Marlene Davis (1991), Julie Hennessy (2001), Cindy Miller (2004), Debra Pinnell (1999) and Christa Teno (1998).
Groover won the 2005 Senior Division, which is open to members 50 and over, by two strokes over Julie Lynd (Covina, Calif.). With Groover not returning to defend the Senior Division, the door is open for anyone to take over as the 2006 Senior Division champion. Lynd will return for this year’s event, along with past Senior Division Champions Lorrraine Klippel (199), Vicki Phillips 2001) and M.J. Smith (2002).
The Golf For Women Magazine LPGA T&CP Championship is sponsored by: platinum sponsors Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra; Callaway and Odyssey; Rolex; and diamond sponsors Adams Golf; ECCO; Etonic Worldwide; Liz Golf; MasterCard Worldwide; PING; and TaylorMade Adidas Golf.
About the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional membership
The LPGA T&CP membership, founded in 1959, has enjoyed an unprecedented rate of growth in recent years and boasts the largest membership of women golf professionals in the world. With close to 1,200 members, the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals are dedicated to the advancement of golf through teaching, coaching and managing golf facilities. Its national member programs include teaching, coaching, business management and leadership skills training programs and conferences; tournaments; employment services; online education and junior golf programs. LPGA T&CP members also teach and support the LPGA’s various grassroots programs that are working to increase the involvement of women and youth in golf, as well as contribute to the growth of the sport overall including LPGA USGA Girls Golf, LPGA Tour Junior Clinics and the LPGA Clinics for Women. The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information on the LPGA, log on to www.LPGA.com.
Contact:
Pam Warner, LPGA
386-274-6200
