171 hopefuls set to tee off Sept. 19-22
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Sept. 14, 2006 – The march toward the 2007 Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour begins next week for a field of 171 players at the LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., the first of two sectional qualifiers.
And consistent with the LPGA’s history as being a true World Tour, the 171-player field features 66 international players from 22 countries outside the United States, as well as one player from Puerto Rico. South Korea is represented by the most international players with 16, followed by Canada (9), Australia (5), Sweden (5), England (4), France (4) and Mexico (4). The remaining countries are Thailand (3), Colombia (2), Japan (2) and China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Iceland, Italy, Malaysia, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, Taiwan and Venezuela with one player each.
There is no shortage of homegrown talent either. Twenty-eight states are represented in the first LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament, with California leading the way with 28 entrants, followed by Florida (8), Texas (8), Washington (5) and Georgia (5). Idaho and Oregon each has four representatives, while Michigan, Nevada, New York and North Carolina each has three.
The 72-hole sectional (Sept. 19-22) will be played on the Palmer and Dinah Shore Courses at Mission Hills Country Club. The Dinah Shore Course is the host site of the Tour’s first major of the season, the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The field will be cut to the low-70 players and ties after 36 holes. After four rounds, the top-30 players and ties will advance to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, which will be held Nov. 29-Dec. 3 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The second LPGA Tour Sectional Qualifying Tournament will be Oct. 3-6 at Plantation Golf and Country Club’s Bobcat and Panther courses in Venice, Fla. The top-30 finishers and ties from the Venice qualifier will join the top-30 players and ties from the California sectional qualifier, as well as current LPGA Tour members attempting to improve their status, and the 10 players finishing sixth through 15th on the 2006 Duramed Futures Tour season-ending money list, at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.
All media interested in covering the upcoming LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament in Rancho Mirage, Calif., should contact Dana Gross-Rhode in the LPGA Communications Department at 386-274-6200 or at dana.grossrhode@lpga.com.
About the 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 36 events, with total prize money of nearly $52 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 pre-eminent 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.
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