Final 15 spots were locked up Sunday for Nov. 16-19 ADT Championship, which will award a women’s golf record $1 million to its champion
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (November 12, 2006) – Lorena Ochoa, who clinched the Rolex Player of the Year award Sunday with her 2006 LPGA-best sixth tournament victory, headlines the ADT Championship, whose 32-player field was finalized Sunday with the addition of 15 players who qualified through the second half of the 2006 LPGA Playoffs.
Ochoa’s victory at The Mitchell Company LPGA Tournament of Champions allowed for 13 players to earn spots based on their standing in the second-half ADT Points race. Stacy Prammanasudh led the second-half points chase with 135 points, and was followed in succession by 18-year-old Florida native Morgan Pressel (122), Jee Young Lee (113), Julieta Granada (108), Il Mi Chung (98), Sophie Gustafson (87), Angela Stanford (77), Sun Young Yoo (72), Maria Hjorth (71), Candie Kung (70), Diana D’Alessio (66), Lorie Kane (64) and Wendy Ward (60).
Rounding out the field for the ADT Championship – which will be played Thursday through Sunday at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. and awards a women’s golf-record $1 million winner’s check – were wild-cards Ai Miyazato and Sung Ai Yim, who were the top two players not otherwise qualified on the ADT Official Money List upon the conclusion of October’s Samsung World Championship.
These fifteen players join Weetabix Women’s British Open winner Sherri Steinhauer and Global Group Events points leader Brittany Lang as second-half qualifiers.
Ochoa (467 points), Mi Hyun Kim (362), Cristie Kerr (323), Juli Inkster (316), Seon Hwa Lee (316), Hee-Won Han (300), Jeong Jang (288), Paula Creamer (266), Natalie Gulbis (254), Pat Hurst (233) and Meena Lee (166) were the first-half points qualifiers, and joined automatic qualifiers Annika Sorenstam (U.S. Women’s Open winner), Se Ri Pak (McDonald’s LPGA Championship winner), Karrie Webb (Kraft Nabisco Championship winner) and Brittany Lincicome (HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship winner) as first-half qualifiers for the ADT Championship.
Ochoa is the first player other than Sorenstam and Webb to win the Player of the Year award in the last 10 years. Her career year is further emphasized by her current lead on the ADT Official Money List ($2,492,872 in 2006 earnings) and her impending Vare Trophy victory (awarded to the scoring-average leader).
Ochoa has won four of her last seven starts. In the 24 tournaments she has played this season, she has won or finished second a remarkable 11 times, including five runner-up finishes.
Ochoa is considered a favorite to win the ADT Championship, along with Sorenstam, who has won the last two ADT Championships and three of the last four, and Webb, who is second on the money list and a five-time event winner in 2006. Sorenstam is the all-time leader at the ADT Championship, having won four of the 10 tournaments played.
This year’s ADT Championship field is represented by nine countries. The United States has the most representatives, with 13, followed closely by South Korea’s 10.
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.
Winners of major tournaments and other select events on the 2006 LPGA Tour schedule automatically secure a spot for the ADT Championship. The top fifteen players on the ADT Points list at the end of the first half qualified, and the points were cleared. Following the conclusion of The Mitchell Company LPGA Tournament of Champions and the ensuing end of the second half, the top 15 players on the points list, plus the two wild-cards, who had not yet qualified were selected.
Following is a list of the players who have qualified for the ADT Championship:
First half qualifiers
Player Event won/first-half qualifying points
Annika Sorenstam U.S. Women’s Open
Se Ri Pak McDonald’s LPGA Championship
Karrie Webb Kraft Nabisco Championship
Brittany Lincicome HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship
Lorena Ochoa 467 points
Mi Hyun Kim 362 points
Cristie Kerr 323 points
Juli Inkster 316 points
Seon Hwa Lee 316 points
Hee-Won Han 300 points
Jeong Jang 288 points
Paula Creamer 266 points
Natalie Gulbis 254 points
Pat Hurst 233 points
Meena Lee 166 points
Second half qualifiers
Player Event won/second-half qualifying points
Sherri Steinhauer Weeatbix Women’s British Open
Brittany Lang Global Group Events points leader
Stacy Prammanasudh 135 points
Morgan Pressel 122 points
Jee Young Lee 113 points
Julieta Granada 108 points
Il Mi Chung 98 points
Sophie Gustafson 87 points
Angela Stanford 77 points
Sun Young Yoo 72 points
Maria Hjorth 71 points
Candie Kung 70 points
Diana D’Alessio 66 points
Lorie Kane 64 points
Wendy Ward 60 points
Wild card qualifiers
Ai Miyazato —-
Sung Ah Yim —-
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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.
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