PITTSFORD, N.Y. – As the first half of the LPGA season came to end with the conclusion of the Wegmans LPGA, 11 LPGA players added their names to the field of this year’s ADT Championship at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., by finishing in the top 11 spots on the ADT Points list. Lorena Ochoa, of Mexico, led the 11 players with a list-topping 1,524,404 ADT points. Joining her are Paula Creamer, 685,729 ADT Points; Mi Hyun Kim, 647,110; Sarah Lee, 580,948; Stacy Prammanasudh, 552,707; Jee Young Lee, 521,842; Karrie Webb, 407,786; Cristie Kerr, 395,180; Angela Park, 375,519; Juli Inkster, 372,980; and Angela Stanford, 367,855.
"I’m very glad to get into the ADT Championship now. I worked very hard this year and I’m looking forward to playing at Trump International Golf Club," said Ochoa, who is currently the world’s number one ranked player on the Rolex Rankings. Ochoa finished the first half of the LPGA season by collecting her third win of the year at the Wegmans LPGA, which gave her more than double the ADT Points of Creamer in second place.
LPGA players Morgan Pressel, Brittany Lincicome, Suzann Pettersen and Nicole Castrale already secured their spots in the 2007 ADT Championship by winning one of the five Winner events during the first half of the LPGA Playoffs 2007. Pressel first earned her spot when she became the youngest player in LPGA Tour history to win a major championship at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, while Lincicome qualified with her victory at the GINN Open in April. Pettersen qualified with her first win on the LPGA Tour at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill and Castrale qualified when she became a Rolex First-Time Winner by winning the Ginn Tribute Hosted by ANNIKA.
"It feels great (to qualify for the ADT Championship). It’s a big tournament and it’s nice that I don’t have to worry about it in the next half of the season," said Creamer. "I can just go out play the game."
Seventeen more LPGA players will have another opportunity to qualify for the ADT Championship during the second half of the LPGA season which begins at the U.S. Women’s Open. The LPGA Playoffs 2007, a yearlong competitive structure that splits the official LPGA season into two halves, culminates at the ADT Championship, Nov. 15-18. Fifteen players from each half qualify for the ADT Championship using a performance-based points systemâ?”ADT Pointsâ?”throughout the year. Two additional wildcards will be determined following The Mitchell Company LPGA Tournament of Champions.
During the second half of the season, five spots will be awarded to the victors of Winner Events, which are defined as all official LPGA Tour events with a purse of at least $2 million. The U.S. Women’s Open, HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship, Evian Masters, Ricoh Women’s British Open and the CN Canadian Women’s Open are the designated Winner Events.
The 2007 ADT Championship will played November 13-18 and feature a $1,550,000 purse with the winner taking home a $1 million paycheck, the largest first-place prize in the history of women’s golf. The ADT Championship will also feature three days of playoffs with a cut after the 36 holes. Players start with a fresh scorecard for the third round, which ends with another cut to the top eight players. A final-day shoot-out with the remaining players will have them, again, starting with a fresh scorecard for their chance at the $1 million winner’s check.
Tickets and packages to the ADT Championship are available online at adtchampionship.com and by calling 888-LPGA-TIX (574-2849). All children fifteen and under will receive free grounds admission when accompanied by a ticketed adult.
First-half qualifiers for the ADT Championship
Top 11 qualified through the ADT Points list
Player Name ADT Points
Lorena Ochoa 1,524,404
Paula Creamer 685,729
Mi Hyun Kim 647,110
Sarah Lee 580,948
Stacy Prammanasudh 552,707
Jee Young Lee 521,842
Karrie Webb 407,786
Cristie Kerr 395,180
Angela Park 375,519
Juli Inkster 372,980
Angela Stanford 367,855
Morgan Pressel Winner Event Winner – Kraft Nabisco Championship
Brittany Lincicome Winner Event Winner – GINN Open
Suzann Pettersen Winner Event Winner – Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill
Nicole Castrale Winner Event Winner – Ginn Tribute Hosted by ANNIKA
About ADT Security Services
Celebrating its 132nd anniversary, ADT Security Services, a unit of Tyco Fire & Security, is the largest provider of electronic security services to nearly 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. ADT’s Web site address is www.adt.com.
About the Ladies Professional Golf Association
Featuring the world’s best golfers, the LPGA’s membership includes touring, teaching and club professionals. The LPGA Tour in 2007 features 35 events, with total prize money of nearly $55 million. Since 1981, the LPGA and its tournaments have raised approximately $180 million for charity. From the dreams of its 13 founders in 1950, the LPGA has evolved into the world’s pre-eminent 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:
Rebecca Seelig; 561.628.5929, rseelig@pbpronline.com
