BROKEN ARROW, OK – Tournament officials for the SemGroup Championship presented by John Q. Hammons have announced that the annual Oklahoma LPGA Tour event will be moving from a three-day, 54 hole event to the more traditional four-day, 72 hole format. In addition, a purse increase has been made to $1.8 million. The changes are designed to continue the tremendous success the event has seen in recent years and make it one of the upper-echelon stops on the LPGA Tour. The Tournament will remain in the spring, being held April 28 – May 4, 2008, at Cedar Ridge Country Club.
"Thanks to the support of fans and businesses in the Tulsa community, the SemGroup Championship presented by John Q. Hammons has quickly become a favorite stop on the LPGA Tour," said LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens. "We couldn’t be more excited about the growth of the event into a 72-hole competition offering a competitive purse for the best golfers in the world."
"The Tulsa-area community is becoming the perfect venue to host world-class events, and this Tournament is definitely included in that category. Today, the SemGroup Championship draws golf’s top women athletes, several of whom have ties to our city. And, the Championship’s television coverage exposes Tulsa and its corporate sponsors to nationwide audiences," Tom Kivisto, SemGroup president and chief executive officer said. "Equally important, local support for the Tournament increases year after year causing a ripple effect that brings millions of outside dollars into the community. We are excited about the new four-day format and look forward to support from golf fans on all levels."
The Tournament has experienced record success in recent years after Cristie Kerr fired a Tournament record 199 (-14) to defeat three-time champion Annika Sorenstam in 2006 and Mi Hyun Kim won in a sudden-death playoff in 2007. Only days later, Kim donated $100,000 of her winnings to Kansas tornado victims, once again putting the spotlight on the Tulsa event that already has deep philanthropic roots.
"The Tournament and SemGroup are very pleased with the direction our event is going," said Octagon Tournament Director Doug Eibling. "We feel that the increased purse and four-day Tournament will bring out the very best the LPGA Tour has to offer. The compliments have always rolled in from the pros about the hospitality of Tulsans, but we feel we have really sweetened the deal for them."
The official purse for the SemGroup Championship is $1.8 million, $400,000 more than the 2007 purse. The winner’s share for the 2008 Tournament will be $270,000. Additional Tournament information can be found at www.semgroupchampionship.com.
About SemGroup, L.P.
SemGroup, L.P. is a privately held midstream company providing the energy industry means to move products from the wellhead to the wholesale marketplace. With operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Wales (United Kingdom), Switzerland and Vietnam, SemGroup’s business segments focus on activities related to crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, natural gas liquids and asphalt. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, SemGroup has been ranked in the top 10 of Forbes magazine’s list of America’s Largest Private Companies for the past two years. SemGroup is the parent of SemGroup Energy Partners, L.P., a master limited partnership listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol SGLP. For more information, visit www.semgrouplp.com.
About John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, LLC
Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, LLC is the nation’s leading independent builder, developer, owner and manager of upscale, full-service hotels, resorts and suites, including: Embassy Suites Hotels, Renaissance, Marriott, Radisson, Residence Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Holiday Inn and Courtyard by Marriott brands. With 62 hotels strategically located near demand generators, such as state capitals, universities, airports, corporate headquarters or office parks in secondary and tertiary markets, John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts’ properties are dominant in their markets. Over the course of his impressive career in the hotel business, Mr. Hammons has developed 164 hotels. For more information, visit www.jqh.com.
About Cedar Ridge Country Club
It all started with a vision and a dairy farm. In 1968 a group of Tulsa businessmen, headed by J.A. Buddy LaForturne, commissioned famed golf course designer Joe Finger to create a new golf course in Tulsa that would be heralded as one of the finest in the nation. Finger said Cedar Ridge ranks at the top of all his designed courses. It has the kind of strategic demands and natural beauty which pleases most golfers. It requires the player to hit a variety of shots with near perfect execution. Eighty-seven sand traps await the golfers’ errant shots. Upon completion, Cedar Ridge was rated among the top hundred courses by Golf Digest. For more information, visit www.cedarridgecountryclub.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 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 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. The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information, log on to www.LPGA.com.
About Octagon’s Golf Division
Octagon’s Golf Division manages two Champions Tour events, The ACE Group Classic and SAS Championship presented by Forbes; three LPGA Tour events, Sybase Classic, LPGA NW Arkansas Championship presented by John Q. Hammons, and SemGroup Championship presented by John Q. Hammons; and one Nationwide Tour event, Rex Hospital Open. Octagon’s Golf Division also represents nearly 20 golfing professionals including Chris Smith, Natalie Gulbis, Christina Kim, Meg Mallon, and Beth Daniel. Additionally, Octagon represents marketing rights to Davis Love III, Gary Koch, and brothers, Bobby and Lanny Wadkins.
About Octagon
Octagon is the world’s largest sports and entertainment representation and marketing agency with global expertise in consulting, athletes & personalities, event management, property representation, marketing solutions, licensing and merchandising and talent procurement. As part of The Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG), one of the world’s leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services, Octagon employs more than 1,000 people in 60 offices around the world. For more information visit: www.octagon.com.
Contact:
Doug Eibling, Tournament Director
(918) 794-8900 or doug.eibling@octagon.com
Adam Harris, Octagon Marketing & Communications Coordinator
(919) 531-0500 or adam.harris@octagon.com
