PJS Blog, News and Updates

On January 11^th, the LPGA released its 2012 Tour Schedule with some exciting news!  First, five additional tournaments have been added, four of which will be located in North America.  Over 100 participants are expected to compete for official money at each of the tournaments. Due to these five additions, the overall purse will increase from $40.4 million in 2011 to $47 million this year.  The second bit of news is that the LPGA will be adding a fifth major beginning in 2013.  The Evian Masters Presented by Societe Generale will take place for the final time in 2012 before taking on major championship status as “The Evian”.  The tournament will continue to be played in France at the Evian Masters Golf Club with the highest tournament purse of $3.25 million.

It is wonderful that the LPGA is expanding their tournament schedule through 2013 and beyond!  With these new tournaments comes additional sponsorship dollars and television exposure.  There are so many little girls who idolize their favorite LPGA Pros and the reinforcement of their idols’ success can only aid in their dreaming.  But it is not just little girls looking up to these talented ladies!  I have heard from some of our amateur male participants that they can relate to the LPGA Pros’ style of golf since it is closer to their own.  They cannot “hit bombs” like Bubba or “spider” like Camillo.  They play around the same distances as the ladies and follow their club selections.  Overall, I think adding these tournaments and the additional major in 2013 are positive steps in maintaining the viability and increasing the exposure of quite possibly the greatest female professional sports association in the world.

Rookie to watch in 2012 – Lexi Thompson! This 5’11’’ Florida native is taking the LPGA by storm.  Coming off of her 2011 win at the Navistar LPGA Classic, Lexi will be one to watch in 2012.  Not only was she the youngest player to ever qualify for the US Women’s Open at age 12 (2007), but she has played in it every year since.  Her list of accomplishments and Tour finishes is impressive for her young age and will surely only grow as she matures into a household name.