The Duramed FUTURES Tour offers rising stars in the women's game the opportunity to prepare for a career on the LPGA. For the past eight years, the Duramed FUTURES Tour has operated in a licensee role with the LPGA. In recent years the organizations have worked closely to align business practices to assist the members of both tours with professional development, and to prepare members of the Duramed FUTURES Tour for the transition to the LPGA. One of the biggest examples of the synergy between the two organizations over the years has been the awarding of coveted LPGA Tour cards for the top money leaders on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. In 2003, the LPGA increased the cards from three to five.
"We are absolutely delighted that we have reached an agreement for the LPGA to acquire the Duramed FUTURES Tour," Bivens said. "This acquisition demonstrates our desire to fortify the LPGA as the home to the best golfers in the world, providing us with a powerful development system for women, while increasing the economic opportunities for our members, marketing opportunities for sponsors and opportunities for fans to enjoy the next generation of future LPGA stars."
The acquisition will put women's professional golf in the United States under one umbrella. Together, the tours will bring the world's best female professional golfers to more markets, resulting in increased exposure for the players, sponsors and tours. Currently the LPGA has 35 tournaments worldwide and the Duramed FUTURES Tour has 19 tournaments in 14 states.
"The Duramed FUTURES Tour has strategically aligned with the LPGA to provide a seamless transition for Duramed FUTURES Tour players to the LPGA," Calderon said. "This agreement solidifies what all of us have been working toward for years - a cohesive tour system for the best talent in women's golf. The LPGA Tour features the very best in the game and the Duramed FUTURES Tour offers talented golfers and rising stars the opportunity to prepare for a career on the LPGA."
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Notable terms call for Calderon to remain as president and CEO of the Duramed FUTURES Tour and become a member of the LPGA's senior management team. In addition, the Duramed FUTURES Tour staff will relocate from Lakeland, Fla., to the LPGA headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla., by the end of the year.
For more information on the LPGA, log on to www.LPGA.com.
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Golf News, Source, GolfStuffReview.com.- This are the latest LPGA World golf rankings one day before the US Open.
No Surprise, Annika, Lorena and Michelle Wie are the favorites.
Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings Monday, June 26, 2006
Rank - Name - Country - Total Average
1 -- Annika Sorenstam Sweden 16.04
2 -- Michelle Wie United States 11.41
3 -- Lorena Ochoa Mexico 9.13
4 -- Karrie Webb Australia 8.72
5 -- Paula Creamer United States 7.86
6 -- Cristie Kerr United States 7.26
7 -- Yuri Fudoh Japan 6.81
8 Jeong Jang Korea, Republic of 6.30
9 Juli Inkster United States 6.19
10 Ai Miyazato Japan 6.06
11 -- Hee-Won Han Korea, Republic of .17 5.88
12 Morgan Pressel United States 5.28
13 -- Mi Hyun Kim Korea, Republic of .39 4.83
14 -- Shiho Ohyama Japan 4.67
15 Brittany Lang United States 4.63
16 Seon-Hwa Lee Korea, Republic of 51 228.14 4.47
17 Natalie Gulbis United States 4.15
18 Ji-Hee Lee Korea, Republic of 4.13
19 Se-Ri Pak Korea, Republic of 3.96
20 Pat Hurst United States 3.93
21 -- Sakura Yokomine Japan 3.71
22 Julieta Granada Paraguay 3.55
23 Jee Young Lee Korea, Republic of 3.54
24 Meena Lee Korea, Republic of 3.47
25 Akiko Fukushima Japan 3.35
26 Hyun-Ju Shin Korea, Republic of 3.14
27 Liselotte Neumann Sweden 3.06
28 Michele Redman United States 3.05
29 Catriona Matthew Scotland 2.93
30 Shi-Hyun Ahn Korea, Republic of 2.87
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GolfNews,Source,TheGolfChannel.com.- RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Karrie Webb's slow, steady climb back to her Hall of Fame standards hit warp speed with one magical shot Sunday that sent her to a stunning playoff victory in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Webb holed a pitching wedge from 116 yards for eagle on the par-5 18th hole to close with a 7-under 65, then made a 7-foot birdie putt on the same hole in the playoff to beat Lorena Ochoa and capture her seventh career major.
As exhilarating as it was for Webb, it was devastating for those she beat.
Ochoa collapsed on the back nine, only to recover with a 5-wood into 8 feet on an island green for eagle on the closing hole. Her 15-foot birdie putt in the playoff never had a chance.
Michelle Wie, the 16-year-old phenom from Hawaii, was 25 feet away from winning until her chip ran 10 feet by, and her birdie putt to join the playoff caught the left lip. Natalie Gulbis birdied three of five holes down the stretch, only to see her 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole turn away. She closed with a 68.
Ochoa fought back tears when it was over, adding another chapter to a growing legacy of being unable to close. A gutsy eagle on the last hole gave her an even-par 72, but ultimately, it was only a consolation. She lost this tournament along the back nine when she couldn't hit a fairway and twice had to make testy 5-footers for bogey. "The back nine, I was trying so hard," she said. "My driver killed me."
The tournament effectively started on the par-5 ninth, when Wie made a 15-foot birdie and Ochoa came up short on the par 5, chopped out of the rough and made bogey.
That two-shot swing meant a tie atop the leaderboard for the first time since Ochoa opened with her record-tying 62 on Thursday. And it was a bumpy ride the rest of the way.
Defending champion Annika Sorenstam can rule out the Grand Slam. She closed with a 70 and tied for sixth.
Golf News, Source, GolfDigest.com.- RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Lorena Ochoa only had 100 or so people following her record round Thursday in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, which was fine with her. She was able to hear that familiar voice, her father urging her to attack the flags and stick it close. Just like this," Javier Ochoa said to her after Ochoa began the first round with a 9-iron to 2 feet to set up a birdie.
And she obeyed, knocking down flags on a calm morning in the desert, piling up birdies until she was in the record books with a 10-under 62 that gave her a four-shot lead over 16-year-old Michelle Wie.
Wie got all the attention and matched her best score on the LPGA Tour, a bogey-free 66 in which she played with poise and precision and had a birdie putt on every hole.
Ochoa gladly settled for a record score at Mission Hills, matching the lowest round in an LPGA major championship to take a big lead in the first major of the year.
"I thought to myself, 'This is a good start to the tournament.' I didn't think it was going to be this good," Ochoa said. "Everything was easy, and everything was so clear. It was fun to be out there."
It was simply stunning to everyone else.
Defending champion Annika Sorenstam glanced at the leaderboard when she was playing the sixth hole, saw the "10" next to Ochoa's name, and couldn't believe it.
"We had to look twice. We didn't know if she was on her 10th hole or she was 10 under," Sorenstam said after making birdie on the last hole for a 71. "This golf course is not easy. She made it look easy."
Ochoa finished her round with a sand wedge into 12 feet -- only one of her 10 birdies was longer -- and broke the tournament record by one shot, set in 1997 by Mary Beth Zimmerman. The only other 62 in an LPGA major was by Minea Blomqvist in the 2004 Women's British Open at Sunningdale.
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Golf News, Source,LPGA.com.- Annika Sorenstam has been officially declared as the world's leading women's golfer following the publication of the first-ever world rankings. The Swede, with 21 tour wins and three majors over the last two years, has a massive lead over Paula Creamer while 16-year-old Michelle Wie is in third. The rankings list will be published weekly and will be used as the criteria for getting into certain tournaments.
Like the men's world rankings, the list measures performances over the last two years, with greater emphasis being placed on the most recent 13 weeks.
Points are awarded based on the strength of field, then divided by the number of tournaments.
However, the women's rankings differ in the fact that amateurs as well as professionals can appear in the list, while the minimum number of tournaments is 15 - the men's minimum is 40.
"It has always been difficult to determine the best women golfers in the world," said Ladies Golf Union chief executive Andy Salmon. "Now, for the first time, this will be possible.
Women's World Rankings, 21 February:
1 Annika Sorenstam Swe 18.47 average points
2 Paula Creamer US 9.65
3 Michelle Wie US 9.24
4 Yuri Fudoh Jpn 7.37
5 Cristie Kerr US 6.94
6 Ai Miyazato Jpn 6.58
7 Lorena Ochoa Mex 6.10
8 Jang Jeong SKor 4.91
9 Han Hee-won SKor 4.49
10 Juli Inkster US 4.11
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