Grand Cypress to Host 2010 LPGA Championship

August 10th, 2010 - Orlando, Florida -- The season-ending 1.5 million-dollar Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour Championship will be staged December 2nd through 5th at Grand Cypress Golf Club, the tour announced Thursday.

The event, featuring 120 players, will keep the format used in 2009 when it was played in Houston, with a 36-hole cut to the low 70 and ties and another cut to the low 30 and ties after 54 holes.

From 2006 through 2008 the LPGA schedule was divided into two halves, with 15 players from each half qualifying for the Championship based on their performance. Last year the Tour Championship field was increased to 120 players, with entry open to all Tour members in the top 120 on the money list as of three weeks prior to the start of the tournament. The total purse was $1,500,000 million with $225,000 going to the winner.

Designed by 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus, Grand Cypress has hosted six LPGA events, the most recent being the 2001 LPGA Classic won by South Korean star Se Ri Pak. Consisently ranked as a top course by trade publications as well as a particular favorite for women golfers, Grand Cypress Golf Club is a fantastic setting for the LGPA Tour Championship.

The original North South Course at Grand Cypress was renovated and redesigned in 2007 and 2008. Jack Nicklaus returned to change play on several of the holes, resulting in a longer course featuring conditions even more grand than before.

"We were committed to finding a premier golf course that would challenge the players and attract fans and we're thrilled to be back playing in Florida," LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said.

The LPGA staged three events in Florida in 2008 but had none last year as a tough economy and lost sponsors took a toll on the tour schedule.