- LPGA Playoffs at The ADT
The LPGA Playoffs at The ADT, also known as the ADT Championship, is the season-ending
golf tournament on the United States-basedLPGA Tour .The tournament was played for the first time in November 2006, the winner of the event,
Julieta Granada , received $1 million, the highest first-place prize in the history of women's golf. The event took place at theTrump International Golf Club inWest Palm Beach ,Florida .From 1996 through 2006 the tournament was a standard-format, 72 hole stroke play event. It had a purse of $1,000,000 in its final season with the winner receiving $215,000.
The playoff event was the first time golf has ever used a postseason of any kind on any tour. Beginning in 2007, the
PGA Tour also employed a playoff system.The title sponsor is ADT, a worldwide supplier of electronic security and fire alarm systems, communication systems and integrated building management systems, with headquarters in
Boca Raton, Florida .How the competitors are selected
2008 selection process
As in the two previous seasons, the 2008 season is split into two halves, with 15 players from each half qualifying for the ADT Championship using a performance-based points system. In addition, two wild card players will be chosen at the end of the regular season. This means 32 players will compete in the ADT Championship.
The first half began with the
SBS Open at Turtle Bay and ended with theLPGA Championship . The second half began with theWegmans LPGA and will end with theLorena Ochoa Invitational , one week before the Playoffs.LPGA members qualify for the ADT Championship by accumulating ADT Points during each half of the season or by winning an automatic entry by winning one of 13 designated "winner" events—defined as any event with a purse of at least $2 million—throughout the season. The two wild cards will be the top two players from the LPGA Official Money List who were not otherwise qualified after the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
2007 selection process
The selection process in the 2007 LPGA regular season was the same as in 2008, with the only differences being:
*The first half ended with the Wegmans LPGA.
*The second half began with the US Women's Open and ended atThe Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions , one week before the Playoffs.
*Only 10 "winner" events were held during the season.More details on selecting competitors for the 2007 Playoffs can be found at: [http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=9664&mid=1 LPGA.com] .
2006 selection process
The 2006 LPGA campaign was split into two halves. The first half began with the
SBS Open at Turtle Bay and ended with theJamie Farr Owens Corning Classic . The second half began with theEvian Masters and ended withThe Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions , one week before the Playoffs. The top 15 points scorers and one wild card from each half qualified for the Playoffs, making for a total of 32 players who will take part in the season-ending event.Most of the events on 2006 LPGA schedule were "points" events, in which the top twenty finishers were awarded points. In addition, all winners of the LPGA's majors and five limited field events, such as the
HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship , automatically qualified for the Playoffs.Once the first half ended, and the first 16 players were awarded spots in the Playoffs, the point totals from the first half were wiped out, and the second half began with a fresh scoresheet, meaning points did not carry over from half-to-half.
More details on selecting competitors for the 2006 Playoffs can be found at: [http://www.lpga.com/Content_1.aspx?pid=5133&mid=4 LPGA.com] .
2008 Qualifers
First half qualifiers
#flagicon|MEX
Lorena Ochoa — won theHSBC Women's Champions (also won theKraft Nabisco Championship , theGinn Open , and theSybase Classic )
#flagicon|SWEAnnika Sörenstam — won theStanford International Pro-Am (also won theMichelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill )
#flagicon|KORSeon Hwa Lee — won the Ginn Tribute Hosted by ANNIKA
#flagicon|TWNYani Tseng — won the McDonald's LPGA Championship
#flagicon|USAPaula Creamer — 923,742 points
#flagicon|KORJeong Jang — 664,249 points
#flagicon|KORSong-Hee Kim — 509,000 points
#flagicon|AUSKarrie Webb — 505,867 points
#flagicon|NORSuzann Pettersen — 484,664 points
#flagicon|KORNa Yeon Choi — 464,709 points
#flagicon|SWEMaria Hjorth — 422,446 points
#flagicon|ENGKaren Stupples — 378,342 points
#flagicon|KORJee Young Lee — 375,695 points
#flagicon|KORInbee Park — 368,124 points
#flagicon|USALaura Diaz — 367,228 pointsecond half qualifiers
#flagicon|KOR
Eun-Hee Ji — won theWegmans LPGA
#flagicon|SWEHelen Alfredsson — won theEvian Masters
#flagicon|KORJi-Yai Shin — won theWomen's British Open
#flagicon|AUSKatherine Hull — won theCanadian Women's Open Inbee Park, who won the U.S. Women's Open, qualified via first-half points.
2007 Qualifers
First half qualifiers
#flagicon|USA
Morgan Pressel — won theKraft Nabisco Championship
#flagicon|USABrittany Lincicome — won theGinn Open
#flagicon|NORSuzann Pettersen — won theMichelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill (also won theLPGA Championship )
#flagicon|USANicole Castrale — won theGinn Tribute Hosted by Annika
#flagicon|MEXLorena Ochoa — 1,524,404 points
#flagicon|USAPaula Creamer — 685,729 points
#flagicon|KORMi Hyun Kim — 647,110 points
#flagicon|KOR Sarah Lee — 580,948 points
#flagicon|USAStacy Prammanasudh — 552,707 points
#flagicon|KORJee Young Lee — 521,842 points
#flagicon|AUSKarrie Webb — 407,786 points
#flagicon|USACristie Kerr — 395,180 points
#flagicon|BRAAngela Park — 375,519 points
#flagicon|USAJuli Inkster — 372,980 points
#flagicon|USAAngela Stanford — 367,855 pointsecond half qualifiers
#flagicon|KOR
Seon Hwa Lee — won theHSBC Women's World Match Play Championship
#flagicon|USANatalie Gulbis — won theEvian Masters
#flagicon|SWEMaria Hjorth — 756,904 points
#flagicon|KORJeong Jang — 748,129 points
#flagicon|KORSe Ri Pak — 490,656 points
#flagicon|USAChristina Kim — 434,742 points
#flagicon|JPNAi Miyazato — 427,108 points
#flagicon|ENGLaura Davies — 354,785 points
#flagicon|KORInbee Park — 349,906 points
#flagicon|USALaura Diaz — 326,537 points
#flagicon|SWEAnnika Sörenstam — 325,940 points
#flagicon|USASherri Steinhauer — 302,618 points
#flagicon|KORShi Hyun Ahn — 292,816 points
#flagicon|USAReilley Rankin — 281,929 points
#flagicon|SWESophie Gustafson — 264,607 pointsThe remaining three "winner" events in the second half were won by golfers who had already qualified via first-half points—the U.S. Women's Open by Cristie Kerr, and the
Women's British Open andCanadian Women's Open by Lorena Ochoa.Wild cards
#flagicon|SCO
Catriona Matthew — $504,366
#flagicon|USAMeaghan Francella — $499,292How The Playoffs at The ADT work
*Round 1: All 32 players compete in pairs of two.
*Round 2: All 32 players compete, re-paired in pairs of two with those with the highest scores from Round 1 starting earliest and those with the lowest scores starting latest in the day. At the end of the Round 2, the 16 players with the lowest cumulative scores from Rounds 1 and 2 continue to Round 3. The other 16 players are eliminated from the tournament. In the event of a tie a sudden-death playoff takes place.
*Round 3: The remaining 16 players compete in pairs of two. Scores are wiped clean for all players, however starting position is determined by the cumulative score from Rounds 1 and 2, with the players with the highest scores starting earliest in the day and the players with the lowest scores starting latest. The eight players with the lowest scores at the end of Round 3 advance to Round 4. If a tie exists, it is settled with a sudden-death playoff.
*Round 4: The remaining eight players compete in pairs of two. The players participate in a live draw where they pick which time slot they would like to play in with the first pick going to the low score and the final pick going to the high score. The player with the lowest score after Round 4 wins $1 million. As in previous rounds, ties are settled with a sudden-death playoff.Controversy surrounding $1 million prize
Most players have supported the tournament, though some criticism has been raised.
Annika Sörenstam , for example, commented that a player who had a great year, like Sörenstam did in 2005, when she won 10 times, could miss the cut after round three, and not only lose the tournament, but also the title given to the player who tops the LPGA Money List for the year to someone not even in the List's top 10 at the event's start.Sörenstam, as well as others, have suggested that only half the prize count toward the money list, while the other half be given as a bonus, and not counted on the money list. The LPGA said it would consider this before consider criticism before the 2007 event [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6894882/] . No change was made for 2007.
Winners
LPGA Playoffs at The ADT
External links
* [http://www.lpga.com/adtchampionship.aspx Official website]
* [http://www.lpga.com LPGA official website]
* [http://www.lpga.com/tournament_microsite.aspx?id=5382 LPGA official tournament microsite]
* [http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=5715&mid=1 LPGA Tour Playoffs 2006]
* [http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=7388&mid=1 First half of LPGA Playoffs 2006 comes to a close] LPGA Press Release, July 17, 2006
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