Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill

The Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill was a women's professional golf tournament, played from 2003 through 2009 on the LPGA Tour. It took place annually in Virginia in May, with the final round traditionally played on Mother's Day since 2004. The LPGA event succeeded the Michelob Championship at Kingsmill, an annual PGA Tour event last held in 2002.

Held at the Kingsmill Resort & Spa just outside Williamsburg, it had one of the highest purses on the LPGA Tour, which attracted a very competitive field. It was voted the players' favorite stop on the tour in 2007 and fans' favorite tournament in 2008.^[1]

The four round, 72-hole tournament was played on the par-71 River Course at Kingsmill, set at 6306 yards (5766 m). With a purse exceeding $2 million, the winner of this LPGA tournament automatically qualified for the season-ending LPGA Playoffs at The ADT, during the years the Playoffs were held, from 2006 through 2008.

The tournament was sponsored by Michelob ULTRA beer, and its parent company Anheuser-Busch. As of 2007, Anheuser-Busch had donated over $1.3 million to 30 different charities through the event. At the 2009 tournament, there was speculation that Anheuser-Busch would not continue its sponsorship; the late-2000s recession and the company's pending acquisition by InBev were among the factors.^[2] The talk led that year's winner, Cristie Kerr, and other players to lobby to keep the tournament.^[2]

In September 2009, Anheuser-Busch announced the discontinuation of its sponsorship of the event, and the LPGA Tour lost one of its most prominent stops.^[1] The decision came at a difficult time for the LPGA, which lost a number of events during 2008 and 2009.^[1][2]

Cristie Kerr was the only multiple winner, with victories in 2005 & 2009. Annika Sörenstam set the event's 72-hole scoring record in 2008 at 265, 19 strokes under par.

Tournament names

• 2004-09 : Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill
• 2003: Michelob Light Open at Kingsmill

Winners

Year	Date	Champion	Country	Score	Purse	Winner's Share
2009	May 7-10	Cristie Kerr (2)	United States	268 (-16)	$2,200,000	$330,000
2008	May 8-11	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	265 (-19)	$2,200,000	$330,000
2007 *	May 10-13	Suzann Pettersen	Norway	274 (-10)	$2,200,000	$330,000
2006	May 11-14	Karrie Webb	Australia	270 (-14)	$2,200,000	$330,000
2005	May 5-8	Cristie Kerr	United States	276 (-8)	$2,200,000	$330,000
2004	May 6-9	Se Ri Pak	South Korea	275 (-9)	$2,200,000	$330,000
2003	May 1-4	Grace Park	South Korea	275 (-9)	$1,600,000	$240,000

* Championship won in sudden-death playoff.

Tournament record

Year	Player	Score	Round	Course
2004	Kim Williams	63 (-8)	2nd	Kingsmill Resort & Spa River Course, par 71
2007	Sarah Lee	63 (-8)	1st
	Jee Young Lee	63 (-8)	3rd
2008	Mhairi McKay	63 (-8)	1st
	Shi Hyun Ahn	63 (-8)	4th
2009	Song-Hee Kim	63 (-8)	2nd
	Cristie Kerr *	63 (-8)	2nd

* Tournament winner

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "LPGA's contract with Kingsmill will not be renewed". Golf. Associated Press. September 23, 2009. http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1925173,00.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "LPGA's future at Kingsmill resort uncertain". USA Today. Associated Press. May 12, 2009. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/lpga/2009-05-12-kingsmill-future_N.htm. 

External links

• LPGA official tournament microsite