STROKE OF THE DAY |
"Golf gets people outdoors, the sort of people who should be kept indoors. " |
-Linda Smith |
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The LPGA Tour has released its tournament schedule for the 2010 season, and it has only 24 events — the fewest since 21 were held in 1971. Additionally, only 13 events will be staged in the United States, the lowest figure in the 60-year history of the Tour. Two of those 13 events will be held in Southern California, the first being the inaugural LPGA Classic Presented by J Golf at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad from March 25-28. The other is the first major of ’10, the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage from April 1-4. The first two events of 2010 will be held in Thailand and Singapore, respectively, in February. The LPGA will then take one month off before resuming at La Costa, meaning Southern California will serve as the kick-off region for its United States schedule. The LPGA Tour also had two events in Southern California during 2009 — the Kraft Nabisco and the Samsung World Championship, which was held for the first time at Torrey Pines’s South Course in San Diego. However, in a fate that other events have suffered because of difficult economic conditions, Samsung decided to opt out of its title sponsorship in the limited-field tournament, leaving the event without the financial support needed to be a part of the 2010 docket at this point. The continued schedule contraction is an alarming trend considering 34 events were on the schedule in 2008 and 27 were staged this year. |
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| Comment at 11/21/2009 |