The '18 LPGA schedule will "once again feature 34 events" along with a "record" $68.75M in total purses -- up from $65M from this past season, according to Randall Mell of GOLFCHANNEL.com. Three events from '17 have been replaced with new tournaments -- "two of those on the West Coast and one in mainland China." An "expanded West Coast swing" will include the Hugel-JTBC Championship in L.A. in April. The host course will be announced later. The tour will "make a return" to S.F.'s Lake Merced Golf Club the following week" with a new event sponsored by South Korea-based skincare company L&P Cosmetics. The China event will be held in Shanghai "as part of the fall Asian swing." The title sponsor and course also will be announced later. The Manulife LPGA Classic in Canada and Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico "are not returning" to the schedule, while the McKayson New Zealand Women's Open "will not be played next year as it prepares to move to the front" of the '19 schedule (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 12/13). The AP's Doug Ferguson note the LPGA will hold tournaments in 14 countries, but there is a "distinct flow between domestic and international events." The season begins in the Bahamas in late Janaury, then "three weeks later goes to Australia for one week and Asia for two." The Founders Cup in March is the first American event and "kicks off 16 consecutive tournaments in the United States over four months" (AP, 12/13).
NAME GAME: GOLFWEEK's Beth Ann Nichols noted the addition of L&P Cosmetics means 23 new title sponsors "have been added to the LPGA portfolio in the last six years" (GOLFWEEK.com, 12/13). In S.F., Ron Kroichick noted the official name of the new tournament at Lake Merced "will be announced early" in '18. The course hosted the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic from '14-16 before the title sponsor, a Taiwan-based non-profit, "seeking to grow the game worldwide," opted not to renew. The group "now sponsors an LPGA event" in Taipwan (SFGATE.com, 12/13).
MARKET WATCH: The '18 schedule features tournaments being played in a mix of both major markets and smaller outposts. LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan said, "It probably frustrates some of the media -- and certainly my players -- that I don’t sit in my office and go, ‘L.A., there is a market.’ We typically go to where we make the biggest impact for our title sponsors and their business." Whan said he realizes the "bedrock of the LPGA" is markets like Toledo, Portland and Williamsburg, Va., as well as newer markets like Green Bay and Indianapolis. Whan: "When you think about our tour, we’re televised in 175 countries, we're diverse. We will come at you from 33 countries. When you think of L.A., San Francisco, Shanghai -- those markets are similar. They’re big, they’re golf fanatical. But there are also people from all over the world that live in those markets. When we show up in San Francisco, Shanghai, L.A., we are a pretty good fit. You’re going to see fans who look like they came from all over the world that live in those markets, seeing players that came from their home markets as well. So it's a really nice mix” ("Golf Central," Golf Channel, 12/13).
