Last Update :1/12/2012

LPGA Returns to Kingsmill, Sept. 6-9

The LPGA Tour begins a new season with four more tournaments, among them a return to Kingsmill Resort & Spa in Williamsburg, a favorite site among the players that was last played in 2009.

The brand-new event, which will be known as the Kingsmill Championship, will be a 72-hole, $1.3 million tournament scheduled for Sept. 6-9, 2012 at Kingsmill’s River Course. In 2013, the event will return to its traditional date in early May – and likely well beyond according to LPGA Tour officials.

An LPGA event was conducted at Kingsmill from 2003-09 and was enormously popular among competitors and spectators. After Anheuser-Busch, Kingsmill’s parent company was purchased by Belgium-based brewing company InBev, the event wasn’t held in 2009 and 2010. The resort, which is currently undergoing renovations, is owned by Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a company headed by Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz. Tournament organizers hope to upgrade the event’s purse to the $2.2 million level that it enjoyed over its last six years.

The site was voted a players’ favorite in 2007 and a fans’ favorite in 2008. The event, known as a “fifth major” among tour players, drew a top-notch field whose winners included the likes of Cristie Kerr (2005 and 2009), Annika Sorenstam (2008), Suzann Pettersen (2007), Karrie Webb (2006) and Se Ri Pak (2004).

“We’re extremely excited to be coming back,” Jon Podany, the LPGA Tour’s chief marketing officer told Vic Dorr Jr. of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “Kingsmill, historically, has been one of the best and most popular venues in LPGA history, How could we not be excited about returning to a place where we’ve been so well-received?”

Though the event’s name has changed, some ties to the past will likely remain. Wayne Nooe, the Michelob ULTRA Open’s tournament director, is expected to fill the same role for the event’s returns to the banks of the James River.

After a year when it appeared the LPGA Tour would suffer irreparable harm from the economic downturn, LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan delivered a schedule of 27 tournaments worth $47 million in prize money, a 20 percent increase over last year, signaling a strong recovery.

“It looks like a very healthy schedule,” world No. 2 Suzann Pettersen told USA Today on Tuesday. “Kingsmill is by far one of my favorite golf courses. And it was one of the tournaments you really wanted to win. We all loved going to Kingsmill, and this is great news.”

Along with the new tournaments, Whan said the North American events will get live television coverage on the Golf Channel on the weekend, instead of being shown on tape delay.

“While many fans and media may focus on our new tournament additions, I think it’s just as important to understand the core elements that have created this upward momentum for the LPGA,” Whan said in a statement. “The commitment and support of our existing tournament sponsors, the dramatic improvement in our television production and viewership, and the significant growth in marketing partners is really the foundation for our schedule growth.”

The tour also brought back another popular event in Ohio, the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, which was not played a year ago.

The tour previously announced new tournaments in Hawaii and Canada, along with sanctioning the Women’s Australian Open, which will kick off the new season Feb. 9-12 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

The Associated Press and the Richmond Times-Dispatch contributed to this report.

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