The schedule for the 2010 Rolex sponsored LPGA Tour has been announced and the events for the entire year have been earmarked. Golf fans the world over can now plan well in advance the events they would wish to attend in person. The LPGA Tour is to kick start in Thailand at the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand Siam Country Club, on February the 18^th. The events have been placed at regular intervals and would span over the entire year. The LPGA Tour is to begin in February and have its last tee off for 2010 in November. The LPGA Tour will be held across the US, Mexico, France, England, Canada, Singapore, Thailand and Japan.

The highlight for the month of April would be the Kraft Nabisco Championship, which is scheduled to be held at the Mission Hills Country Club, Dinah Shore Tournament Course Rancho Mirage in California. The major championship carries prize money of $2,000,000, which makes it one of the most sought after championships on the LPGA Tour. After the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand, the tour will then move to Singapore for the HSBC Women’s Champions, later to California for the LPGA Classic presented by J Golf and eventually to the Mission Hills Country Club greens for the Kraft Nabisco Championship. In April the tour will stop over in Jamaica for the Mojo 6 Jamaica LPGA Invitational at the Cinnamon Hill Golf Course at Rose Hall Montego Bay.

Before the tour heads to New York for the LPGA Championship, it is scheduled to make stops in Mexico for the Tres Marias Championship on April 29; Alabama for the Bell Micro LPGA Classic on May 13; Illinois for the LPGA State Farm Classic on June 10; and New Jersey for the ShopRite LPGA Classic on June 18. The LPGA Championship presented by Wegmans will be held at the Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York on June 24 and carries a prize of $2,250,000. The next major championship, which is the U.S. Women’s Open, will be held on July 8 at the Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. The U.S. Women’s Open has the highest prize money of $3,250,000 attached to it.

The RICOH Women’s British Open will be held on July 29 at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. After the last major championship the tour will move on to Oregon, Canada, Arkansas, Mexico, Alabama, California, Japan and Mexico. The prize money is not the only motivational factor for the lady golfers, the points associated with each event will help decide the winners of the Rolex Rookie of the Year Award and the Rolex Player of the Year Award. The competition will be worth a watch as the heavyweights of women’s golf will be battling it out on the greens for a win. Arch rivals, Lorena Ochoa, Jiyai Shin Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie will all be giving their best shot in order to grab the win and thereby the highest points. The points are updated each month on the Rolex Ranking list.

There are very few LPGA Tour tournaments left in the 2009 season and with the close race for the top spot on the Rolex Player of the Year award only getting harder and tougher every passing day, this week is going to be very significant for the woman golfers as well as their fans. Starting off in a few hours is the much awaited Lorena Ochoa Invitational tournament which will add a lot of excitement to the already very interestingly placed top slots on the Rolex Player of the Year award rankings. It would be a great opportunity for the two woman golfers, Lorena Ochoa and Jiyai Shin, who are fighting neck and neck for the prestigious Rolex award to try and grab maximum points possible from the every tournament which is still left on the tour.

Lorena Ochoa Invitational is one of the newer entrants to the LPGA tour and is in fact only in its second year but has earned enough reputation to become one of the most sought after golf tournaments for the woman golfers. The event is in the name of Lorena Ochoa, the famous Mexican woman golfer. Lorena Ochoa has been one of the most popular players on the tour and has to her name more than two dozen LPGA Tour titles. Lorena Ochoa Invitational has been her dream to bring together best players from all across the world and give an opportunity to the young and promising players from Mexico to play alongside them to learn the game from close quarters and celebrate the game of golf.

The Lorena Ochoa Invitational will be played in the popular city of Guadalajara in the heart of Mexico on the Guadalajara Country Club which is Lorena Ochoa’s course. The tournament will see 36 of the top

players in the golfing world which will include top placed players in the Money List, top placed players from the Rolex Rankings and young and talented players from the Mexican and Latinamerican golf. The focus of the 2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational though would be on the two star attractions, Lorena Ochoa herself and her close competitor Jiyai Shin.

Lorena Ochoa and Jiyai Shin both have been having a great golfing year with both having won multiple championships. Additionally both of them have had many top 10 finishes throughout the LPGA Tour 2009 season all of which has brought them to the top of the Rolex Player of the Year award race. The Lorena Ochoa Invitational tournament is critical for the golfers considering the winner will be grabbing 30 crucial points. Entering the invitational cup Jiyai Shin has a slight edge over her closest rival Lorena Ochoa. After this event there will be only one event left on the tour and whosoever gets more points will enter the last tournament with more confidence and slightly better advantage over the other. Considering the not so good performance by Lorena Ochoa in the inaugural year she would be under tremendous pressure to perform well and her rival Jiayi Shin fresh from grabbing the Rolex Rookie of the Year award would surely be brimming with a lot of confidence.

As the Rolex sponsored Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) enters its final stages of the season 2009 the atmosphere is buzzing with the talk of ever rising close competition between the top two performers of the year, Jiyai Shin and Lorena Ochoa. The situation has many interesting dimensions, the most important being the prestige and feeling of achievement that comes with being right at the top of the Rolex World Golf Rankings where only the best of golfers are made part of. The race to top spot has always been the hallmark of the LPGA Tour and this year it has been one of the most interesting of all years.

Mexican Lorena Ochoa who is presently heading the table is a veteran golfer and has won dozens of events and has quite nearly lived up to her potential in the year 2009 too. On the other hand Korean Jiyai Shin is only enjoying her rookie season on the LPGA Tour. But her performance has been nothing less than extraordinary. The way the year has turned out for her so far she has all but won the Rolex Rookie of the year award. With the Rolex Rookie almost in her kitty the young golfer has concentrated all her energies towards earning the biggest reward in the golf world for women, the Rolex World Golf Rankings top slot. But with Lorena Ochoa being there to challenge her all along the way it is not going to be easy for either to outrank other at the Rolex World Golf Rankings.

Among the various honors that any golfer can dream of being at top of the Rolex Rankings is undoubtedly one of the most sought after. The fact of the matter is that it is not easy to be ranked well in the Rolex Rankings considering five major women’s professional golf tours from all over the world are a part of the ranking system. Right from the LPGA to Ladies European Tour to Japanese, Korean and Australian Tours, women professional golfers from all over the world taking part in golfing event at different places in the world compete for the top honors and ensure that race to the top of Rolex Ranking always the most fiercely fought. By performing at the top of their games throughout the 2009 golf season both Jiyai Shin and Lorena Ochoa have made sure that they are far ahead of other golfers in the Rolex Rankings. But the most coveted spot is always the top spot and that is which both the golfers are eying.

Lorena Ochoa has won 27 LPGA Tour events in her career with three of them coming in the 2009 season whereas Jiyai Shin has six victories to her name in the LPGA Tour, half of them coming in the present season. With exactly equal number of tour victories and closely comparable overall performance both the golfers are always in the contention for being the numero uno. With not many tournaments left in the 2009 season it would be really interesting to wait and witness who would end the season at the top of Rolex Rankings.

The young and dynamic golfer Michelle Wie in a career spanning only few years has earned for herself a name and reputation that most spend life time only dreaming about. Like a star on the horizon with each passing year she shines more brightly and is now not only counted as the golfer to look out for but is actually the player that other can very well emulate, on the course and off it too. As serious and careful about her education as she is about her golf, Michelle Wie who is studying in the third year at the Stanford is also thoroughly enjoying her rookie season on the Rolex sponsored LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) tour. Comfortably ranked 14^th in the Rolex World Ranking she is likely to take a break from her college classes next month to become a part of the Rolex sponsored LPGA Tour Championship.

LPGA Tour Championship presented by Rolex is going to take place in the month of November from 17^th to 22^nd at the popular Houstonian Golf and Country Club in Richmond, Texas. LPGA Tour Championship attracts the best of the women golfers from across the world who will be playing their best golf to get their hands on the rich purse of $1.5 million and the satisfaction of winning against the best of their peers. Michelle Wie would not find it easy to win or even score a place among the top considering the kind of tough field that is likely to be vying for the top honors at the tournament. There are going to be 120 LPGA professionals who would make a start in the LPGA Tour Championship. These women
golfers are going to be picked from the official LPGA Money List implying that the best top 120 players are going to make the cut. In a field as strong as this it can never be easy for anyone.

The LPGA Tour Championship presented by Rolex will be a 72-hole stroke play tournament and Michelle Wie will have to play consistently all along to make sure she can get a shot at the trophy and winner’s check. After the first 36 holes the field would be pruned to 70 golfers and which will be further reduced to only 30 at the end of the 54 holes. Competing against the best is never easy for anyone and the same is true for Michele Wie. But considering the fact that this is her rookie season on the LPGA tour and still she is ranked among the top 15 in the Rolex World Ranking speaks volumes of the capabilities she possesses, the depth of talent that defines her and the performances she can be trusted to come out with. If her performance on various fronts is to be taken into account then she is ranked 6^th in putting as well as rounds under par and driving average. In fact she is just outside top 10 when it comes to scoring thus ensuring that she is a possible threat to anyone on a given day. She might be coming off after a small break for her studies but she stands good chance of becoming a winner at the LPGA Tour Championship presented by Rolex.

Rolex has been an integral part of many events across various fields and has been instrumental in bringing into action its philosophy of promoting brilliance through its various endeavors, with its association with Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) being among the most notable examples of the same. The role that Rolex has set out to play by sponsoring LPGA became more apparent recently during the Navistar LPGA Classic golfing tournament when the 14 year old amateur Alexis Thompson was quite comfortably able to perform well enough to be one of the leaders in a field that was flooded with star women professional golfers. Rolex which believes strongly in encouraging young and new talent by creating and providing opportunities for the raw and promising talent to showcase their potential and compete against the best of performers saw its efforts being realized and appreciated as Alexis Thompson smiled her way to the lead halfway through the tournament with really remarkable performance.

The hugely talented Alexis Thompson has gone to Prattville where the LPGA Navistar Classic is being played with a hope that she can try and qualify for the tournament. But not only did she manage to qualify to play in the main draw but she also showed that she not only has the promise of becoming a new sensation but she has in it her to perform when it matters most and in the conditions which test the skills of the best and emerge at the top. She interestingly also had set a simple goal for herself and which was to shoot under par every day and so far she has managed to do that too.

Alexis Thompson might only be in the 9^th grade of her school but as far as the world of golf goes she surely seems to be well educated to be able to play, compete and stand on her own among the best of the golfers. After awesome performances in the first two rounds the amazing golfers was in the tied first spot with golfing icons like Lorena Ochoa, Yani Tseng, Giulia Sergas and Laura Davies. All of these women golfers are counted among the best and have been among the best golfers in 2009 as well. Yani Tseng from Taiwan is the 2009 Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year and is herself having a great tournament. She fired a history matching bogey-free 9-under-par 63 to become only the fifth player in the history of Navistar LPGA Classic to do so. Alexis Thompson is also sharing the top spot with Laura Davies the 20-time LPGA Tour winner. She has managed to be at the top again due her best performance of the year so far. The biggest competitor that Alexia Thompson is facing in the Navistar LPGA Classic is undoubtedly the leader of the Rolex World Rankings Lorena Ochoa. That she is the best among the rest became evident when she became the first player to hit the 10-under-par mark.

Even among these stars the name that was shining brightest was of none other than Alexia Thompson who through her performance showed what Rolex stands for and ensures that it promotes.

Golfing is a one of the first few sports that allowed women into its fold and they in turn propelled this game to a higher standard. Participation of women on such a grand scale would hardly have been possible had it not been for the unfaltering support of brands like Rolex. Apart from being hailed as the forerunner of the watch world, Rolex has developed the idea of promoting excellence on a global scale by sponsoring a number of sporting events like golf. Rolex has played a pivotal role in the United States and promoted a number of golfing events for women through collaboration with several organizations. In a bid to provide greater opportunity to women in all spheres of activity, Rolex ensures that due recognition and award is bestowed on talented women golfers. One of the several associations Rolex has tied up with is the LPGA or the Ladies Professional Golf Association. The LPGA in association with Rolex has been instrumental in reshaping the careers of many golfers from around the world.

Women golfers from as far away as Korea come to the events created by the LPGA in order to claim the top prize and win recognition for their respective country. Over the years not only have the LPGA events become sought after in the world of golf but have also become proving grounds for talented women to prove their mettle in the game. The incredible rise in popularity as well as the astronomical prize money offered has proved to be beneficial for the game. The whole purpose of creating world class events is to give greater opportunity to women to develop both as golfers and as humans. The LPGA stage has given rise to stars like Jiyai Shin one of the most incredible golfing talents in the sport today. Putting forward an exceptional set of golfing skills Jiyai Shin has given a number of players a run of their money. Driving the ball with such precision and force, Jiyai Shin stuns even hard line critics who watch in awe as the ball soars through the air to land almost near the hole.

Earning a total of $1,605,786 this season, Jiyai Shin won three tournaments this year in the golfing tournaments. Ranked as the second best player in the women’s golf category, Jiyai Shin has always managed to secure a place in the top ten finishes. Pushing the boundaries of performance through a combination of skill, acumen and foresight, Jiyai Shin has made quite a mark in the world of golf. Leading the standings for both the Rolex Player of the Year as well at the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, Jiyai Shin is definitely a force to be reckoned with. In the Rolex Player of the Year standings she is leading the race with a total of 136 points while in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year she is way ahead with a total of 1344 which is almost double that of her closest competitor.

From Korea to the world, Jiyai Shin has been giving brilliant performances at a number of golfing tournaments across the globe and apart from stunning the crowd with her immense tactical playability; she has also been the source of inspiration to many aspiring women golfers.

Nothing can possible match the feeling that one enjoys after that first win, which is always the sweetest and that feeling can reach unimaginable levels of happiness when a name as prestigious as Rolex is attached to it in honoring the winner. Na Yeon Chio waited for her time to come and when it eventually came she must have finally felt as elated as anyone perhaps ever can. Her moment of success came last Sunday when she put her best foot forward to emerge victorious at the Samsung World Championship to win her first golf tournament and in the process became the sixth proud winner of Rolex First-Time Winner in the year 2009.

Samsung World Championship is one the very popular tournaments on the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) calendar. It has been around since 1980 when the tournament was held for the first time and brings with itself prize money of $1,000,000. The prestigious tournament had started off as a place where only top 12 women golfers were invited initially with the number being increased to 16 in 1996. In the year 1999 the championship was expanded further to include 20 best women golfers from around the world.

The Samsung World Championship 2009 was held at the picturesque Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Courses near to San Diego and is a favorite hunting ground for the best golfers. This year’s championship was held at the South Course and among the top 20 woman golfers 17 participated to try and win the tournament. The strong field of golfers included Paula Creamer the 2008 winner and defending champion, Sophie Gustafson who is the money leader in Ladies European Tour, Lorena Ochoa who won the 2008 Vare Trophy and Jiyai Shin who is leading the 2009 LPGA Official Money List.

The way things turned out were quite unexpected especially one thing that was least likely was that in the strongest field of woman golfers one who would win would be a first time winner. This year’s tournament was also generating a lot of news because of the fact that it was only the second time that an LPGA tournament was being held at the popular Torrey Pines. The last and first time when this happened was 1983, so winning at the Torrey Pines was going to be one of those rare moments of LPGA history.

After toiling hard for many days Na Yeon Chio was the one who could hold on to her own and grab the top spot among the galaxy of players. The South Korean player didn’t make the best of the starts at the Torrey Pines but had a good second round and an unbelievable third round to finally round of with a not so good last round and emerge as the eventual winner. Her four-day total in the end was 16-under-par 272 broken as 71-67-63-71. This was an historic day for the LPGA as well as Na Yeon Chio who won her first LPGA tournament and won it in style. For Na Yeon Choi another major achievement of the day included the fact that her first victory also won her the honor of becoming the sixth Rolex First-Time Winner of the year.

Rolex has always sought out to support and partner events and organizations that share it ambition of bringing about an encouraging change. Apart from being recognizes as the world’s most valued watch manufacturer, Rolex has actively assisted many associations in promoting activities and events that have helped in the progress of humanity and have been for the greater good of the whole. The entire purpose of the Rolex partnership is to inspire and promote the next and thus in this way ensure that the world can benefit from this collectively.

In the United States Rolex has been collaborating with the Ladies Professional Golf Association or the LPGA for almost three decades now. A partnership which began in 1980 has only grown stronger with time an has brought about several changes in the game of golf and has also been responsible for ushering in a new standard of playing while simultaneously providing better opportunities to excel. From golfing tournaments to training courses, the Rolex-LPGA collaboration has greatly benefitted the sport of golf and the women golfers as well. Over the years both the LPGA as well as the prize money has grown tremendously and now with partnership of Rolex, LPGA is able to extend its scope and range tremendously.

The LPGA was founded in 1950 with a total of thirteen members who eagerly sought to create a new standard in the world of women’s golfing tournaments and focus on the development of professional women golfers. From 1950 to 2009 LPGA has covered a lot of ground and transformed into one of the most eminent golfing bodies’ in the world. To cite an example of the growth of LPGA, the number of tournaments held in 2006 totaled to 34 while the total prize money amounted to 50 Million US Dollars. The growth of LPGA has allowed it to launch newer projects like the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) membership. This membership comprises a total of 1,200 women golf professionals who take on various roles and assist in the promotion of the sport as teachers, golf professionals, club managers and coaches. From its headquarters in Daytona Beach in Florida, LPGA has grown to become a non-profit organization that now participates in every sphere of golfing.

Apart from holding and creating tournaments for women, LPGA also teaches and hones the talent of young golfers while increasing the involvement of women in this sport. Together with Rolex LPGA has been able to bring sweeping changes across the golfing domain and has helped women get more opportunity for shaping their careers in professional golf. However the most remarkable achievement of the LPGA is that from the year 1981 till now the events held by this prestigious golfing body have been able to garner a total of 170 million US dollars in for charitable purposes. This huge proceed that has been collected over the years goes to wards the development of the sport as well as the progress of women along with other philanthropic activities.

Providing the momentum to LPGA for furthering its ambition and purpose Rolex is proud to have supported an illustrious organization like LPGA that aims like Rolex to develop the world towards achieving the highest possible level of individual triumph and performance.

Rolex the world renowned brand has become synonymous with the pursuit of excellence and abides by all the standards of attaining greatness. In a bid o promote this aspect amongst humanity and lead them towards greater purpose, Rolex partners a number of organizations to co-create sporting event that form a stage for developing talent and providing greater opportunity for individuals. From motor sport racing to sailing, equestrian events and golfing, Rolex has played vital role in the development of these sports as well as the honing of talent of talented athletes. A golfing event that was solely aimed at women was a fry cry from reality a few decades ago but with the rise in a number of supporters like Rolex, this dream is no longer unattainable. Nowadays the women golfing tournaments are held on a world class platform and attract several top rated players as well as a large audience.

Partnering the LPGA or Ladies Professional Golf Association for over two decades now, Rolex has assisted this golfing association in creating some of the most remarkable tournaments for women. Over years the LPGA has grown too become one of the most eminent women’s golfing bodies in the world and has been known to draw the top rated women players from around the globe. Unwaveringly collaborating with LPGA to bring about new events year after year and support the exiting ones too become world class tournaments, Rolex further strengthened this partnership by signing an agreement with the LPGA for its Houston Tournament. At the Houston leg of the LPGA Tour Championships Rolex is taking on the role of the presenting sponsor. To be held at the Houstonian Golf & Country Club from the 17^th till the 22^nd of November, the Houston Tour Championships will see a total of 120 top professional women golfers playing it out on the field. The prize money for the top player stands at an astounding 1.5 Million US dollars. All the players are bound to put forward their superlative talent and experience to clinch the top spot at the Rolex sponsored event.

The Houston edition of the LPGA tour championships will bear witness to great number of spectacular women golf professionals who will put every effort to claim the top prize and win the title of the best player. With sponsors like Rolex that have been supporting LPGA for almost three decades now, world class women golfing tournaments have become popular amongst women as well as spectators around the world. The primary purpose is to develop the talent of women in golf and provide added opportunity to further excel in this sport. By associating with the LPGA, Rolex is able to draw more players as well as create more awareness about women golfing tournaments.

Such endeavors always have a dual purpose of providing inspiration as well as opportunity to pursue excellence. With only a month and a half to go for the world class LPGA tournament the participating players have already begun strenuous practicing sessions in order to be prepared for the best that come to compete at this LPGA and Rolex event.

Every single swish of a drive on the greens resonates with the sound of the tremendous contribution of Rolex in augmenting the sport of golf throughout the world. Constantly endeavoring to bring about a revolution in all the varied spheres of life, Rolex was one of the first companies to lend an immense amount of support to the women’s golf tournaments. Partnering with illustrious golfing bodies to bring about the Solheim Cup as well as the Evian Masters, Rolex tires to create newer avenues for showcasing exceptional talent. Collaborating with professional golfing bodies for women like the Ladies Professional Golf Association headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, Rolex aids them in creating a series of spectacular golfing tournaments.

The Ladies Professional Golf Association will be bringing a total of 29 golf tournaments to the plate this year and will be awarding a total of 50 million dollars in prize money this year. Even though most of the tournaments of the Ladies Professional Golf Association are held in the United States some are slated to be held abroad. Three of the tournaments are set to be held at Mexico while Singapore, Canada, France, England, China, South Korea, Thailand and Japan will play host to one championship challenge each.

The world renowned watch manufacturing brand, Rolex plays a pivotal role in improving the scope and range of the Ladies Professional Golf Association and assists the organizing body by creating a number of world class tournaments. The final series of the Ladies Professional Golf Association is drawing to a close and will culminate into the RICOH Women’s British Open. To be held in Lancashire, England at the Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf Club the RICOH Women’s British Open LPGA Tour will feature Jiyai Shin an LPGA rookie who will be defending her important championship title.

After 1987 since Laura Davies won the title as a non-member, this is the first year that a rookie player will be defending her championship. Winner of the Mizuno Classic as well as the ADT Championship in 2008, the rookie player Jiyai Shin has a number of world class performances to her name. But with the increasing level of performances over the years the rookie player, Jiyai Shin is sure to be facing a tough competition at the golf challenge. With almost every golfer vying to lay claim to the top spot, the golfing tournament is bound to be a riveting challenge between these skilled golfers.

Jiyai Shin will be facing off against other formidable golfers who hold the top ten positions in the Rolex golf rankings. This 72 hole, 6492 yard playing field will bring together some of the most talented women golfers all of whom will be competing to win the 335,000 dollars top prize. As the play ends both the teams representing the United States and Europe for the Solheim Cup are announced at the RICOH Women’s British Open. Marking the first ever joint announcement ever issued in the history of Solheim Cup the American Captain Beth Daniel along with the European Captain Alison Nicholas in tandem with their assistant captains delivered the announcement about the members competing in the Solheim Cup Tournament.

Rolex stands behind the LGPA in a bid to bring forward a new era of women’s golf and recognition of exemplary talent.