The 2010 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world that began in Thailand on February 13, 2010 and ended in Florida on December 5, 2010. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States-based Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).
The tour included 24 tournaments, including events in Malaysia, southernCalifornia, and two in New Jersey that were new to the schedule in 2010. Of the 24 tournaments on the schedule, 14 were hosted in the United States. The 2010 season was the tour's smallest schedule in nearly 40 years.
Na Yeon Choi, a third-year player from Korea, topped the official money list with earnings of $1,871,166. She had two wins and 15 top-10 finishes in 23 starts and won the Vare Trophy, given to the player with the lowest scoring average. Yani Tseng from Taiwan captured Player of the Year honors; she won three tournaments in 2010 including two of the four major championships. Spaniard Azahara Muñoz won the Rookie of the Year Award.
The 2010 season was the 60th anniversary of the LPGA Tour. As with most years, changes were made to the schedule from the previous year, which included:
The season included 24 official money events, compared with 34 just two years earlier, as the LPGA struggled to cope with the economic downturn. There were three unofficial money events, with 17 off-weeks between the first and last events in 2010.[2]
Tournaments in bold are majors. 1 Hee Kyung Seo was not a member of the LPGA at the time of her win in the Kia Classic. 2 Exhibition tournament, unofficial earnings.
The three competitive awards given out by the LPGA each year are:
The Rolex Player of the Year is awarded based on a formula in which points are awarded for top-10 finishes and are doubled at the LPGA's four major championships.
The Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award is awarded to the first-year player on the LPGA Tour who scores the highest in a points competition in which points are awarded at all full-field domestic events and doubled at the LPGA's four major championships. The award is named after Louise Suggs, one of the founders of the LPGA.