LPGA.com begins its countdown to the end of 2011 with the LPGA Tour’s 11 top stories of the year. Join us as we look back at the year’s most memorable milestones. We begin here with Story No. 11.

Sandra Gal Earns First LPGA Victory At The Kia Classic

Sandra Gal edged out Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jiyai Shin on the 72nd hole to earn her first LPGA victory at the Kia Classic. The March tournament was held at Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms in the City of Industry, Calif. Gal earned $255,000 for the win.

Gal hit a wedge from 83 yards to two feet for birdie on the 18th hole to defeat Shin by one stroke and become the season’s first Rolex First-Time winner. With her win, Gal, then-ranked No. 100 in the Rolex Rankings, also became the second player from Germany to record an LPGA victory. [The first was Tina Fischer in 2001.] Her best career finish prior to the win at the Kia Classic had been a tie for fifth at the LPGA Corning Classic in 2009.

A native of Dusseldorf, Germany, Gal started playing golf at the age of 6 and her father was her first golf coach. She had an accomplished amateur career, representing Germany at the European Team Championships from 2003-07 and winning the German National Girls Championship in 2003.

Gal attended the University of Florida where she was a 2007 first team All-American and won four tournaments. In 2007, she won the Czech Invitational Championship and was the top-ranked amateur in both the European and German ranks. Gal turned professional in 2008.

Full Article: LPGA.com News & Entertainment

LPGA.com counts down to the end of 2011 with the LPGA Tour’s 11 top stories of the year. Join us as we look back at the year’s most memorable milestones. Read about Yani Tseng’s win in Taiwan in Story No. 10.

Tseng Wins, Captivates Fans At Home In Taiwan Tournament

Taiwan’s Yani Tseng knows how throw a party! Tseng captured her seventh LPGA Tour victory of the 2011 season at the inaugural Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship at Sunrise Golf & Country Club in Yang Mei, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

The top-ranked woman golfer in the Rolex Rankings carded a final-round six-under 66 to finish at 16-under par to win at home in front of record crowds. Tseng won by five strokes over Spain’s Azahara Munoz and Amy Yang of South Korea in the October event.

Going into the final round, Tseng held a two-stroke lead over Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, but the Taiwanese player recorded six birdies in her bogey-free round and held on for her crowd-pleasing 12th career LPGA title.

“It’s incredible,” said Tseng, who donated $100,000 to the Golf Association Republic of China after her win to fund junior golf in Taiwan. “I wish this year would never end … I’m really happy what I did this year, and [I will] keep learning, get some more experience and try to make more history.”

Full Article: LPGA.com News & Entertainment

LPGA.com counts down to the end of 2011 with the LPGA Tour’s 11 top stories of the year. Join us as we look back at the year’s most memorable milestones. Read the final installment featuring Yani Tseng’s most spectacular season as the No. 1 story of the year.

2011 Was “Yani’s Year” On LPGA Tour

Yani Tseng opened the LPGA Tour’s 2011 season with a win at the Honda LPGA Thailand tournament and finished the year as Rolex Rankings No. 1 woman in the world.

The player from Taiwan recorded a year of milestones, including seven wins on the LPGA Tour, 12 wins worldwide, nearly $3 million in season earnings, 14 top-10 finishes, 54 rounds under par (in 77 rounds) with 41 rounds in the 60s.

Tseng led the LPGA in birdies with 358, rounds under par (70 percent), rounds in the 60s (53 percent), top-10 finishes (63 percent), scoring average (69.66), and driving average (269.2 yards). She finished second in greens hit in regulation (GIR) at 74 percent and fifth in putts per GIR with an average of 1.77 putts.

The fourth-year LPGA Tour member also won two of four major championships this season with wins at the Wegmans LPGA Championship and the RICOH Women’s British Open. In addition, she finished as runner-up at the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

With her win at the Wegmans LPGA Championship, Tseng became the youngest LPGA player to win four majors at 22 years, 4 months and 18 days. When she won the Women’s British, she became the youngest player in the history of the game – male or female – to win five majors. She was 22 years, 6 months and 8 days for that victory.

Tseng also was named as Rolex Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and was the LPGA’s 2011 Vare Trophy Award winner for the tour’s lowest scoring average (69.66).

While she was heralded like a rock star when she returned home to Taiwan to win the LPGA’s Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship in October, and again with her win in early December at a Taiwanese invitational called the “Swinging Skirts,” Tseng has emerged in 2011 as the most powerful woman player in the world and as the hands-down player to beat in 2012.

Full Article: LPGA.com News & Entertainment

LPGA.com counts down to the end of 2011 with the LPGA Tour’s 11 top stories of the year. Join us as we look back at the year’s most memorable milestones. Read about teen Lexi Thompson’s record-setting LPGA win in Story No. 2.

Lexi Thompson Becomes Youngest Player To Win On LPGA

Florida teen Lexi Thompson became the youngest winner in the 61-year history of the LPGA Tour with her five-stroke victory at the Navistar LPGA Classic in September.

Thompson was 16 years, 7 months and 8 days old when she carded her final-round score of 2-under 70 to finish at 17-under 271 on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Senator course at Capitol Hill in Prattville, Ala. The teen pocketed a first-place check of $195,000, donating $20,000 of her prize to The Wounded Warrior project.

Thompson carried a five-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round and played steady for the majority the round. She stumbled only with two consecutive bogeys on holes No. 11 and 12, but the teen held her composure and made back-to-back birdies on holes No. 16 and 17. She just missed making a birdie on the final hole that would have given her four straight rounds in the 60s.

Prior to Thompson’s win, LPGA founding member Marlene Hagge had previously held the distinction as the LPGA’s youngest winner. Hagge was 18 years and 14 days old when she won the 1952 Sarasota Open, which was an 18-hole event. Hagge won two 18-hole events at age 18. The youngest winner of a multi-round event on the LPGA Tour had been Paula Creamer, who captured the 2005 Sybase Classic at 18 years, 9 months and 17 days.

In 2007, Thompson became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open at the age of 12. That same year, she also won the Westerfield Junior PGA Championship to become the youngest winner in Junior PGA Championship history.

Full Article: LPGA.com News & Entertainment

LPGA.com counts down to the end of 2011 with the LPGA Tour’s 11 top stories of the year. Join us as we look back at the year’s most memorable milestones. Read about Europe’s dramatic win at the 2011 Solheim Cup in Story No. 3.

Looking Back At Europe’s Captivating Win In 2011 Solheim Cup

Europe regained control of The Solheim Cup for the first time since 2003 with its nail-biting 15-13 victory over the U.S. team at Killeen Castle in Ireland. This year’s biennial event was highlighted by Europe’s strong finish in singles play.

The U.S. Team went into Sunday’s singles with a 69-42-13 advantage over Europe in the singles matches, dating back to the inaugural 1990 Solheim Cup. Eager to change America’s dominance in singles, the Europeans prevailed with a 7-5 singles record this year to win back The Solheim Cup.

It marked the first time the Europeans have won the Solheim Cup since 2003, at Barsebäck Golf and Country Club in Malmo, Sweden. Since the inaugural event in 1990, the U.S. Team has won eight times to Europe’s four victories.

Prior to the start of her singles match, U.S. team member Cristie Kerr was forced to concede her match to Europe’s Karen Stupples, due to a wrist injury. Focus quickly shifted to inclement weather that forced delays, followed by what some describe as the most electrifying final 30 minutes in the history of The Solheim Cup.

On the way to Europe’s historic win, Norway’s Suzann Pettersen recorded three consecutive birdies to close out Michelle Wie with a 1 up victory that swung the momentum to Team Europe.

European Solheim Cup rookie Caroline Hedwall of Sweden then battled back from two down on the 16th hole against fellow rookie Ryann O’Toole of the U.S. team to squeeze out a half point in her match. That set up Spain’s Azahara Munoz, who went to the 18th tee with a 1-up lead over the U.S. team’s Angela Stanford. Munoz clinched the 15th and final point in her match for Team Europe and the 2011 Solheim Cup win.

Full Article: LPGA.com News & Entertainment

LPGA.com counts down to the end of 2011 with the LPGA Tour’s 11 top stories of the year. Join us as we look back at the year’s most memorable milestones. Read about The Evian announced as the LPGA’s “fifth major” in Story No. 4.

LPGA Names “The Evian” As Major Championship in 2013

The LPGA announced in July that Evian and the LPGA had signed a long-term commitment to add a fifth major to the LPGA Tour schedule, beginning in September 2013. The tournament, to be renamed “The Evian,” will be played on a completely redesigned Evian Golf Club.

The Evian is set to be played during the second week of September 2013, and will be the final major of the season following the Kraft Nabisco Championship, Wegmans LPGA Championship, U.S. Women’s Open (conducted by the USGA) and the RICOH Women’s British Open.

Evian has agreed to a long-term commitment to host the event, which includes a complete redesign of Evian Golf Club by a team of architects led by U.S.-based designer Steve Smyers, who has more than 50 projects spanning the globe, and European Golf Design (EGD), which has built some of the best new courses in Europe. The redesign will be complete by spring 2013.

The current Evian Masters became a part of the LPGA Tour’s schedule in 2000, with a purse of $1.8 million. Its purse of $3.25 million was the highest on the 2011 LPGA Tour, matched only by the U.S. Women’s Open. The Evian Masters became a co-sanctioned event on the LPGA Tour in 2000, following six years as a major championship on the Ladies European Tour (LET).

The tournament’s list of past champions includes LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame members Annika Sorenstam, Juli Inkster and Karrie Webb; Laura Davies, Jiyai Shin and Ai Miyazato. The event has also traditionally awarded invitations to players from emerging golf markets, such as China, India, Russia and Slovakia.

Full Article: LPGA.com News & Entertainment

LPGA.com counts down to the end of 2011 with the LPGA Tour’s 11 top stories of the year. Join us as we look back at the year’s most memorable milestones. Read about top-ranked Yani Tseng’s dominance at the LPGA’s major championships in Story No. 5.

Yani’s Year In LPGA’s Major Championships

Yani Tseng was not only dominant throughout the season in tournaments around the world, but the Rolex Rankings No. 1 player was especially effective this season at the LPGA’s major championships.

Tseng won two of the four majors – first, at the Wegmans LPGA Championship in June, and again in late July at the RICOH Women’s British Open. She also finished as runner-up in April at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and tied for 15th at the U.S. Women’s Open Championship in early July.

With her win at the Wegmans LPGA Championship, Tseng became the youngest female golfer in history to win four major titles. Tseng was 22 years, 5 months and 3 days old, edging out Hall of Famer Patty Berg, who won her fourth major at the 1941 Western Open at age 23 years, 2 months and one day. The overall youngest golfer in history to record victories with four major titles was Young Tom Morris, who accomplished that feat in 1872 at age 21.

Tseng successfully defended her title at the Women’s British, setting another milestone en route to that win. With the victory, she became the youngest golfer in history to win five career major championships. Tiger Woods previously held that distinction, having won his fifth major at 24 years and 7 months.

Tseng’s majors include the 2010 and 2011 RICOH Women’s British Open, the 2008 and 2011 (Wegmans) LPGA Championship, and the 2010 Kraft Nabisco Championship. She will complete the career Grand Slam with a win at the U.S. Women’s Open Championship.

Full Article: LPGA.com News & Entertainment