2006 LPGA Tour
The 2006 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world, which took place from February through December 2006. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States-based Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). In 2006, prize money on the LPGA Tour exceeded US$50 million for the first time in the history of the LPGA Tour.
| Duration | January 20, 2006 – December 24, 2006 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 33 |
| Most wins | 6 Lorena Ochoa |
| Money leader | Lorena Ochoa |
| Rolex Player of the Year | Lorena Ochoa |
| Rookie of the Year | Seon Hwa Lee |
← 2005 2007 → | |
Lorena Ochoa became the first Mexican to top the money list on the LPGA Tour, or any major international golf tour, while Annika Sörenstam held her position as the top ranked player through the whole season. Multi-time major champions Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak had comeback seasons after fallow periods, each claiming a major championship.
2006 saw a growth in the international presence on the Tour. Of the 33 events, only seven were won by Americans, with Cristie Kerr the only American to win more than once (three times). By contrast, Mexican Lorena Ochoa won six events, Australian Karrie Webb five, Swede Annika Sörenstam three, and nine different South Koreans combined to win 11 events. The season-ending LPGA Playoffs at The ADT was won by Paraguayan Julieta Granada. The other seven finalists in that event featured only two Americans (Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis); the others were Ochoa, Webb, Koreans Il Mi Chung and Mi Hyun Kim, and Japanese Ai Miyazato.
For details of what happened in the main tournaments of the year see 2006 in golf.