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Women's PGA Championship

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Women's PGA Championship

The Women's PGA Championship (branded as the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the Ladies European Tour, which does not recognize any of the three majors played in the United States.

Formerly known as the LPGA Championship, the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) announced in 2014 that the PGA of America would become a partner of the event, and that it would be renamed the Women's PGA Championship beginning in 2015—becoming a sister event to the men's PGA Championship (in a similar manner to the U.S. Women's Open being a sister event to the men's U.S. Open). The partnership included a new title sponsorship agreement with KPMG, an increase in purse, and a commitment by NBC to provide network television coverage of the weekend rounds.

The PGA of America partnership also allowed the tournament to be held at various top courses around the United States. Previously, the LPGA Championship had been usually held at a consistent location each year, most recently near Rochester, New York as part of a title sponsorship agreement with Western New York–based supermarket chain Wegmans.

Prior to 2005, the LPGA Championship had a "professionals only" rule. This is similar to the men's PGA Championship, but contrasts with the U.S. and British Opens, which have long had both amateur and professional entrants through qualifying (henceforth the term "open"). Until its takeover by the PGA of America in 2015, the tournament was the LPGA's own event, and the LPGA was created specifically to provide opportunities for women in professional golf.

In 2005 this rule was revoked, effectively to allow 15-year-old amateur Michelle Wie to compete, in order to attract more media coverage and sell more tickets, though this was not publicly acknowledged by the LPGA. Some professionals objected to this move, as they felt that places given to amateurs would come at the expense of the LPGA Tour's less successful professionals, who need to play regularly to make a living. One of the leading professionals, Laura Davies, stated objections to the change were shortsighted.

At the time, Wie had made the cut in all five majors that she had played, with two top-ten finishes, and had also played twice in the Sony Open in Hawaii on the PGA Tour, but missed both cuts. Despite the controversy, she outscored all but one of the pros in the 2005 LPGA Championship and was the runner-up, three strokes behind three-time champion Annika Sörenstam.

In 2006, the LPGA Championship reverted to its "professionals only" status, with only pros in the field.[citation needed] Wie had turned professional the previous October, upon signing multimillion-dollar endorsement contracts with Nike, Sony, and other sponsors.

Tournament names through the years:

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