Two weeks after losing
a tournament at its headquarters, the LPGA Tour on Wednesday released the
first quarter of its schedule for 2000 that drops another Florida event
but also adds a new tournament in Hawaii.
The HealthSouth Inaugural,
which has kicked off the LPGA season the past two years in Orlando, will
not be played next year because the tour and HealthSouth agreed not to
renew its contract.
``We are exploring
the possibility of and are optimistic about putting an event in Orlando
in 2001,'' commissioner Ty Votaw said.
The LPGA previously
lost the Titleholders Championship, played at its LPGA International course
in Daytona Beach, because Mercury declined to renew its sponsorship.
Also Wednesday, Safeco
Corp. said it would discontinue sponsorship of its tournament in Washington
state, the longest continuously sponsored event on the LPGA Tour.
The LPGA Tour will
make two trips to Hawaii. The Hawaiian Ladies Open will be played Feb.
24-27, the week before the Australian Ladies Masters. The new tournament
is the Takefuji Classic in Hawaii, which will be the week after Australia.
Only tournaments
through the Nabisco Championships -- previously known as the Dinah Shore
-- have been released. Votaw said the rest will be finalized shortly, but
he wanted players and fans to starting planning for the 2000 season.
The major championship
dates also have been set.
The LPGA Championship
in Delaware will be played June 22-25, while the U.S. Women's Open at the
Merit Club outside Chicago will be played July 20-23, the same week as
the men's British Open.
The du Maurier Classic,
in what could be its last tournament with major status, is scheduled for
Aug. 10-13 at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club in Canada.
