ADT will be Annika's final tournament

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - With Annika Sorenstam’s announcement of her impending retirement from competitive golf, the season-ending 2008 ADT Championship, Nov. 20-23, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., will be her last official LPGA Tour stop before she puts down her clubs.

“We are saddened by the prospect of Annika’s retirement from the game of golf, but honored that the ADT Championship will be her last LPGA Tour stop,” said Duffy House, tournament director for the ADT Championship. “It seems fitting that this LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame member will finish her LPGA season and career on a course where she has found so much success.” 

Sorenstam has already qualified to play in the ADT Championship with her victory at the inaugural Stanford International Pro-Am in Aventura, Fla. Sorenstam and Rolex Rankings’ number one Lorena Ochoa are the only two players so far this season to secure their spots in the season-ending ADT Championship. Ochoa secured a spot by winning the HSBC Women’s Champions earlier in March.

Though Sorenstam has not won the ADT Championship since it became the finale to the LPGA Playoffs in 2006, she did win the ADT Championship three times since it moved to Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in 2001 and back-to-back victories in 2004 and ’05.

The 2008 ADT Championship features a $1,550,000 purse with the winner taking home a $1 million paycheck, the largest first-place prize in the history of women’s golf. The ADT Championship will also feature three days of playoffs with a cut after 36 holes. Players start with a fresh scorecard for the third round, which ends with another cut to the top eight players. A live draw will take place with the final eight players immediately following the third round, where players will draft their own tee time based on their third-round finish. A final-day shoot-out with the remaining players will have them, again, starting with a fresh scorecard for their chance at the $1 million winner’s check.

Tickets and packages to the ADT Championship are available online at www.adtchampionship.com or by calling 888-LPGA-TIX (574-2849). All children 15 years old and under will receive free grounds admission when accompanied by a ticketed adult.

For the second year in a row, the ADT Championship will be offering collectible tickets with innovative graphics from I6 Technologies Inc. For an additional $5, patrons will have the opportunity to choose from a list of top LPGA player photos to be included on the back. This unique ticket will allow access to exclusive viewing and autograph areas. The addition of the player trading card on the back of the ticket is sure to make these ADT Championship tickets a unique souvenir to save for many years. As added bonus to these specialized tickets, a random number of these tickets will be autographed.

“With the ADT Championship being the last stop for Annika on the LPGA Tour, we believe giving the fans the option to personalize their tickets with Annika’s image will make their experience even more memorable,” said House. “With these personalized tickets, each fan will be taking home a souvenir with significant historical value.”