LPGA Playoffs 2008 begins this week

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – LPGA Playoffs 2008 gets underway this week with the prospect of a $1 million payout looming large for the third consecutive year. Last season, Lorena Ochoa used the $1 million ADT Championship paycheck—only the second in women's professional golf history—to set an LPGA record with more than $4 million in season earnings. But as the old adage goes, records are meant to be broken and beginning this week, players are eager to start earning points toward a spot in the ADT Championship, held November 20-23, 2008, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.

LPGA Playoffs 2008 is a yearlong competition that splits the season into two halves and features 13 Winner Events, defined as official LPGA Tour events with a purse of at least $2 million. The first half of the season starts this week at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay and concludes in June with the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola. A total of 15 players will qualify in the first half—eight via Winner Events and seven via ADT Points. The second half of the season begins at the Wegmans LPGA and will feature five players qualifying via Winner Events and 10 through the ADT Points designation. Following the end of the second half of the season at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Banamex and Corona, two wildcards will be selected to complete the 32-player ADT Championship field.

The ADT Championship will feature three days of “playoffs,” with a final-round shootout. During the weekend, the scorecards will be wiped clean for both the third and final rounds. After 36 holes, the first cut will be made to the low-16 players, with a sudden-death playoff used in case of a tie. The third round will be played in eight groups of two, with all players starting with a fresh scorecard. After 54 holes, another cut will be made to the low eight players, again using a sudden-death playoff to break any ties for eighth place. For the second consecutive year, 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.

The final round will be played in four groups of two, with all players starting with yet another fresh scorecard. The player who records the lowest score in the final round will win the ADT Championship and $1 million.