Orlando lands season-ending LPGA Championship

ORLANDO, Fla. -- After a two-year absence, the LPGA is returning to Florida, and in a significant way.

The season-ending LPGA Championship, staged last year in Houston, will be played at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando on Dec. 2-5.

The 120-player event, run by sports agency IMG, last season decided the Player of the Year on the very last hole. It was set for a lengthy run in Houston, where former title sponsor Stanford Financial is based, but that was before the company was padlocked and accused of financial improprieties by federal agencies.

The field will be pared to the low 70 and ties after 36 holes, then trimmed to the low 30 and ties after 54 holes.

As recently as 2008, the state of Florida, which is home to the LPGA and dozens of tour players, had three tournaments, but each has either folded or moved.

Grand Cypress also hosted the Chrysler-Plymouth Tournament of Champions from 1994-96 and the HealthSouth Inaugural for two years beginning in 1998. The resort last hosted a tournament as the season opener in January 2001, a one-off event called the YourLife Vitamins LPGA Classic, which was won by Hall of Famer and longtime Orlando resident Se Ri Pak.

The news of the move was first reported by Golfweek.

The LPGA has not formally announced the tournament's relocation, though an announcement is being planned for the next week to 10 days.