The Airbus LPGA Classic was a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour, played in Mobile, Alabama from 2008 to 2014.
The event debuted in September 2008 at the Magnolia Grove location on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, with total prize money of $1.4 million. Angela Stanford won the inaugural edition by one stroke over Shanshan Feng, which was televised on Golf Channel in the U.S., as well as internationally.
The tournament was not played in 2009, but was revived in 2010 and moved to mid-May. Heavy rains and lightning delayed and ultimately canceled the final round, resulting in a sudden-death playoff between the three 54-hole leaders: Se Ri Pak, Brittany Lincicome, and Suzann Pettersen. Pak birdied the third playoff hole in the drizzle to win. In 2011, Maria Hjorth shot consecutive rounds of 67 (−5) on the weekend to finish at 278 (−10) and win by two strokes. The tournament was dropped for the 2015 season.
In 2008 and 2010, Bell Microproducts was the title sponsor; Avnet purchased Bell Micro in 2010 and was the title sponsor in 2011. Without a title sponsor in 2012, the tournament purse dropped slightly, from $1.30 million to $1.25 million. In January 2014, the LPGA introduced Airbus, the European multinational aerospace and defense corporation, as the event's new title sponsor. The company's new final assembly facility for its A320 aircraft is under construction in Mobile, scheduled to come online in 2015.
Mobile previously hosted The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions on the Magnolia Grove courses from 1999 to 2007.
Tournament names 2008–10: Bell Micro LPGA Classic 2011: Avnet LPGA Classic 2012–13: Mobile Bay LPGA Classic 2014: Airbus LPGA Classic Presented by JTBC
2013 course layout Crossings Course Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal Yards3951803875283924883851593703,2843803983765221493904661654023,2486,532 Par434545434364445345343672
Winners YearDatesChampionCountryWinning scoreTo parMarginof victoryPurse ($)Winner'sshare ($)2014 May 22–25 Jessica Korda 67-67-69-65=268 −20 1 stroke 1,300,000 195,0002013 May 16–19 Jennifer Johnson 67-70-65-65=267 −21 1 stroke 1,200,000 180,0002012 Apr 26–29 Stacy Lewis 68-67-67-68=271 −17 1 stroke 1,250,000 187,5002011 Apr 28 – May 1 Maria Hjorth 70-74-67-67=278 −10 2 strokes 1,300,000 195,0002010 May 13–16 Se Ri Pak 69-66-68=203 −13 Playoff 1 1,300,000 195,0002009No tournament2008 Sep 11–14 Angela Stanford 70-67-67-73=277 −11 1 stroke 1,400,000 210,000 1 Final round was canceled because of rain and weather delays. Third round co-leaders Pak, Brittany Lincicome, and Suzann Pettersen played a sudden-death playoff to determine the winner; Pak won on the third playoff hole.
Tournament records YearPlayerScoreRound2013 Anna Nordqvist 61 (−11) 3rd
References
External links
Coverage on the LPGA Tour's official website Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail - Magnolia Grove