NAPLES, Fla. -- Purses on the LPGA Tour will rise by $4 million in 2016, and officials are aiming for a second event in China.
The tour released next year's schedule on Friday, with 18 of the 33 official events held in the United States. Purse money will rise from $59.1 million to $63.1 million, a tournament has been added in Michigan and the LPGA will take a three-week break to accommodate the return of golf to the Olympics in August.
2016 LPGA tour schedule
Jan. 25-31 -- Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, Paradise Island, Bahamas
Feb. 1-6 -- Coates Golf Championship presented by R+L Carriers, Ocala, Fla.
Feb. 15-21 -- ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open, Adelaide, South Australia
Feb. 22-28 -- Honda LPGA Thailand, Chomburi
Feb. 29-March 6 -- HSBC Women's Champions, Singapore
March 14-20 -- JTBC Founders Cup, Phoenix
March 21-27 -- Kia Classic, Carlsbad, Calif.
March 28-April 3 -- ANA Inspiration, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
April 10-16 -- Lotte Championship presented by Hershey, Oahu, Hawaii
April 18-24 -- Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic presented by CTBC, San Francisco, Calif.
April 25-May 1 -- Volunteers of America Texas Shootout, Irving, Texas
May 2-8 -- Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic, Prattville, Ala.
May 16-22 -- Kingsmill Championship presented by JTBC, Williamsburg, Va.
May 23-29 -- LPGA Volvik Championship, Ann Arbor, Mich.
May 30-June 5 -- ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer, Galloway, N.J.
June 6-12 -- KPMG Women's PGA Championship, Sammamish, Wash.
June 13-19 -- Meijer Classic presented by Kraft, Belmont, Mich.
June 20-26 -- Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, Rogers, Ark.
June 27-July 3 -- Cambia Portland Classic, Portland, Ore.
July 4-10 -- U.S. Women's Open, CordeValle, Calif.
July 11-17 -- Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I, Sylvania, Ohio
July 18-24 -- International Crown, Chicago
July 25-31 -- RICOH Women's British Open, Milton Keynes, England
Aug. 15-21 -- Olympics Women, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Aug. 22-28 -- Canadian Pacific Women's Open, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Aug. 29-Sept. 4 -- Manulife LPGA Classic Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Sept. 12-18 -- The Evian Championship, Evian Les Bains, France
Sept. 26-Oct. 2 -- TBD, China
Oct. 3-9 -- Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
Oct. 10-16 -- LPGA KEB-Hana Bank Championship, Incheon, South Korea
Oct. 17-23 -- Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship, Taipei
Oct. 24-30 -- Blue Bay LPGA, Hainan Island, China
Oct. 31-Nov. 6 -- TOTO Japan Classic, TBD
Nov. 7-13 -- Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Mexico City
"Stability with growth," LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan said. "We've had some dramatic things we needed to address in the last six years ... and the numbers, I think, kind of speak for themselves."
In 2011, the LPGA had 23 official events and $40.5 million in purse money with 220 hours of television coverage. The TV hours will increase again to about 410 next year. The LPGA also announced Friday a partnership with the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin for a tournament that will start in 2017 and offer a $2 million purse.
"It's an exciting time," Whan said.
The 2016 schedule starts with five tournaments in five countries, matching the layout of the past two years. The season begins in the Bahamas in late January, and the first event in the U.S. is the Coates Golf Championship at Ocala, Fla. It ends Feb. 6 and won't conflict with Super Bowl the next day in Santa Clara, Calif.
The five majors are the ANA Inspiration ending April 3, the Women's PGA Championship ending June 12, the U.S. Women's Open ending July 10, the Women's British Open ending July 31 and The Evian Championship ending Sept. 18. The Olympic field will be set the day after the Women's Open.
"The Olympics is making 2016 a little more crowded than a typical LPGA schedule in the middle of the summer," Whan said. "But it's a great problem to have when you have to get condensed because you're about to play in the Olympics for the first time in 100 years."
China was expected to host two events in 2015, though one was canceled about two weeks before the start. The LPGA plans to return for an event that ends Oct. 2. Whan said he's confident the second tournament -- which is still listed as TBD on the schedule -- will come together as planned.
Other nations on the schedule: Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Canada, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico.
Next season ends again at the CME Group Tour Championship on Nov. 20 in Naples.
Sports on 11/21/2015