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LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship

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Morgan Pressel - 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship

It's tradition for the winner of the Kraft Nabisco Championship to take a running leap into the pond beside the 18th green. In 2007, Morgan Pressel got to jump in the lake.

David Cannon / Getty Images

About the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship:

The Kraft Nabisco Championship has been designated one of the LPGA Tour's majors since 1983. The tournament has actually been played, however, since 1972 when it was born as the Colgate Dinah Shore. From 1982 through 1999, the name of this tournament was the Nabisco Dinah Shore, then until 2001 the Nabisco Championship.

The tournament was founded, natch, by entertainer Dinah Shore, a strong supporter of women's golf and the LPGA. Shore died in 1994, but there is a statue of her at the host course. It is tradition for the tournament winner to jump in the lake next to the 18th green.
Photos: Ladies of the Lake a'Leapin

2009 Tournament
Trailing by a stroke, Brittany Lincicome striped a hybrid from 210 yards on the 72nd hole, over water to the island green, and five feet from the cup. Then she made the eagle putt to edge Kristy McPherson and Cristie Kerr by one stroke. It was Lincicome's first major championship win and third career LPGA title.
Photos: Lincicome's win

Official Web site
LPGA tournament site

2008 Recap
Lorena Ochoa opened the final round with two birdies, then pulled away for a 5-stroke victory over runners-up Annika Sorenstam and Suzann Pettersen. Ochoa posted rounds of 68-71-71-67 for an 11-under 277 total.

Kraft Nabisco Championship Records:

Most wins: 3 - Amy Alcott (1983, 1988, 1991); Betsy King (1987, 1990, 1997); Annika Sorenstam (2001, 2002, 2005)
Low round: 62 - Lorena Ochoa, first round, 2006
Low 72-hole score: 269 - Dottie Pepper, 1999
Lowest score in relation to par: 19-under - Dottie Pepper, 1999
Largest margin of victory: 10 strokes - Karrie Webb, 2000

Kraft Nabisco Championship Golf Course:

This tournament is now and always has been played at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The Kraft Nabisco takes place on the club's Dinah Shore Tournament Course (the club's other two courses are the Arnold Palmer Course and Pete Dye Challenge course), which was designed by Desmond Muirhead and tips out at 7,221 yards. For the Kraft Nabisco, the course is set up as a 6,569-yard par-72.

Kraft Nabisco Championship Trivia and Notes:

The Kraft Nabisco is one of four majors on the LPGA Tour, but it hasn't always been that way. From its founding in 1972 through 1982, what was then called the Colgate Dinah Shore was a big event - but did not have major championship status. Winners from 1983 forward are credited with major championship wins.

Among those who won this event before it was elevated to major status were Jane Blalock and Judy Rankin, neither of whom ever won a major championship.

LPGA legends Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth and Nancy Lopez also won the Dinah Shore - before it was a major. Sandra Post won twice in those pre-major years.

The first three-time winner was Amy Alcott, whose third victory came in 1991. Betsy King joined Alcott as a 3-time champion in 1997, and Annika Sorenstam in 2005.

After Alcott's second victory, in 1988, she inaugurated what is now known as the "Champions Leap" when she spontaneously rushed off the 18th green and leaped into the greenside lake. That leap has since become a tradition at the tournament (see Why do KNC winners jump in the lake? and Ladies of the Lake photo gallery).

When Morgan Pressel won this tournament in 2007, she became the youngest-ever LPGA major championship winner. Pressel was about two months shy of her 19th birthday.

A couple of LPGA major championship scoring records were set here. The 62 Lorena Ochoa posted in the first round in 2006 is tied for lowest 18-hole score in a women's major; and Dottie Pepper's 19-under in 1999 is tied for the lowest score in relation to par in a women's major.