CLIFTON, N.J. (AP) — Two-time defending champion Lorena Ochoa could be shooting for a bigger winner's check at the Sybase Classic next year after the tournament increased its purse to $2 million Monday.
Tournament officials said that sponsors raised the purse by $600,000.
Only 10 events on the LPGA Tour last year had purses of at least $2 million.
"We're trying to increase the scope of this event," tournament director Michael Ryan said in a telephone interview.
Ochoa earned $210,000 for winning this year's event at the Upper Montclair Country Club. A win next year would be worth $300,000 for the No. 1 player in women's golf.
Ryan also announced Monday that tournament organizers had reached an agreement with officials at Upper Montclair to stage the tournament there through at least 2009.
"The Sybase Classic presented by ShopRite has been a mainstay on Tour for nearly two decades," LPGA commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens said. "It teams two longtime LPGA sponsors, whose hospitality and generosity have generated continuous player support."
The tournament was moved from Wykagyl Country Club in the suburbs of New York City to Upper Montclair in northern New Jersey last year because of problems finishing renovations at Wykagyl.
Wykagyl, which had been the site of the Sybase Classic since 1990, is now the site of the Women's World Match Play Championship.
Ochoa had no problem handling Upper Montclair's traditional tree-lined course last year. She had 24 birdies, an eagle, six bogeys and one double-bogey in posting an 18-under 270 total.
