John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic Winners (LPGA Tournament)

The John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic (also called the SemGroup Championship) was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour played in the first decade of the 2000s, one that boasted a sterling roster of champions.

First played: 2001

Last played: 2008

The tournament was always played in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was a three round (54 holes) tournament its first seven years, and a 72-hole event its final year. The tournament was discontinued when its final title sponsor, SemGroup, filed for bankruptcy.

Annika Sorenstam won the tournament three times, and also shares the scoring record with a winning total of 199 in 2002. Cristie Kerr matched that record in 2006. Kerr also set the 18-hole record that year, firing a 10-under 61.

When Sorenstam won the 2004 event, she became the first golfer to cross the $15 million mark in career LPGA earnings. And when she won two years later, Annika became the first to cross $20 million in career earnings. ... The final two years it was played, the tournament ended in playoffs — and Juli Inkster was the loser in both those playoffs.

Also known as: The tournament was called the Williams Championship the first two years it was played, and the SemGroup Championship the final two years it was played. The John Q. Hammons Hotel company was the title sponsor the longest, from 2003-06.

Winners of the LPGA John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic Tournament

2001 — Gloria Park, 201
2002 — Annika Sorenstam, 199
2003 — Karrie Webb, 200
2004 — Annika Sorenstam, 204
2005 — Annika Sorenstam, 208
2006 — Cristie Kerr, 199
2007 — Mi Hyun Kim, 210
2008 — Paula Creamer, 282

Golf courses: Tulsa Country Club was where the tournament started. In its fourth year, the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic moved to Cedar Ridge Country Club, also in Tulsa, Okla.

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