The year’s first major isn’t the Masters—it’s the LPGA’s Kraft Nabisco. This year’s defending Champion is Morgan Pressel, who was the youngest in LPGA History to win a major title at the age of 18 years 10 months and 9 days.

The purse for the tournament is $2 million. The winner will take home $300,000.

The Kraft Nabisco has a long and interesting history, extending back to 1972 and its days as a as a 54 hole event, known as the Colgate Dinah Shore Tournament.

For a little background on the history of the tournament, and Dinah Shore, read this post from last year.

Golf reporter and blogger Robert Thompson had a chance to ask superstar golf instructor David Leadbetter a few questions and made the most of the opportunity:

I asked Leadbetter, who has been pretty outspoken on the mistakes in the Wie camp, why he hadn’t been tossed aside like all the other advisers/agents/managers who have tangled with the teen’s parents. He took the question quite seriously, and though he didn’t address it directly, Leadbetter had some interesting things to say:

“This girl is so talented, she could do anything she wants to do in the world of golf. But people in her camp — and I’m not going to name them — have been a bit off on what she can and can’t do. It is tough that she’s a part-time golfer, unlike the other girls who work at it 24/7. In the past she’d go to school, pick it up and just play. Now there’s a lot more pressure on her. These girls — Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer, Annika — these girls are good. And it is hard for Michelle to be a bit player.

Read the rest of the article. Leadbetter’s comments are quite blunt and ... interesting.

I honestly don’t think she’ll ever really contend again. Her parents have ruined what promised to be an extraordinary golf talent.

Two years ago, The Ginns Open made news by granting a dying woman’s final wish: to see her daughter play on the LPGA Tour.

Hearing the story, Bobby Ginn extended an invitation to Dakoda Dowd, in spite of her being just thirteen years old. She didn’t disappoint; in the face of overwhelming pressure from television and the knowledge that she was playing for her dying mother, Dakoda shot a 74 and 82, just missing the cut. She and her mother were given a replica of the trophy as a keepsake of the event.

Kelly Jo Dowd died a year later at the age of 42.

Now, the people at Ginns have renamed the real trophy the Kelly Jo Dowd championship trophy. It’s a pretty moving tribute that is designed to bring attention to the need for self-examination, and to raise money for the breast cancer cause.

More here.

A trial run of the LPGA’s new drug testing procedures didn’t exactly go smoothly, with the procedure taking entirely too long.

The main complaint from players tested at the Fields Open was the amount of time testing took out of a competition day. Testing was done on the day of the first round, and those players who had morning tee times found there was not enough daylight left after testing to get in any practice.

“Some players took longer than others,” Pilgrim said. “As soon as everyone gets up to speed on how the process works it will be more efficient,” she said, stressing that as players get to understand the testing process better they will be able to assist in making it quicker.

That’s to be expected. Its not often that things go well on a first try. The real question is whether the PGA Tour is paying attention so that it can avoid some of the same issues.

Larry Bohannan of the Deseret Sun has a good article on the beginning of drug testing on the LPGA. What I find most interesting about the drug testing programs in all the sports is that the slightest misstep in diet could create a problem. There are thousands of products out there that either contain products that are on the banned list or that may trigger a false positive.

While the PGA Tour works to educate its players about drug testing before the advent of the new program in July, the LPGA Tour is already in full swing in its testing era as its year starts this week at the SBS Open in Hawaii.

And that means Paula Creamer is having to watch what she eats.

“You’re very aware of what you eat now, protein shakes and things like that,” said Creamer, who is the defending champion of the LPGA’s season-opening tournament at Turtle Bay. “It kind of puts a new set of eyes on what you eat and what you can’t, but I think it’s good for the game of golf.”