Prior to
2005, the LPGA Championship had a "professionals only" rule. This is similar to the men's PGA Championship, but contrasts with the
U.S. and
British Opens, which have long had both amateur and professional entrants through qualifying (henceforth the term "open"). Until its takeover by the PGA of America in 2015, the tournament was the LPGA's own event, and the LPGA was created specifically to provide opportunities for women in professional golf. In 2005 this rule was revoked, effectively to allow 15-year-old amateur
Michelle Wie to compete, in order to attract more media coverage and sell more tickets, though this was not publicly acknowledged by the LPGA. Some professionals objected to this move, as they felt that places given to amateurs would come at the expense of the LPGA Tour's less successful professionals, who need to play regularly to make a living. One of the leading professionals,
Laura Davies, stated objections to the change were shortsighted. At the time, Wie had made the cut in all five majors that she had played, with two top-ten finishes, and had also played twice in the
Sony Open in Hawaii on the
PGA Tour, but missed both cuts. Despite the controversy, she outscored all but one of the pros in the 2005 LPGA Championship and was the runner-up, three strokes behind three-time champion
Annika Sörenstam. In
2006, the LPGA Championship reverted to its "professionals only" status, with only pros in the field. Wie had turned professional the previous October, upon signing multimillion-dollar endorsement contracts with
Nike,
Sony, and other sponsors. ==Tournament names==