LPGA Tour 2010 Schedule Update (II)

The LPGA Tour's 2010's schedule of 23 events is down from 2009's 27 events, and 2008's 34 events.
Unveiled Tuesday night, here is the 2010 LPGA Tour Schedule (via: ESPN):

Feb. 18-21 -- Honda LPGA Championship (Thailand)
Feb. 25-28 -- HSBC Women's Champions (Singapore)
March 25-28 -- J Golf Classic (La Costa, Calif.)
April 1-4 -- Kraft Nabisco Championship
April 29-May 3 -- Corona Championship (Mexico)
May 10-16 -- Bell Micro LPGA Classic (Alabama)
June 10-13 -- State Farrm Classic (Illinois)
June 17-20 -- ShopRite Classic (Atlantic City)
June 24-27 -- Wegman's LPGA Championship
July 1-4 -- Jamie Farr Owens Corning (Toledo)
July 8-11 -- U.S. Women's Open (Oakmont)
July 22-25 -- Evian Masters (France)
July 29-Aug. 1 -- Ricoh Women's British Open (Royal Birkdale)
Aug. 20-22 -- Safeway Classic (Pumpkin Ridge, Ore)
Aug. 26-29 -- CN Canadian Women's Open
Sept. 10-12 -- P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship
Sept. 30-Oct. 3 -- Acapulco LPGA Classic (Mexico)
Oct. 7-10 -- Navistar LPGA Classic (Alabama)
Oct. 14-17 -- CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge (California)
Oct. 28-31 -- China
Nov. 4-7 -- Japan
Nov. 11-14 -- Lorena Ochoa Invitational (Mexico)
Nov. 18-21 -- LPGA Tour Championship

My questions are:

- As I suggested (not to pat myself on the back, although I will), is the Oct. 28-31 event scheduled in China going to be the Ladies Asian Golf Tour's Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open, scheduled for the same date in China?
- Why would the LPGA want to schedule an event in Thailand the week before the Thailand Ladies Open?
- Is the Nov. 4-7 event going to be the LPGA of Japan's Mizuno Classic -- which was scheduled for the same weekend in 2009?

 As Jason Sobel (ESPN.com) pointed out on his twitter feed:

@JasonSobel More on LPGA sked: Those 24 events take place over 40 weeks. Good news? Time to overcome jetlag. Bad news? Momentum is a thing of the past.

While a schedule spread out over so many weeks will definitely affect the practice and preparation schedules for many on the LPGA Tour, it may prove to be more lucrative in the long run. Frequently, professional golfers (PGA & LPGA) will make appearances at corporate outings throughout the country -- put on a clinic, maybe play with a group, give a speech afterwards. The open schedule definitely allows for more of this, which I happen to be an adamanet supporter of. To be honest, LPGA Tour players are more friendly than the PGA Tour guys. They are, quite simply, better at corporate outing gig than their male contemporaries. I hope that the women jump at this opportunity.

In terms of golf performance, the spread out schedule will be difficult for some. Some professionals prefer to play nearly every week (Dana Quiqley comes to mind) as a means to keep their game sharp, while others (like Tiger/Nicklaus) prefer to take time off between events to practice and prepare. Fortunately, these are the best women in the world and they will adapt.

Beth Ann Baldry (Golfweek) wrote an excellent piece on the 2010 Schedule.