New LPGA event announced for Bahamas

• By Randall Mell
• Jan 7, 2013 8:28 AM ET

The LPGA is adding a new tournament in the Bahamas this season.

The tour announced Monday that the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic is scheduled to be played May 23-26 at the Ocean Club Golf Course at Atlantis on Paradise Island. It will be a full-field, 72-hole event with a $1.3 million purse.

Pure Silk is a moisturizing shave cream for women and has endorsement deals with LPGA pros that include Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Natalie Gulbis and Brittany Lang.

The LPGA is expected to announce other new events later this week in advance of the release of its full 2013 schedule.

A new China event in Beijing will be among the new events, expanding the fall Asian swing to five events.

The LPGA featured 34 official events in 2008, but through tough economic times and after a business backlash to policies of former LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens, the tour’s schedule shrunk to just 23 official events in 2011.

Current commissioner Mike Whan righted what felt like a foundering ship last year with the announcement of four new tournaments, five new cash-checking opportunities with the RR Donnelley FoundersCup adding a purse. The tour featured 27 official events in 2012 and is poised to build on that this year. The Navistar Classic appears to be the only event the LPGA could lose from last season’s schedule, with Navistar announcing in November that it would not return as title sponsor of the event in Prattville, Ala. Whan, however, said late last year that he believed that event will still end up on the 2013 schedule.