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Ginn Clubs & Resorts continued its impressive move into professional golf on Monday, announcing the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika Sorenstam will debut in 2007 on the LPGA Tour in Charleston, S.C.

The LPGA Tour's Ginn Open was played this year at Reunion Golf Club near Orlando in April. In May, Naples' Champions Tour event, The ACE Group Classic, was moved from The Club at TwinEagles to Quail West Golf & Country Club, a Ginn property. And last month, the Ginn Championship was announced on the Champions Tour near Palm Coast for 2007.

The format for the new LPGA Tour event is a familiar one to Southwest Florida residents.

The Ginn Tribute will honor a player during its tournament week. The LPGA's last stop in this area, the Subaru Memorial of Naples, was played from 1999-2001 at The Club at The Strand. It honored a contributor to women's golf each year. Fort Myers resident and LPGA Tour co-founder Patty Berg was the inaugural honoree, followed by Kathy Whitworth and Betsy Rawls.

"I think that's a great addition to this event," said Sorenstam, who played in the Subaru once, during a conference call on Monday. "I think it's going to make it even more special. This is an opportunity for us to honor a person or a player who has done something great for the LPGA throughout the year."

Sorenstam also has an affiliation with Ginn Clubs & Resorts. A Sorenstam golf academy is being built at Reunion.

The dates for the Ginn Tribute are May 31-June 3. So in the span of just over four months, Ginn Clubs & Resorts will have been involved in four professional tournaments.

Sorenstam spoke for the first time on Monday about her participation in the Merrill Lynch Shootout, the event formerly known as the Franklin Templeton Shootout, which will be played Nov. 10-12 at Tiburón Golf Club in North Naples. Sorenstam was one of the early invitees by tournament founder and host Greg Norman, who also designed both courses at Tiburón.

"I'm just excited to be invited," Sorenstam said. "This is the first time a woman will be playing in Greg's event. So I'll be happy to play with anyone."

Tickets for the Merrill Lynch Shootout are scheduled to go on sale Sept. 5.