Annika Sorenstam can outdrive some of the best players on the PGA TOUR.

That was evident at the MERRILL LYNCH SKINS GAME, when she won a bet that she could hit it longer off the tee than Fred Funk. Sorenstam did (by seven yards), Funk wore a skirt, and now that the 2006 LPGA season is on the horizon, she’ll try to outdrive the rest of the women’s Tour.

Sorenstam, coming off her second career 10-win season on Tour, will look for a third when the 34-event 2006 schedule tees off from Hawaii. A second event has been added to the 50th state, meaning the official Tour season will tee off with back-to-back events in Hawaii.

Sorenstam was once again the LPGA’s leading money winner in 2005. She will look to defend that title as the 2006 prize money increases 9.4 percent from last year. The total earnings for the upcoming season amount to $49.3 million. Overall, five events will feature $2 million or more in prize money.

As Player of the Year, Sorenstam yet again dominated the Tour in 2005, but the coveted season Grand Slam remained just out of reach. That will be another goal of the LPGA career money leader -- she leads World Golf Hall of Famer Karrie Webb by over $7 million -- for the upcoming season.

Michelle Wie will embark on her first full season as a professional in 2006. Last season, while competing as an amateur, Wie posted four top-10 finishes in eight total LPGA starts and will look for the same success during the upcoming campaign.

Thirty-seven rookies will find their way to the Tour's fairways in the upcoming season, the largest class in LPGA history. Morgan Pressel and LPGA Qualifying Tournament champion Ai Mayazoto spearhead a group representing 11 countries as they compete in the hopes of earning recognition as 2006 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year. Pressel recently earned her membership on the Tour, despite being under 18 years of age.

One of the most significant changes to the 2006 slate is the installation of a playoff system to wrap up the year. The LPGA Playoffs at The ADT will feature a purse of $1,550,000 as the first-ever such format in the sport of golf.

Fifteen players from each “half” of the season will qualify for the playoffs. These qualifiers will be determined through the use of a performance-based points system. In addition, two wild card players will also make the final cut.

Annika Sorenstam won 10 times on the LPGA Tour in 2005. (Grayson/ WireImage)

Rookie of the Year Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr and Natalie Gulbis will again be among the contenders to unseat Sorenstam from her perch as the top LPGA player. Kerr and Creamer will look to improve on their 11 top-10 finishes last year, while Gulbis' 12 will be her benchmark for 2006.

The following are among some of the other major highlights to come on the LPGA Tour in 2006:

• For the first time since 2001, the Tour returns to the Orlando area for the $2.5 million Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open in Reunion, Fla.

• CN, the Canadian National Railway Company that spans Canada and mid-America, will sponsor the Canadian Women's Open.

• The Longs Drugs Challenge will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area, instead of in Sacramento, at Black Hawk Country Club in Danville, Calif.

• New venues added -- Black Hawk Country Club (Longs Drugs Challenge), Ko Olina Golf Club (Fields Open), London Hunt Club (CN Canadian Women's Open), Newport Golf Club (U.S. Women's Open), Reunion Resort and Club (Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open), Royal Lytham and St. Anne's Golf Club (Weetabix Women's British Open).