Four months later, things are looking up for the tour. Top draw Michelle Wie captured her first win as a professional Sunday in Mexico. A day later, ShopRite announced that the ShopRite LPGA Classic would be back next year after a three-year absence. And today, Evans and new commissioner Michael Whan, who takes over in January, will officially announce that the 2010 schedule will have more than double the nine in line in July.

"I will say unequivocally we have regained momentum and we're going in the right direction," Evans said Tuesday at the LPGA Tour Championship. "We have a great platform for 2010, and things will be better in 2011 under our new commissioner. These are exciting times, especially when things looked so bleak earlier this year. We had targeted between 22 and 24 tournaments for the 2010 season, and that's what we will have."

All 120 players in this week's Tour Championship were told of the 2010 schedule in a players meeting Tuesday night with Whan, who met with the membership for the first time.

The tour had 34 tournaments in 2008 and were scheduled to play 31 this year before events in China, Orlando, Hawaii and Alabama were canceled when companies pulled sponsorship because of economic woes.

"If we get between 22 and 24, that would be better than anyone expected," said Cristie Kerr, one of three players in the running for Player of the Year honors this week. "At the beginning of this year, a couple players and I were sitting down (in Florida) and we were going over the schedule and we were wondering where we were going to play next year. It didn't look good.

"If we get 23, 24, that would be a small victory for us. And you have to build from there. A new regime is coming in, and there is a chance to market and build the tour the way it's supposed to be done."

Angela Stanford, a winner of the season-opening event in Hawaii, said players are no longer feeling the level of angst that was pervasive on tour 120 days ago.

"I think everybody feels good about where we are going," she said. "The economy obviously hit everybody, but we are feeling better about our future and our new leadership. And I think sponsors and fans will see that. Even if next year is kind of a down year for us compared to years past, 2011 and 2012 are going to be great. I think the momentum of this year is going to catch on with fans and sponsors."

Christina Kim, who was a key member along with Kerr and Stanford on the victorious U.S. team in the Solheim Cup in August, agreed.

"We ran into problems this year but name one company that hasn't been hurt by the economy and didn't have to adjust," she said. "I don't know of any tour which is going to have more tournaments in 2010 than in 2009. The fact that we have a schedule makes us happy. We have such a fantastic product and we're definitely moving in the right direction. Things are going to get better."

Enlarge By Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images Cristie Kerr, one of the LPGA's top players, believes the tour is on the right track after a difficult season in which the commissioner was forced out and a handful of tournaments were canceled. "A new regime is coming in, and there is a chance to market and build the tour the way it's supposed to be done," she says.