The season-ending $1.5-million LPGA Tour Championship will be staged December 2-5 at Grand Cypress Golf Club, the tour announced Thursday.

The event, featuring 120 players, will keep the format used last year when it was played in Houston, with a 36-hole cut to the low 70 and ties and another cut to the low 30 and ties after 54 holes.

The course, designed by 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus, has hosted six LPGA events, the most recent being the 2001 LPGA Classic won by South Korean star Se Ri Pak.

"We were committed to finding a premier golf course that would challenge the players and attract fans and we're thrilled to be back playing in Florida," LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said.

The LPGA staged three events in Florida in 2008 but had none last year as a tough economy and lost sponsors took a toll on the tour schedule.