The LPGA is creating its personal model of PGA Tour College.
GolfChannel.com has realized from a number of sources that the LPGA plans to implement two applications that may present prime faculty gamers and amateurs pathways to the LPGA and Epson Tour. The tour has already shared the information with a number of stakeholders, together with gamers, coaches and brokers, and it plans to publicly announce forward of subsequent week’s season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship.
The primary program will resemble the PGA Tour College’s Accelerated program, which awards PGA Tour playing cards to prime underclassmen who attain a sure factors threshold by attaining sure benchmarks. Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent was the primary participant to earn his Tour card by clearing the 20 required factors. The LPGA’s model will probably be open to all amateurs, whether or not in faculty or not, and may have its personal set of achievements that earn gamers factors towards LPGA membership. The factors might be amassed over a three-year rolling interval, that means it could possibly begin at any time, even earlier than a participant reaches faculty age.
In response to one supply, solely three feminine gamers would’ve achieved the 20 factors previously (Lydia Ko, Leona Maguire and Rose Zhang), and Florida State junior Lottie Woad could be the present excessive point-earner with 16 factors if this system went into impact as we speak.
The second program will probably be just like the common PGA Tour College rankings, which rank gamers based mostly on their ultimate two years of faculty and PGA Tour competitors after which gives the highest seniors entry to numerous PGA Tour circuits, together with giving the No. 1 participant a PGA Tour card. It’s unknown what number of seniors would earn standing through the LPGA’s program, although it’s believed that the very best reward would solely be Epson Tour standing, not an LPGA card.
Different info was not shared, together with what number of Epson Tour playing cards could be up for grabs, the official names of those applications and when this may all go into impact.
An LPGA official confirmed to GolfChannel.com on Friday that the tour would announce subsequent week the main points to an beginner pathway plan.
School coaches on the ladies’s aspect have lengthy pleaded the LPGA for an answer to the frequent departures of a lot of their sport’s stars midseason. Present LPGA guidelines enable faculty gamers to compete within the second stage of Q-College, now known as LPGA Qualifying, and in the event that they advance, both defer their Epson Tour standing till the next summer season or enter ultimate stage, also referred to as LPGA Last Qualifying, offered they first flip skilled.
“Regardless of the LPGA is doing with faculty proper now just isn’t a very good system,” mentioned Laura Ianello, then the pinnacle coach at Arizona, in 2021, the identical 12 months that she misplaced her two greatest gamers, Yu-Sang Hou and Vivian Hou, to the LPGA midseason.
Added Ole Miss head coach Kory Henkes that very same 12 months: “It’d be good to present the gamers a greater choice to complete faculty. I believe [a version of PGA Tour U], that’d be a pleasant finish purpose for individuals to get their diploma.”
On the time, GolfChannel.com requested then incoming LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan in regards to the Q-College difficulty and whether or not the tour would collaborate with the school recreation on a greater various.
“I believe there’s been quite a lot of time spent on that over time, and I believe we’ve modified our coverage a pair instances,” Marcoux Samaan mentioned. “However I believe it’s necessary to suppose by way of alternative as a result of that is such an enormous alternative. So, to suppose by way of all ranges of how somebody will get their card to be on the LPGA as a result of it’s such a coveted place to be. So, we’ll return through the offseason and take a look at that and consider it and see if there’s a greater manner than what we’re doing.”
The following 12 months, the LPGA tweaked its Q-College guidelines to mandate that solely professionals compete at ultimate stage. However that hasn’t stopped the winter exodus. This 12 months, 5 faculty gamers superior to ultimate qualifying, and up to now, solely Western Kentucky’s Catie Craig has dedicated to coming again to highschool. Mississippi State’s Julia Lopez Ramirez will flip skilled, as will fellow top-10 beginner Zoe Campos of UCLA. Texas A&M’s Adela Cernousek, the reigning NCAA champion, is anticipated to announce her intentions on Monday, although she’ll have to tell the LPGA of her choice on Friday, as will UCLA’s Caroline Canales.
