The LPGA battle in Singapore on Sunday featured a couple of Epson Tour graduates. In fact, HSBC Women’s World Championship winner Hannah Green and runner-up Celine Boutier were part of the same graduating class in 2017.
The 2024 Epson Tour season kicks off this week in Florida, and a total of 192 players have “graduated” to the LPGA over the past 25 years. Many of them, like Green and Boutier, have gone on to win major championships.
This year’s schedule includes 20 events with a record $5 million in total prize money. The average purse size has increased $20,000 since last season.
Consider that in 2013, the tour played for a total of $1.6 million.
Hannah Green celebrates victory on the 18th green following a birdie putt during Day Four of the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club on March 03, 2024 in Singapore. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Another noteworthy change: the season-ending Epson Tour Championship is moving from LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, to Indian Wells (California) Golf Resort next October.
Here are five things to know about the 2024 Epson Tour season:
Xiaowen Yin, Gabriella Then, Yan Liu, Kiira Riihijarvi, Linnea Strom, Gina Kim, Celine Borge, Grace Kim and Hyo Joon Jang celebrate receiving their LPGA cards following the 2022 Epson Tour Championship at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
In the beginning, only three LPGA cards were given out each season on the developmental tour from 1999 to 2002. That number increased to five in 2003 and then doubled to 10 in 2008. It held steady there for 15 years.
Beginning in 2024, 15 cards will be handed out through a new points-based ranking system (rather than the money list).
Those who finish in the top 10 will continue to earn Category 9 status. Those from 11-15 will earn Category 15 status for 2025 and will be zippered with LPGA members finishing Nos. 101-125 on the Race to CME Globe Points List.
LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan leaves the office for a day to serve as caddie for Duramed Futures Tour player Lili Alvarez during the first round of the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic. (March 19, 2010)
The Epson Tour kicks off March 8-10 with the Florida’s Natural Classic, which has been a staple on the developmental circuit for 15 years. Former Texas player Agathe Laisne won last year’s event at the Country Club of Winter Haven. It’s the first of a…
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