If you haven't already heard the great news, in late January of this year Epson America Inc. became the new title sponsor of the LPGA Qualifying Tour. This partnership is an amazing opportunity for women's professional golf. LPGA Tour Commissioner, Mollie Marcoux Samaan stated “We are delighted to welcome Epson to the LPGA Tour family. This groundbreaking partnership will provide expanded opportunities for the future stars of the game from around the globe to test their talent and take one step closer to realizing their dreams.”
Epson being the official sponsor of the Tour means many advancements for the Tour and its players. For example, The Epson Tour Ambassador Program was created to financially aid the top 10 players on the money list at the end of the season. These top 10 players will receive $10,000 to help make a smooth transition to the LPGA Tour, this program is also being applied for graduates from the 2021 season.
Epson has also raised the minimum purse size for every tournament to $200,000, which is an extensive raise from the 2021 season where half of the events on the schedule had purses smaller than $200,000. The Epson Tour is also working diligently towards cutting the entry fees for players by 10 percent. When you break it down, if a player is registered for every event, that player will be able to save $1000 on the entire season entry fees alone. The Epson Tour is also actively working to partner with other companies to ultimately cut entry fees in half, which would bring current $500 entry fees down to $250 per event.
It is truly amazing seeing this kind of support for women's professional golf. It is incredible to know Epson has the players best interest in heart. To support the players, goals and dreams of playing professional golf on the LPGA Tour. The Epson Tour is advancing and furthering the reach of women's golf and really backing up their mission statement to “produce a pipeline of extraordinary women golfers who are pursuing their dream of playing on the LPGA Tour.”
- Paige Lee
Professional Golfer
