The Road To The LPGA And Beyond

By Jennie Hanna

“This is not just your grandparents’ game anymore,” said Lisa Mickey, director of communications and senior writer of new media for the Duramed Futures Tour.

For 28 years, the Duramed Futures Tour—commonly identified as the “road to the LPGA and beyond”—has been the nation’s primary development track for female golfers, and since 1999 has been the official development tour for the Ladies’ Professional Golf Association (LPGA). “It’s the stepping stone from the minors,” Mickey said. “Many girls come from college or right out of high school to play on the tour.”

Making it on to the tour isn’t easy, though. Each year, 300 players compete in qualifying events for 90 open tour spots, in addition to the tour’s 145 returning players. “It is highly competitive, but that just prepares them for the competition level of the LPGA,” Mickey said. “The ladies really have to show us what they’re made of. There are a lot of talented women golfers out there.”

In 2009, from March through September or October, the Duramed Futures Tour will feature close to 20 events in 15 states—with prizes totaling more than $1 million.

“This past year, the women played for $1.7 million in prizes, so they gain not only experience but also the chance to garner some cash to support them in their attempt to go pro,” Mickey said.

Ladies’ golf is more popular than ever because there is more access to the sport now than in previous decades, she added. “Access is everything, but for years there just wasn't anything out there for women. Now, with the LPGA and more young women signing on, that just opens that door even wider for more women to try out.”

Mickey also believes golfers like Annika Sorenstam have added a “cool factor” to ladies’ golf. “They have taken what used to be something that only older men liked to play and made it cool, fun, and more youthful,” she said.

Ladies’ golf is growing globally, as players from outside the United States, especially from South America and Mexico, are joining the tour. “We had five Hispanic players on the 2008 tour, whereas the year before we only had one,” Mickey said. “Success breeds success, and that's what helps draw people from other countries.”

The LPGA acquired the Duramed Futures Tour in July 2007 and has since operated the tour as an LPGA property. The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla.

For more information about the Duramed Futures Tour, call (386) 274-6200 or visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.