The Epson tour has grown substantially in recent years, up from $1.6 million a decade ago to $4.41 million in prize money.
The Florida’s Natural Charity Classic kicks off the 2022 Epson Tour season March 4-6 in Winter Haven, Florida, where a 132-player field will compete for a $200,000 purse.
The top 10 players at season’s end will earn LPGA cards for 2023. The LPGA’s official qualifying tour is made up of recent hotshot college grads, Epson Tour veterans waiting for a big break, and LPGA veterans looking to claw their way back to the Big Show.
The Epson tour has grown substantially in recent years, up from $1.6 million a decade ago to $4.41 million in prize money across 20-plus events in 2022.
Here’s a look at seven storylines to follow this season:
The top 45 players and ties earn LPGA status for 2022. The rest of the field earns Symetra status.
The final stage of LPGA qualifying has a familiar feel to it. Frenchwoman Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, winner of Stage II, is once again atop the board at the midway point of the Q-Series marathon.
Roussin-Bouchard fired a 7-under 65 on the Crossings Course Sunday to take a two-shot lead at 19 under into Week 2 on the Robert Trent Jones Trail. There are six players ranked in the top 75 of the Rolex Rankings in the Q-Series field, and four of those players are in the top 10: Hye-Jin Choi (-17), Na Rin An (-14), Atthaya Thitikul (-13) and Ayaka Furue (-11). Major winner Hinako Shibuno and two-time European Solheim Cup player Emily Kristine Pedersen are tied for 24th.
Roussin-Bouchard credits her early success to the peaceful atmosphere her team has helped her to create, calling it “pressure-less.”
“I do a lot of martial arts, boxing,” said Roussin-Bouchard, “and I went boxing before leaving because I needed to let some pressure go. It really helped because it puts me in the mood where I really want to destroy everything on my way.”
Atthaya Thitikul (Photo credit Ben Harpring/LPGA)
Aussie Stephanie Kyriacou carded the low round of the week on Sunday, a 9-under 63, on the Crossings Course with seven birdies and an eagle. Kyriacou first won on the LET as a 19-year-old amateur at the 2020 Australian Ladies Classic Bonville.
“Over the last couple days some things were working and some things weren’t,” she said, “and then today they just both were in sync.”
Currently ranked 77th in the world, Kyriacou won the 2021 Big Green Egg Open on the LET and notched a dozen top-10 finishes.
While Roussin-Bouchard and Kyriacou look ahead to the 72-hole event at Highland Oaks Golf Club in Dothan, Alabama, not everyone in the field will make the trip.
There was a cut on Sunday to the top 70 and ties and 74 players advanced. Among those not making the cut: Haley Moore, Sierra Brooks, Beth Wu, Sarah Burnham, Virginia Elena Carta and amateurs Polly Mack and Hyo Joon Jang.
LPGA veteran Mariah Stackhouse carded a fourth-round 69 to bolt up the board into the next week. England’s Meghan MacLaren’s back-to-back 68s moved her back in contention for a tour card at T-39.
The top 45 players and ties earn LPGA status for 2022. The rest of the field earns Symetra status.
Six amateurs made the cut including Arizona’s Hou sisters, who are currently tied for 29th. Yu-Sang shot 66 on Sunday to join her sister Yu-Chiang at 5 under.
At one point during her season, Haley Moore missed 10 consecutive cuts.
There was a point during Haley Moore’s second rookie season that she missed 10 consecutive cuts. Within that stretch, she played seven consecutive weeks of tournaments. It was as difficult as it sounds.
“Some of them I missed by one shot,” she said, “some I had missed by a lot. That was just really hard on me.”
Moore talked briefly about that time on the eve of Q-Series, punctuating everything as positively as she could. She learned a lot – about the importance of good communication with her caddie, about when to play aggressively, about putting in a little more time to practice.
“I’ve gotten down a couple times,” she said, “but I just told myself it happens, it’s golf. It happens to everyone.”
And then the 23-year-old Arizona grad said the thing that keeps everyone going in this game: “Once you have that one really good week out there, it’s going to all come together.”
Amen.
Coming back to Q-Series is never part of anyone’s plan, but Moore knows that she has successfully fought her way through this eight-round gauntlet before, and after an opening 5-under 67 she’s keen to do it again.
Three players share the lead at 6 under after Round 1 at RTJ Magnolia Grove: Emily Kristine Pedersen, Peiyun Chien, and Alejandra Llano. Moore’s 67 came on the Crossings Course. The top 70 and ties will move on to Week 2 where the top 45 and ties will earn LPGA status. Moore finished 137th on the CME points list this year and earned $36,895.
“I know that this week, it’s a marathon out here,” she said, “so just to pace yourself. Having one bad round is not going to kill you out here.”
Emily Kristine Pedersen of Team Europe hits her tee shot on the eighteenth hole during the morning foursomes of the 2021 Solheim Cup at Inverness Club. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Pedersen, who has twice represented Europe at the Solheim Cup, carded six birdies and an eagle in her opening 65 on the par-71 Falls Course.
“I like the tree-lined,” she said. “I like everything is in front of you. I kind of feel like you have to hit it far. It’s a little bit of an advantage this week, which is good for me because I’m hitting it quite far.”
Alabama’s Polly Mack is the low amateur after an opening 68 to take a share of sixth. Atthaya Thitikul, the 18-year-old Thai player who won the LET’s Race to Costa del Sol and is No. 18 in the world, struggled to an opening 73 on the Crossings Course and is T-70.
SAN FRANCISCO – Only five players have won the U.S. Women’s Open in their first attempt. Patty Berg (1946) was the first to do it and 2021 champion A Lim Kim was the last. In between, there was Kathy Cornelius (1956), Birdie Kim (2005) and In Gee …
SAN FRANCISCO — Only five players have won the U.S. Women’s Open in their first attempt. Patty Berg (1946) was the first to do it and 2021 champion A Lim Kim was the last. In between, there was Kathy Cornelius (1956), Birdie Kim (2005) and In Gee Chun (2015).
When A Lim Kim won last December in frigid Houston, she wore a mask inside the ropes. On Monday in sunny San Francisco, it was lovely to see her smile as she talked about last year’s break-through victory.
“Frankly, let me be honest with you,” Kim said through an interpreter, “I think I was lucky.”
There are 40 players in this week’s field who are playing in their first U.S. Women’s Open. Inbee Park, a two-time USWO winner, made her debut as an amateur in 2004 and missed the cut. The LPGA Hall of Famer was reminded of that first time this week when she played a practice round at The Olympic Club with a young Japanese player.
“She just looked nothing to be scared of on this golf course and just bombing the balls,” said Park. “I kind of envy that, and I don’t think I’ll be able to ever do that again.”
Back then, Park continued, she’d go into shock after a bogey. The world came to an end after a double. Needless to say, much has changed.
LPGA rookie Haley Moore is among the dozens of first-timers this week. Moore first tried to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open in 2014 and basically every year since.
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This year Moore advanced through a 36-hole qualifier at Brentwood Country Club, birdieing three of her last five holes to finish at even-par 144.
“Toughest part is I think,” said Moore, “is going to be your patience and your mental game. … It’s not always perfect out here.”
First-time U.S. Women’s Open competitors
Amari Avery, Addie Baggarly, Jensen Castle, Matilda Castren, Claire Choi, Abbey Daniel, Leigha Devine, Nicole Garcia, Ingrid Gutierrez, Haylee Hartford, Jo Hua Hung, Tsubasa Kajitani, Gurleen Kaur, Hikari Kawamitsu, Chihiro Kogure, Chloe Kovelesky, Aline Krauter, Jaclyn LaHa, Alyssa Lamoureux, Karolin Lampert, Da Yeon Lee, Amanda Linnér, Emily Mahar, Isabella McCauley, Kim Metraux, Momoka Miyake, Haley Moore, Minori Nagano, Natsumi Nakanishi, Noemie Pare, Bohyun Park, Maria Parra, Ana Pelaez Trivino, Aneka Seumanutafa, Alexandra Swayne, Elizabeth Szokol, Tsai-Ching Tseng, Karoline Tuttle, Monica Vaughn, Ruoning Yin.
LPGA rookie Haley Moore will “finally” make her U.S. Women’s Open debut after qualifying for the 2021 event at Olympic Club.
The first time Haley Moore tried to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open was 2014. She has basically tried every year since (sectional qualifying was canceled last year due to COVID-19) and really only came close once.
One thing Moore, 22, has learned over the years is that even par tends to turn out pretty well at these 36-hole marathons.
When Moore made the turn for the last time at Brentwood Country Club on Monday, the wind had died down. She was 3-over par and knew that, with one reachable par 5 and one that she could get close, there was a chance that she could make a big move.
Birdies on three of her last five holes put Moore at even-par 144 for the tournament after rounds of 74-70.
“I think the waiting game is probably the hardest part,” said Moore, who was in the fourth group off.
“By the time I was done the wind was dead, there was absolutely nothing. I thought OK, these girls are going to have a good advantage with no wind.”
When the waiting was over, Moore wound up taking medalist honors with fellow LPGA player Jenny Coleman and amateur Amari Avery, another plyer who will make her USWO debut June 3-6 at Olympic Club.
“I would say this is my sixth or seventh year,” said Moore of her qualifying attempts. “Finally!”
— Haley Moore Foundation (@FoundationHaley) May 4, 2021
A three-for-one playoff that lasted four holes and spilled over into Tuesday saw USC’s Amelia Garvey edge out teammate Katherine Muzi and Anne van Dam for the final spot.
Players were only allowed a practice round at Brentwood if it was arranged by a member due to COVID-19 protocols. Moore happened to know a member and said last week’s first look came up huge. It also helped that she was paired with UCLA’s Emma Spitz. Because the Bruins sometimes practice at Brentwood, Moore made it a point to pay close attention to how Spitz attacked the course over the first 18 holes.
Moore lives in Escondido, California, and said she’d love to get up to see Olympic in advance of her first USWO. She’s well aware of the history there and is excited to try the famed burger dogs.
The former Arizona Wildcat has had longtime family friend James Eidson on the bag for the 36-hole qualifier as well as the LPGA’s West Coast swing. They played out of the same country club in California, and Eidson was the strength coach for the football team at Moore’s high school.
“He knew in middle school what I had gone through,” said Moore of the bullying she had endured, “and was always making sure I was OK.
“He would always make sure nobody was picking on me or anything.”
A protector turned teammate who will next help Moore navigate the game’s biggest stage.
Yealimi Noh, Haley Moore and Andrea Lee among those who are rookies all over again in 2021 after coronavirus impacted the 2020 season.
There’s a back-up of appointments at the DMV, which means 19-year-old Yealimi Noh faces an even longer wait now to get her driver’s license. Noh still lives at home with her parents in Concord, California, and has no plans to move out anytime soon. They travel the LPGA as a family of three, and she’s quite happy to have help navigating these early years of professional life.
Noh won $415,307 in official earnings last year on the LPGA, contending several times and climbing to 46th in the world. It was a terrific rookie season, given that it was shortened to only 16 events due to a global pandemic.
Here’s the strange part: She gets to have her rookie season all over again.
The LPGA decided not to hold the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race in 2020 due the pandemic. Unless a player won in 2020, her place on the priority list remained unchanged heading into 2021. It amounts to an unheard of mulligan season for 19 young pros.
“For us to have half of a year last year,” said Noh, “is like a preview for what it’s going to be like for the rest of our career.”
Five new rookies have been added to the mix for 2021, highlighted by 2020 U.S. Women’s Open winner A Lim Kim. Four Symetra grads have also joined the 2021 class.
Andrea Lee isn’t quite sure at this point what her first event will be this season. She starts 2021 at 160th on the LPGA priority list despite finishing 48th on the money list last year with $242,944. It’s likely that a number of international players will skip the first few events in Florida, which would help her cause. The Gainbridge LPGA event at Lake Nona Feb. 25-28 will have a field of 120 players.
While a rookie couldn’t move up the priority list without winning, she could move up the Rolex Rankings and money list, which helps at the majors and Solheim Cup. And for those who, like Noh and Lee, made a nice living last year, it’s clutch for a rookie to have a financial cushion to start the year (that wasn’t a loan!).
Haley Moore poses Bob McNichols, Longbow Golf Club General Manager, and Mike Brown, Cactus Tour Director, on Dec. 27, 2020, after Moore won $10,000 for claiming the the inaugural Longbow Cactus Cup Championship in Mesa, Arizona. Photo by Noah Montgomery
On the course, a string of missed cuts points to a disappointing rookie season for Haley Moore. But the year was about so much more than that. Moore started her new foundation to fight bullying. She also appeared on Good Morning America with Robin Roberts and was part of the LPGA’s Drive On ad campaign.
On Christmas Day, Moore and her mother drove to Arizona for the winner-take-all Longbow Cactus Cup Championship, a celebration of the top money earners on the developmental Cactus Tour. Moore birdied the first playoff hole to win the $10,000 prize, which equaled nearly half her earnings on the LPGA.
Moore said her swing coach, who is based in Arizona, came out and watched her compete, which was hugely beneficial as they mapped out an offseason plan.
Moore noted that her biggest lesson from 2020 was learning to stay patient and steady.
“If you have a bad week and happen to not make the cut,” said Moore, “you just have to let it go and move on to the next event, as the next event could be the best you’ve ever had.”
Noh, like many rookies before her, had underestimated the role a caddie plays in her success. David Stone picked up her back for the last few events of the LPGA season and she saw an immediate change.
“The first event that I was with him I played really well,” she said of her tie for second at the Volunteers of America Classic. “The week before I was playing the same exact golf, it was just that he was next to me giving me a lot of confidence, hyping me up. Now I know exactly what I want to hear, what I want in a game plan.”
While Stone heads back to the PGA Tour, he helped Noh connect with Kyle Morrison for the 2021 season.
Noh said everything about her success comes down to putting. She has big goals set for her second rookie year, starting with winning an event “as soon as possible.” She’d also like to be a rookie on this year’s U.S. Solheim Cup team and compete in the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Noh, who has contended several times already on the LPGA, said Sei Young Kim has taken on a sisterly role, first reaching out after she finished runner-up at the 2019 Cambia Portland Classic as a non-member.
The focus in 2021 has shifted from trying to experience everything for the first time, she said, to playing to win. The talented teen is comfortable with whatever pressure follows.
“A little pressure never kills anyone,” said Noh. “I think pressure is great.”
While the 15 events Lee competed in last year were more than she anticipated getting in, she did miss out on a big one after she tested positive for COVID-19 the week of the U.S. Women’s Open.
“The first few days in my hotel room I was pretty miserable,” said Lee. “I was depressed.”
She devoured Phil Knight’s memoir, Shoe Dog, in two days and binged on The Queen’s Gambit. It wasn’t long before she was one of four rookies teeing it up in the CME Group Tour Championship.
The former Stanford standout thought she might go skiing over offseason but decided she couldn’t take that much time off. she wants to add length off the tee, a higher ball trajectory for her longer irons and sharpen the edges from 100 yards and in.
“This year is kind of like you said, a do-over,” said Lee, “and I’m going to try to put myself in the best position to try and win Rookie of the Year.”
To do it, she’ll have to beat the most experienced rookie class in tour history.
Haley Moore equaled half her 2020 earnings in one day on Sunday after claiming a winner-take-all exhibition in Arizona good for $10,000.
Haley Moore made $20,774 on the Cactus Tour in 2020.
On Sunday, she banked a cool $10,000 in the winner-take-all inaugural Longbow Cactus Cup Championship.
The 18-hole exhibition was staged at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona. The four participants were the top four money winners in 2020 from the Cactus Tour, an Arizona-based mini-tour for up-and-coming women’s professionals.
Moore faced off against Brittany Yada, the 2020 Cactus Tour money winner. Mina Harigae and Savannah Vilaubi rounded out the foursome.
Yada and Vilaubi shot 3-over 75s. Harigae shot a 74 and watched as Moore had a par putt on the par-5 18th for a 73 that would have won it. But she missed and so they went over to the 1st tee for the playoff.
On that hole, Moore, who was a standout at the University of Arizona, knocked her approach to two feet and she made the short birdie putt to claim the prize.
The Cactus Tour held 38 events in four states this past summer, giving pros multiple playing opportunities during the pandemic shutdowns on the LPGA and Symetra Tours.
The $10,000 prize is big money for Cactus Tour players. Yada won five times to earn $25,400 in 2020. Moore was the 2019 Cactus Tour money winner and finished second in 2020. Harigae won four times to pocket $12,250, while Vilaubi made $10,900 in prize money.
Harigae holds the Cactus Tour 54-hole record of 24 under after shooting shores of 62-63-64 at Longbow earlier this year.
Longbow will again host a Symetra Tour event in 2021 but a date has not yet been finalized.
Check out the final group of qualifiers for the year’s first major, the Women’s British Open at Royal Troon.
Count rookie Haley Moore among the LPGA players who played their way into the year’s first major. Moore, who will compete in her first major as a pro, was one of 22 players who qualified for the 2020 AIG Women’s British Open via her play at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open.
The field at Royal Troon was finalized by first taking the leading players, not already exempt, who made the cut at The Renaissance. It was then rounded out by using the Rolex Rankings. The Women’s British Open takes place Aug. 20-23.
Emily Pedersen comes in particularly hot among those on the list having lost in a playoff to Stacy Lewis at the Ladies Scottish Open.
The first major of the season is in the books, we remember a beloved Kentucky golfer and Haley Moore impresses us yet again.
The first major of the season is in the books, we remember a beloved Kentucky golfer and Haley Moore impresses us again with her perseverance and determination.
Take a look at the week’s top stories on the latest episode of Golfweek Rewind featured below.
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The season’s first major
The California Kid stole the show at the PGA Championship. In just his second major, Collin Morikawa grabbed the outright lead by chipping in for birdie from 40 feet on the 14th and then teed up the defining shot of the tournament when he drove the 294-yard, par-4 16th and then knocked in the 7-footer for eagle. Next up on the PGA Tour is the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina.
LPGA
Danielle Kang won for a second time in as many weeks, but the lingering talk about the Marathon LPGA Classic centered around the stunning way a once-dominant Lydia Ko managed to lose the tournament. Next on the LPGA schedule is the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open beginning Thursday.
Haley Moore Drives On
Haley Moore has been open about being bullied as a child, but she’s also been vocal about how she persevered and rose above the hardship. Because of her determination and the inspiration she is, she’s the new face of the LPGA’s Drive On campaign and our Hero of the Week.
For more from this week’s edition of Golfweek Rewind including details on the death of a beloved Kentucky golfer, watch the video above.
