13 players who made cut at Epson Tour event in Arizona are also in LPGA Drive On field just 21 miles away

It’s a busy two weeks in Arizona for the LPGA and its developmental tour.

MESA, Ariz. — It’s a busy two weeks in Arizona for the LPGA and its developmental tour.

The Epson Tour’s Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic, which runs through Sunday, is being held for a third time at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa.

Next week, the LPGA returns to the Grand Canyon State for the first time since 2019 when the Bank of Hope Founders Cup was played in Phoenix. Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club is hosting the LPGA Drive On Championship from March 23-26. The club also hosted the LPGA from 2004-08 for the Safeway International.

It makes for a pretty great situation for up-and-coming golfers to take advantage of back-to-back playing opportunities.

Despite an up-and-down week at the Carlisle, LPGA member Bailey Tardy is trying to make the most of consecutive weeks at golf courses just 21 miles apart. She said her first-round 79 on Thursday was due in part to key piece of equipment she forgot to pack.

“I didn’t have golf shoes the first day so I think that was my issue,” she said before showing off her new shoes. “Fifty dollars. PGA Superstore. Not the same ones, but I like them better.”

Tardy followed her 79 with a 64 to make the cut Friday.

Like Tardy, Canada’s Maude-Aimee LeBlanc will make her first 2023 LPGA start at the Drive On. And like Tardy, LeBlanc lives back east, so the Epson event is a great chance to prep.

“We haven’t played in Arizona in a while and I practice in Florida so it’s very different, the grass, the air. The ball goes a lot farther here,” she said, noting that she’s also breaking in a new caddie this week in Mesa.

There were 16 players who entered the Epson event also in the upcoming LPGA field, with Tardy among the 13 advancing to the weekend. Two of those advancing – Grace Kim and Celine Borge – are LPGA members who were 2022 Epson Tour graduates. Two others – Jaravee Boonchant and Karen Chung – are dual members, having finished between No. 21 and 45 in last year’s Q Series.

Longbow Golf Club
The leaderboard at Longbow Golf Club for the 2023 Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)

The other nine golfers who made the cut at Longbow are LPGA members: Lauren Stephenson, Lauren Coughlin, Pernilla Lindberg, Grace Kim, Amanda Doherty, Caroline Inglis, Valery Plata, Samantha Wagner along with Tardy and Leblanc.

For new Epson Tour chief business and operations officer Jody Brothers, his focus is on the first of the two events in Arizona but knows having the LPGA here next week helps on preparation and logistics for many players.

“They’re pros at traveling, but anytime you can settle in and get comfortable, whether it’s time-zone adjustment or green speeds or types of grass, I think that serves them really, really well,” he said.

Tardy missed out on her LPGA card for the 2021 season by a mere $343. Now that she has status, she’s not taking anything for granted.

“It’s just as hard to stay on the LPGA as it is to get your card.”

She’s also learned that a first-round 79 doesn’t have to ruin your week.

“Honestly, after the first round and then [bouncing back in] the second round is just never give up on yourself,” she said. “Just don’t harp on the bad things and focus on what you’ve done and rely on that to prepare yourself for the next day.”

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New Epson Tour leader Jody Brothers left the PGA Tour hoping to create meaningful change for those stretching every dollar

“I want to identify what is the right thing to have on our tour week in and week out.”

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. ­— Jody Brothers saw a line forming outside the equipment trailer at the Epson Tour’s season-opening event in Winter Haven, Florida, and hopped inside to lend a hand. The tour’s new Chief Business and Operations Officer, a self-described golf nerd, started working at golf courses before he could legally drive and figured stripping grips would not only make life easier for everyone involved, but also give him insight into what’s best on a broader scale. An equipment trailer is only onsite a handful of times each season on the LPGA’s official qualifying tour.

“I want to identify what is the right thing to have on our tour week in and week out,” said Brothers. “Is it a trailer like that I need to find sponsors for and fund so they can be out here 22 weeks a year? Or is there an alternate opportunity to partner with a Golf Galaxy or PGA Superstore or somebody with multiple locations throughout the country where our athletes would have access?”

Brothers carried around a notebook last week at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, jotting down ideas and concerns as he met players for the first time. Brothers even worked as a first-tee starter, an idea/dare that came from the Player Advisory Group. That too, came naturally.

“He’s hands-on,” said veteran player and three-time Epson Tour winner Kim Kaufman. “Super easy to talk to.”

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Kaufman is a member of the PAG along with four-time Epson Tour winner Daniela Iacobelli, who said she could see the enthusiasm in Brothers’ eyes when they had their first PAG Zoom call.

Brothers, 53, came to the Epson Tour from the PGA Tour, where he spent nearly 16 years, most recently serving as Vice President of Business Development.

Why the move to women’s golf? Brothers said if he interviewed with 10 people at the LPGA, at least nine of them asked that question first.

“For me, it’s not about, you know, Mollie’s job or any other job at the LPGA,” said Brothers. “This is the job I wanted, and for me, it’s legacy.”

Brothers was referring, of course, to LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. In his role with the Epson Tour, Brothers serves on the LPGA Executive Leadership Team.

Brothers has a sister who played college golf and a wife that plays. Being at a place where he felt he could really make a difference was important to Brothers for this next chapter of life. He comes to the Epson Tour with a contact list – both in sponsorships and club management – that should lead to results.

“I’ll say also when I was at the PGA Tour in sponsorship the last six years,” said Brothers, “a lot of brands were saying I want to invest in professional golf. They started with the men’s side, but said I need to do something on the women’s side. That was really encouraging. It was that that got me thinking about a career with the LPGA.”

Brothers has big goals for increasing purses on the Epson tour, which this season boasts a record-setting total prize fund of $4.41 million and an average purse size of $210,000. That’s up from $1.6 million a decade ago.

Brothers, who plans to be onsite at every event this season, said it’s too soon to share that prize fund goal publicly, but that it’s “significantly” higher than what the women play for today.

“I think the number of events that we host is probably appropriate to identify the top 10 players from this tour,” he said. “But they need to play for more money. That’s my mission.”

For perspective, when the Korn Ferry Tour kicks off later this month, the purse for the first event will be $1 million. The KFT, of course is one step below the PGA Tour, which is the same for Epson in relation to the LPGA.

The purse at the Florida’s Natural Classic was $200,000.

Brothers, formerly the Senior Director of Tournament Business Affairs on the Korn Ferry Tour, also has designs on decreasing what it costs to compete each week, whether that’s in hotel costs, entry fees or insurance. Before the start of the season, the tour announced Epson would cover yardage books each week and would cover entry fees for Q-Series for those who finish Nos. 11-35 on the Official Money List. (The top 10 players earn LPGA cards.) Changes to the Rules of Golf for 2023 require that players buy new yardage books that are approved by the Epson Tour Rules Committee.

Former Alabama player Kenzie Wright noted on Twitter in January she spent $16,826 on entry fees and yardage books alone in 2022. Last year, Epson helped cut the cost of entry fees each week from $500 to $450. Brothers wants to bring enough partners on board to drop entry fees to $250.

“Those are the little things we can do as administrators of this tour to make it easier,” said Brothers. “I want to make sure they’re out here long enough to fulfill that dream.”

Brothers understands from firsthand experience the grind of trying to make it to the big-time. After playing college golf at Cal State Chico, Brothers played professionally on the Dakotas Tour in the early 90s. When two guys in his group shot 28 and 29 on the back nine of a tournament, Brothers realized a playing career might not be the right path for him.

He played long enough, however, to appreciate how much the little things ­–like free yardage books – really do add up. Brothers remembers how grateful he was to the owner of a local A&W who wrote “free” on the back of his business card after a pro-am. Brothers could show that card the rest of the week at the A&W and get whatever he wanted on the house.

“He’s gone through the process of maybe not having enough money to afford a good meal,” said Iacobelli. “Or a meal.”

Now, as leader of the Epson Tour, Brothers is ready for a new kind of grind.

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LPGA hires former PGA Tour VP Jody Brothers to lead Epson Tour

Brothers most recently served as vice president of business development at the PGA Tour.

The LPGA has announced Jody Brothers as its new chief business and operations officer for the Epson Tour. Brothers has worked for the PGA Tour since 2007 and takes over for Mike Nichols, who left the Epson Tour last summer.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jody Brothers to the LPGA Executive Leadership Team as our Epson Tour Chief Business and Operations Officer,” said LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. “Jody’s extensive experience at every level of the golf industry coupled with his true passion for the professional developmental tours make him the ideal leader for continued growth of the Epson Tour.

“In this newly defined role, Jody will oversee all aspects of the Tour, inside and outside the ropes. We are confident that under Jody’s leadership, we will maximize value for Seiko Epson Corporation and our committed partners and tournaments while offering our players with the best opportunity to reach their peak potential and realize their dream of playing on the LPGA Tour.”

Last Thursday, the Epson Tour released its 2023 schedule, which includes 22 tournaments and a total record prize fund of $4.9 million.

Courtesy Epson Tour

Brothers most recently served as vice president of business development at the PGA Tour, leading his team in identifying, pitching and negotiating multi-year title sponsorships and official marketing partnerships, navigating elements including league rights, television and digital media, player sponsorships and investment in local tournament assets such as hospitality and on-site branding.

“After 16 years with the PGA Tour, I am very excited to join the LPGA team and spend the next part of my career working on the women’s side of the game,” said Brothers. “I believe deeply in the growth of the game of golf, particularly the promotion of women in our sport and the quest for equality amongst professional athletes. The Epson Tour provides opportunities for talented athletes from across the globe to compete and improve as they seek their ultimate dream of playing on the LPGA Tour and I can’t describe how excited I am for the opportunity to lead this Tour.”

Brothers played college golf at California State University, Chico and graduated with a degree in marketing. He played professionally on the Dakotas Tour, the Pepsi Tour and the Golden State Tour before working as a club pro at Butte Creek Country Club, Mount Shasta Resort and Canyon Oaks Country Club in Northern California.

Brothers joined the PGA Tour in 2007 as the director of business development at TPC San Antonio, later becoming general manager of TPC Stonebrae and TPC Harding Park, tournament director of The Stonebrae Classic, executive director of The First Tee campaign for 10 Million Young People, senior director of tournament business affairs on the Korn Ferry Tour and vice president within the Office of the Commissioner.

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