Tag: leap

LPGA announces LEAP program, providing top amateurs with direct access to tour

Florida State junior Lottie Woad has 16 points, the most of any current amateur. 

It’s finally here.

The LPGA announced Wednesday its LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway (LEAP), a program providing top amateur female golfers a new way to get on the LPGA starting in 2025.

Through LEAP, female amateurs who accumulate at least 20 points within the set criteria framework in the current year and the previous three calendar years will earn exempt Priority List status on the LPGA, provided they also meet all LPGA membership requirements.

“I think this will allow, like I said, the very elite to be able to bypass Q-Series and get right on to the LPGA. There won’t be a lot of these athletes. This isn’t going to happen every year. It might happen every couple of years. We don’t know, but it’s really reserved for the very best. We’ve done a lot of analysis to make sure that the points and the criteria will really produce that best athlete,” LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said Wednesday during a news conference ahead of the CME Group Tour Championship. “This is just one step in our sort of analysis of pathways and figuring out how to get, continue to have the best players in the world competing on the LPGA Tour.”

Qualified amateurs turning professional through this program who earn their 20th point before July 1 of the current year have three options:

  • accept LPGA membership before July 1 of the current year and gain eligibility for the remainder of the current LPGA season only
  • defer LPGA membership until on or after July 1 of the current year and gain eligibility for the remainder of the current and the following LPGA season or defer LPGA membership until the following season
  • gain eligibility for the following LPGA season only

For amateurs who turn pro who earn their 20th point on or after July 1 of the current year have two options

  • accept LPGA membership for the remainder of the current LPGA season and the following LPGA season
  • defer LPGA membership until the following season and gain eligibility for the following LPGA season only

If multiple players meet the 20-point threshold within the same year, the player who reaches it first will have higher Priority List placement, per the tour.

Here’s a breakdown of how players can accumulate points:

1. World Amateur Golf Ranking: Points awarded based on the highest achieved career WAGR ranking, awarded only once.

  • 3 points: WAGR No. 1 ranking
  • 2 points: WAGR No. 2 or No. 3 ranking
  • 1 point: WAGR No. 4 or No. 5 ranking

2. LPGA tournament participation: No limit on points awarded in this category.

  • 2 points: top 25 (and ties) at an LPGA major championship
  • 2 points: top 10 (and ties) at an official LPGA tournament (non-major)
  • 1 point: made cut at an LPGA major championship
  • 1 point: top 40 (and ties) at an official LPGA tournament (non-major)

3. Amateur championships: No limit on points awarded in this category.

  • 2 points: the champion of each of the following: U.S. Women’s Amateur, Women’s Amateur Championship, European Ladies Amateur Championship, Augusta National Women’s Amateur, World Amateur Team (individual champion), Div. I NCAA Championship (individual champion)
  • 1 point: the Champion of each of the following: U.S. Girls Junior Championship, Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship, Women’s Amateur Latin America

4. Awards: No limit on points awarded in this category.

  • 4 points: the McCormack Medal winner
  • 2 points: the Annika Award winner
  • 2 points: the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Player of the Year
  • 1 point: the AJGA Player of the Year
  • 1 point: Division I Inkster Award Winner

5. Teams: No limit on points awarded in this category.

  • 2 points: each player competing as an official member of a Curtis Cup team
  • 1 point: each player competing as an official member of the Arnold Palmer Cup team

Florida State junior Lottie Woad has 16 points, the most of any current amateur.

Leopard’s ‘stunning’ leap showcased in slow-motion video

A rescue leopard at South Africa’s Harnas Wildlife Foundation is an impressive leaper, especially at mealtime.

A rescue leopard at South Africa’s Harnas Wildlife Foundation is an impressive leaper, especially at mealtime.

The accompanying footage, which has garnered millions of views over the past month, shows “Hellboy” leaping nearly 10 feet to catch a hunk of meat tossed over a fence by a caretaker.

“Hellboy in action, slow motion. Absolutely stunning.” The foundation wrote on Facebook.

The footage reveals the power and grace exhibited by Hellboy – and possessed by all leopards – while taking flight and upon landing. (Best viewed with sound.)

ALSO ON FTW OUTDOORS: Why are Yellowstone wolves biting grizzly bears’ butts? 

Reads one of the more popular comments: “My favorite of all animals, agile, solitary, silent, adaptive and cunning. I call it the ultimate hunter.”

The Harnas Wildlife Foundation, originally a cattle farm, is a sanctuary for animals in need of care and rehabilitation.

The Namibia facility told FTW Outdoors that Hellboy arrived as a cub after farmers shot his mom in 2011 “as a result of humans-versus-wildlife conflict where farmers retaliate against leopards preying on their livestock.”

Harnas added: “The mom was shot but she had a cub and so the cub came to us. He is to say the least quite a character and an amazing looking leopard.”

Sadly, Helloboy is not a candidate for release because he was hand raised and has lost his fear of humans.“And as such he might come into conflict with farmers,” Harnas stated.

WATCH: Baldy’s Breakdowns highlights the Drew Brees leap vs. Carolina

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees earned a shoutout from NFL analyst Brian Baldinger for his leaping touchdown against the Panthers.

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The New Orleans Saints needed a touchdown, and they needed it fast. With the offense lined up at the Carolina Panthers goal line and the clock winding down, they went with one of their signature play calls: a Drew Brees leap over the top of his offensive line, snapping the ball out ahead of him to break the plane. And it worked.

Those impressive hops from Brees earned a shoutout from NFL analyst Brian Baldinger.

“This guy’s been doing this exact same play for the last, basically, 17 or 18 years,” Baldinger said. “He steps up in these goal-line plays and short-yardage plays and elevates, I mean: that’s good elevation right there. he does this all the time. Even if you know it’s coming. [The defense] knows it’s coming.”

And it still works. The Brees leap has been successful for nearly two decades. Per Pro Football Reference, Brees has logged 14 rushing attempts from inside the 1-yard line since joining the Saints, and he’s scored a touchdown on 13 of those tries. The lone failure was a Brees fumble way back in 2008 against the Denver Broncos, recovered by a teammate. He’s scored on every other try in the following 12 years.

Hopefully this scoring leap isn’t the last one we’ll see from No. 9. It’s clear he still has some gas left in the tank.

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Dwayne Haskins’ progression in rookie season could trend into Year 2 leap

Haskins’ stats in 2019 weren’t great, but breaking down the progress he made as the season went along shows that he could be set for a leap.

Many people are looking at the start of the 2020 NFL season to see if Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins can take the necessary steps to become a franchise-caliber player in Washington. Some think he can, noting the hard work that they’ve seen posted to social media this offseason. Others think he will continue to struggle, noting the long and arduous rookie campaign that we all sat through.

For those who think he can’t improve, however, it’s important to note the progress that Haskins made throughout the 2019 season. Though his year-end stats may have been nothing special, they were bogged down by the abysmal start that he got off to in the first few games. If you were to break it down into sections, it becomes clear that Haskins progressed nicely in his first year in the league.

Of course, all of the pieces matter, and you can’t pick and choose which stats you want to count from which games, but it’s clear that Haskins did start to find a groove near the end of the 2019 season, and the game started to slow down a bit for him. If that trend continues, then it’s fair to believe that he could make a leap in year two.

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Watch: Drew Brees goes over the top on fourth down for a Saints TD

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees jumped over the San Francisco 49ers defensive line for a rushing touchdown in their Week 14 game.

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Faced with a short fourth-and-goal in a one-score game, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton made the easy call and sent his franchise quarterback into the teeth of the San Francisco 49ers defense. Drew Brees took the ball himself and jumped over the top of the battling offensive and defensive lines to break the plane and pick up a touchdown to keep his team in the lead.

This one has turned into a boat race, with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan creating big play after big play against a normally-sound Saints defense. Whether he’s scheming receivers wide-open downfield or fooling New Orleans’ pass rushers with trick plays, he’s picked up an early edge over Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. Several big returns on special teams by Saints rookie Deonte Harris and precise execution from Payton and Brees are keeping New Orleans on top, but barely.

If the Saints can hold onto their lead at halftime and make their adjustments, they might outlast the 49ers. But it’s hardly been easy so far, and it should continue to be a dogfight as the game wears on.

You can watch Brees’ big touchdown score in the video embedded below, or at this link:

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