FUTURES Tour
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The FUTURES Tour, known for sponsorship reasons since 2006 as the Duramed FUTURES Tour, is the official developmental golf tour of the LPGA Tour.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Futures Tour was founded in Florida in 1981 as the "Tampa Bay Mini Tour". It officially became the Futures Golf Tour in 1983 [1] and in 1999 become a national tour designated as the "official developmental tour" of the LPGA Tour (the U.S. based professional women's golf tour).
Duramed, a pharmaceutical company, became the tour's title sponsor in 2006.
Grace Park, Marilyn Lovander and Audra Burks were the first players to receive automatic LPGA Tour exempt status by finishing one, two, and three on the FUTURES Golf Tour Money List [1].
On July 18, 2007, the LPGA announced that it had acquired the FUTURES Tour effective immediately, "bringing women's professional golf now under one umbrella." Previously the Futures Tour had operated as a licensee of the LPGA [2].
[edit] Promotion to LPGA
[edit] 1999-2007
From 1999 through 2007 the top five leading money winners at the end of each season earned full membership in the following season's LPGA Tour. Starting with the sixth-ranked player at the end of the season, ten additional Duramed FUTURES Tour players who are not already members of the LPGA, automatically advanced into the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, bypassing the sectional qualifying tournament.
[edit] 2008-present
Beginning in 2008 the process for promotion to the LPGA Tour was changed. The top ten leading money winners at the end of the season gained membership on the LPGA Tour for the next season, with those finishing in the top five positions gaining higher priority for entry into events than those finishing in positions six through ten. Finishers in positions sixth through ten still have the option to attend LPGA Qualifying School to try to improve their membership for the following season.[3]
[edit] Players
Players come from around the world to compete on the FUTURES Tour. In recent years, a particularly strong contingent of players has come from South Korea.
FUTURES Tour graduates include LPGA tournament winners Laura Davies, Meaghan Francella, Cristie Kerr, Christina Kim, Lorena Ochoa, Grace Park, Stacy Prammanasudh, Sherri Steinhauer, and Karrie Webb.
[edit] 2009 Schedule and results
The number in parentheses after winners' names show the player's total number of official money, individual event wins on the FUTURES Tour including that event.
Tournaments in bold are majors
[edit] Historical tour schedules and results
| Year | Number of tournaments |
Total prize money |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 Tour | 18 | $96,945 |
| 2007 Tour | 19 | $82,222 |
| 2006 Tour | 19 |
[edit] FUTURES Tour awards
- The Player of the Year Award is given to the player who leads the money list at the end of the season.
- The Gaëlle Truet Rookie of the Year is awarded to the player competing in her first professional season who finishes highest on the Duramed FUTURES Tour Money List. Truet was a Tour member who was killed in a car accident during the 2006 season. The award was renamed in her honor beginning in 2006.
| Year | Player of the Year | Rookie of the Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 |  Vicky Hurst |
Vicky Hurst |
| 2007 | Emily Bastel |
 Violeta Retamoza |
| 2006 |  Song-Hee Kim |
Song-Hee Kim |
| 2005 | Seon-Hwa Lee |
Sun Young Yoo |
| 2004 | Jimin Kang |
Aram Cho |
| 2003 | Stacy Prammanasudh |
Soo Young Moon |
| 2002 | Lorena Ochoa |
Lorena Ochoa |
| 2001 | Beth Bauer |
Beth Bauer |
| 2001 | Heather Zakhar |
Jamie Hullett |
| 1999 | Grace Park |
|
| 1998 | Michelle Bell |
|
| 1997 | Marilyn Lovander |
|
| 1996 | Vickie Moran |
|
| 1995 | Patty Ehrhart |
|
| 1994 | Marilyn Lovander |
|
| 1993 | Nanci Bowen |
|
| 1992 | Jodi Figley |
|
| 1991 | Kim Williams |
|
| 1990 | Denise Baldwin |
|
| 1989 | Jennifer MacCurrach |
|
| 1988 | Jenny Lidback |
|
| 1987 | Laurel Kean |
|
| 1986 | Tammie Green |
|
| 1985 | Tammie Green |
|
| 1984 | Penny Hammel |
[edit] The Big Break
Many of the contestants on The Golf Channel's The Big Break III: Ladies Only, which aired in the Spring of 2005, played on the FUTURES Tour, including Danielle Amiee, who ended up being the show's overall champion. The other players from the show that played on the Futures Tour were Jan Dowling, Valeria Ochoa, runner-up Pamela Crikelair, and LPGA veteran Cindy Miller. Show co-host Stephanie Sparks played on the FUTURES Tour from 1996 to 1999.
The Big Break V: Hawaii, which aired in the spring of 2006, included six additional FUTURES Tour competitors: Dana Lacey, Ashley Prange, Kim Lewellen, Kristina Tucker, Becky Lucidi and Jeanne Cho. Prange won the competition; Cho was runner-up.
The Big Break VI: Trump National, broadcast in the fall of 2006, included six more FUTURES Tour players: Rachel Bailey, the individual winner of the 2002 Sunbelt Conference Championship at New Mexico State University; Bridget Dwyer, a member of the 2004 NCAA Women's Golf Championship winning team at UCLA; Ashley Gomes, the 2004 WAC Player of the Year and individual winner of the 2004 WAC Championship while at San Jose State University; Sarah Lynn Johnston, the 2004 Southern Conference Player of the Year and individual winner of the 2004 Southern Conference Championship while at Furman University; Kristy McPherson, a three-time NCAA All-American First Team selection and two-time individual winner of the SEC Championship while at The University of South Carolina; and Briana Vega, who holds North Carolina State University's scoring records for 18-holes (68) and 54-holes (216).
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b Lisa D. Mickey. "Silver Anniversary Salute: FUTURES Tour Prepares For Next 25 Years". Duramed Futures Tour. http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/News/SilverAnniversarySalute.html. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ "LPGA acquires Duramed FUTURES Tour". LPGA.com. 2007-07-18. http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=11839&mid=4. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ "LPGA Tour Cards Award to Duramed Futures Tour Top 10". LPGA. http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=17028&mid=4. Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Official Duramed Championship Podcasts from Game Day Communications
- Life lessons of the Future Tour ESPN.com July 14, 2006
|
||||||||||||||
