As the Epson Tour sets to begin its 2023 season this week in Winter Haven, Florida, it’s a good time to look back on some the great champions who have earned their LPGA cards through the official qualifying tour.
Just last Sunday, Epson Tour alumna Lilia Vu broke through with her first victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand. The former UCLA standout won three times in 2021 to earn her LPGA card.
A total of 172 players have graduated from the Epson Tour since 1999. From 1999 to 2002, a total of three cards were handed out each season. That jumped to five in 2003 and beginning in 2008, that number increased to 10, which is where it currently stands.
Here are 15 players who graduated from the Epson Tour and found success on some of the biggest stages in golf:
Inbee Park
LPGA Hall of Famer Inbee Park initially appealed to go straight to the LPGA at age 17 but was denied. She enrolled at UNLV for a hot second but ultimately turned pro and joined what’s now known as the Epson Tour after the age limit was lowered to 17. She finished third on the money list to earn her card and two years later won the first of seven career majors.
Lorena Ochoa
Lorena Ochoa never missed a beat when she transitioned from a stellar career at the University of Arizona to the pro ranks. The Mexican star left college after two years and won three of 10 starts in the 2002 Futures Tour season, topping the money list and earning Player of the Year honors in the process. She’s now in the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame.
Nelly Korda
Nelly Korda transitioned from junior golf straight to the pros, joining the Epson Tour in 2016 at age 17. She won her first professional title at the Sioux Falls Greatlife Challenge and finished ninth on the tour’s money list at season’s end to earn her card. She’s now a major winner and former No. 1.
Grace Park
Grace Park topped the money list in 1999, becoming part of the first graduating class to the LPGA. She won five of 10 starts that season and was named Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year. She’d go on to win six times on the LPGA, including a major.
Mo Martin
Mo Martin began her professional career on the Epson Tour in 2006 and played on that tour for five seasons before finally earning her LPGA card in 2011 when she finished third on the money list. Three years later, Martin won the AIG Women’s British Open at Birkdale with one of the most memorable eagles in major championship history.
Hannah Green
Australian Hannah Green joined the Epson Tour in 2017, winning three times to finish second on the money list and earn her LPGA card. Two years later, she won the KPMG Women’s PGA at Hazeltine. Green has now won twice on the LPGA.
Patty Tavatanakit
Former UCLA standout Patty Tavatanakit won three times in eight starts on the 2019 Epson Tour circuit and was named Rookie of the Year. She won the 2021 Chevron Championship for her first LPGA title, defeating Lydia Ko by two strokes.
Birdie Kim
Birdie Kim earned her LPGA card through the Epson Tour in 2003 by finishing fourth on the money list. She played as Ju Kim until 2004, when she changed her name to distinguish herself from the rest of the South Korean players with the surname Kim.
After making only three cuts in her first 20 events as an LPGA rookie, Kim went back to Q-School to retain her card and then entered U.S. Women’s Open lore when she holed a bunker shot on the 72nd hole to win at Cherry Hills and break the hearts of then amateurs Morgan Pressel and Brittany Lang, who took a share of second.
Mi Jung Hur
South Korea’s Mi Jung Hur turned joined the Futures Tour in 2008 and finished fourth on the money list to earn her card. Her first victory on the LPGA came the following season when she defeated Suzann Pettersen and Michele Redman in a playoff at the Safeway Classic. Hur has won four times on the LPGA, her most recent coming in 2019. Last year Hur gave birth to her first child, a son, named Ji-An Wang.
Seon Hwa Lee
After a successful stint on the Korean LPGA, Seon Hwa Lee came to the Futures Tour in 2004. She topped the money list on that tour in 2005 to earn her LPGA card, winning the 2005 Albany Futures Pro Golf Classic. On the LPGA, Lee won four times from 2006 to 2008.
Christina Kim
Now a three-time winner the LPGA, Christina Kim graduated from the Epson Tour in 2002 in the same class of three as Ochoa and Miriam Nagl. Kim missed only one cut in 18 starts that season, notching 12 top-10 finishes. She won the Hewlett-Packard Garden State Futures Summer Classic by defeating Ochoa on the sixth playoff hole.
Celine Boutier
France’s Celine Boutier won twice on the Epson Tour in 2017, becoming the third member of the 2017 graduating class to exceed $100,000 in single-season earnings. Now a two-time winner on the LPGA, the Duke grad is also a stalwart for Team Europe, amassing a 5-1-1 record in the Solheim Cup.
Ally Ewing
After graduating from Mississippi State, Ally Ewing earned conditional status on the LPGA for the 2016 season but played mostly on the Epson Tour. She finished runner-up four times that season and placed second on the money list behind Madelene Sagstrom. She has since won twice on the LPGA,
Stacy Prammanasudh
Former Tulsa standout Stacy Prammanasudh won 10 times at the collegiate level before earning non-exempt status on the LPGA for the 2003 season. Prammanasudh played on both the LPGA and Futures Tours in 2003, winning twice on the developmental circuit along with nine additional top-10 finishes. She won POY honors that season on the Futures Tour and went on to win twice on the LPGA in 2005 and 2007.
Marina Alex
New Jersey’s Marina Alex, a former Vanderbilt player, spent two seasons on the Epson Tour before earning her card for the 2014 season. Alex finished third on the money list in 2013. She has since won twice on the LPGA, most recently at the 2022 Palos Verdes Championship.
