LPGA Grants Special Privileges to Outstanding American College Players

Direct Advancement to Epson Tour for 10 Players
Top 10 Seeds Awarded Based on LCAP Ranking

The LPGA is granting special privileges to outstanding American college players.

On July 2 (local time), the LPGA announced, "We have decided to offer 10 college players the benefit of advancing directly to next year's Epson Tour (the second-tier tour)." This system has been named the LCAP (LPGA Collegiate Advancement Pathway). The main points are that the top 10 players in the LCAP ranking will be granted Epson Tour seeds, and depending on their ranking, they will also be exempt from the LPGA Tour Qualifying (Q) Series preliminaries.

The LPGA has introduced a new benefit granting second-tier tour seeds to the top 10 American college players. Photo by LPGA

The LCAP ranking is determined by the LPGA and includes not only Division I college golf programs but also any colleges recognized by the World Amateur Golf Ranking. The LPGA Tour explained that the LCAP system is designed not only to reduce the hundreds of thousands of won in expenses that college players must bear to earn a tour seed, but also to encourage college golfers to complete their studies whenever possible.

The LPGA Tour believes it is undesirable that an increasing number of female golfers are either turning professional immediately without entering college or dropping out of college to pursue a professional career. The LPGA Tour presented research showing that, over the past four years, 82% of players who finished within the top 80 on the Epson Tour had attended college, and these players spent an average of 3.79 years in school, nearly the full four years.