DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Aug. 20, 2008 – The Duramed FUTURES Tour along with the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) announced today that it will award LPGA membership to five additional players this season. The Tour’s top 10 players on the regular season-ending money list will be awarded 2009 LPGA membership at the conclusion of the ILOVENY Championship in Albany, N.Y. That event will be played Sept. 5-7.
“This gives five more players the opportunity for coveted membership on the LPGA,” said Zayra F. Calderon, CEO of the Duramed FUTURES Tour. “It rewards our top 10 players for their superior performance during a long, challenging season and it recognizes the Duramed FUTURES Tour as the pipeline to the LPGA.”
Prior to this change, only players who finished in places one through five on the Duramed FUTURES Tour as of the conclusion of the last official money event on the Duramed FUTURES Tour were eligible for LPGA Tour membership.
Since 1999, a total of 37 players have earned LPGA membership by finishing among the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s top season money winners. The Tour presented LPGA membership to its top three money winners from 1999-2002, then began awarding LPGA membership to the top five money winners from 2003 to 2007. This year will mark the inaugural presentation of 10 cards to the top money winners, showcasing the Duramed FUTURES Tour as another way players can advance to the LPGA Tour.
Such LPGA Tour winners as Grace Park (1999), Lorena Ochoa (2002), Stacy Prammanasudh (2003), Jimin Kang (2004), Seon-Hwa Lee and Nicole Castrale (2005), and Meaghan Francella (2006), earned LPGA membership as top money winners on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.
About the Duramed FUTURES Tour
Called “The Road To the LPGA and Beyond,” the Duramed FUTURES Tour has become the world’s largest international women’s developmental tour. In its 28th competitive season this year, the Tour has remained committed to developing LPGA stars of tomorrow and creating viable role models for youth today. The top-five money winners each season earn automatic exemptions for the LPGA Tour. With more than 300 alumnae as current members of the LPGA, through 2007, former Duramed FUTURES Tour players have won a total of 330 LPGA titles, including 35 major championships. Duramed FUTURES Tour events have contributed more than $4 million to charitable organizations throughout the nation since 1989. For more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.
Contact:
Lisa D. Mickey, Duramed FUTURES Tour, 386-274-6212, lisa@duramedfuturestour.com.
