Tag: symetra tour

  • Symetra Tour’s 2014 Season Set to Begin

    Symetra Tour’s 2014 Season Set to Begin

    symetra_tourThe expanded 2014 Symetra Tour schedule tees off February 21 in Mesa, Arizona. This year the tour will have 20 events, five more than last year, with purses totaling more than $2.2 million, a record for the tour.

    Again this year, as it has for the last two seasons, the LPGA will award full status cards for the following year to the top 10 money earners on the Symetra Tour. The tour is owned by the LPGA and is nicknamed “The Road to the LPGA.”

    There are 30 or more players whose past performances have shown they have a good chance of finishing in the top 10. Here are my predictions of those that will get it done and move on to the LPGA at the end of this season.

    Predictions for Top 10 Money Winners

    Feng1. Yueer Cindy Feng (China)

    Having turned 18 years old earlier this month, this powerful young ball striker from China begins her first season as a professional golfer. Feng has developed a strong reputation as an amateur player here in the United States over the past several years. She qualified for three of the past five U S Women’s Opens, making her first appearance in 2009 when she was just 13 years old.

    Watch for Feng to capture multiple victories this season and to finish the year first on the tour’s money list. She should be an LPGA rookie in 2015.

    Hannah2. Hannah Yun (United States)

    This 21 year old from Bradenton, Florida earned her 2012 LPGA rookie card through Q School. Yun struggled in her first two seasons on the premier tour however, and was forced to drop down to the Symetra Tour midway through the 2013 season. She won the tour’s Volvik Championship last summer in Reunion, Florida, and finished 20th on the season money list while playing in only ten events.

    Yun has all the natural skills to successfully compete on the LPGA. She should find her mental game this season and finish in the top two or three on the tour’s money list, returning her to the LPGA in 2015. Two or more victories for her are not out of the question this season.

    higgins3. Olivia Jordan-Higgins (Great Britain)

    A mere $115 kept this fourth-year Symetra Tour player from earning her LPGA rookie card for this season. Last year Jordan-Higgins, who hails from the Channel Islands in the English Channel, finished 11th on the tour’s money list. She missed the cut in the final event of the season. Had she made that cut she would have captured the 10th spot on the money list and would be playing on the LPGA this year.

    Jordan-Higgins’ game improved steadily over her first three seasons on the Symetra Tour. She got her first tour victory last year at the Credit Union Classic in Syracuse, New York, and had three other top 10 finishes. If her game continues to improve she should finish within the top five of the money list this season.

    kaufman4. Kim Kaufman (United States)

    This 5’11’’ player wasted little time last year in establishing herself as a force on the Symetra Tour. Kaufman joined the tour in June after graduating Texas Tech University, and in just her third event as a professional she captured a victory at the Island Resort Championship in Harris, Michigan.

    Kaufman went on to earn three other top 10 finishes and made the cut in all of the ten events she entered in 2013. That type of consistent golf was good enough to give her the 12th spot on the tour’s money list at the end of the season. She earned limited LPGA status for this season at Q School in December. She could make it into a handful of LPGA events this year. If she focuses on the Symetra Tour for the entire year she should finish the season well within the top 10 on the money list.

    Stoelting5. Jackie Stoelting (United States)

    Hard work and steady progress over the past five years on the tour should earn Jackie Stoelting her full status LPGA card for the 2015 season. The Vero Beach, Florida native begins her 7th season on the Symetra Tour this year. She finished 22nd on the money list last year and earned partial status on the LPGA for this season through her T38 finish at the final stage of Q School last December.

    Stoelting had five top 10 finishes in 2013 and missed only 3 cuts in 14 events. She also qualified for last year’s U S Women’s Open. Look for her to capture her first Symetra Tour victory this season and easily finish inside the top 10 on the money list.

    hsu6. Wei-Ling Hsu (Taiwan)

    An 18-year-old rookie last year, this Taiwanese player became one of the youngest-ever winners on the Symetra Tour when she captured the victory in the Credit Union Challenge in Albany, New York. Hsu had two other top 10 finishes during the season and made the cut in 12 of her 14 events.

    Very accurate off the tees and a strong putter, Hsu is another impressive teenager from Asia where women’s golf has developed in amazing fashion over the last several years. Expect her to be in the winner’s circle again this season on the Symetra Tour and on to the LPGA next year.

    eaton7. Melissa Eaton (South Africa)

    After winning the second event of the 2013 season on the Symetra Tour, Melissa Eaton was in the driver’s seat for capturing one of the 10 LPGA cards at the end of the season. But that turned out to be her only top 10 finish in 14 starts for the tour veteran from South Africa. She ended the year in 13th place on the money list.

    A graduate of Louisiana State University, Eaton turned pro in 2008 and has spent 6 years on the Symetra Tour. She has also had status on the Ladies European Tour for the past two seasons. She has a twin sister who also played briefly on the Symetra Tour. Eaton’s close brush with earning her LPGA card last year should be enough to inspire her to a better season in 2014 and a top 10 finish on the money list.

    koelbaek8. Therese Koelbaek (Denmark)

    Following a very impressive 2012 rookie season on the tour, Therese Koelbaek is hoping to bounce back from an injury that kept her out of action most of last year. The tall (5-9”) Dane made the cut in all of her 15 starts in 2012 and finished 26th on the tour’s money list. But the two-time All-American from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas suffered a back injury early last season and only appeared in 4 events, making just one cut.

    A lengthy recovery and recuperation has apparently worked. Koelbaek has already won two events early this year on the Cactus Tour in Arizona and has shot several impressive rounds in the 60’s. If her back holds up she can expect to repeat her winning ways on the Symetra Tour at an event or two in the 2014 season. She should also be able to finish the year in the top 10 on the money list.

    do9. Brianna Do (United States)

    This third-year Symetra Tour player from California won the   U S Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in 2011 while she was a player on the UCLA women’s golf team. Last December she finished T32 in the final stage of LPGA Q School, earning limited playing status for this year’s LPGA season. Unlikely to get many starts on the LPGA, she will likely focus her playing time on the Symetra Tour.

    Last year, in her first full Symetra season, Brianna Do made 10 of 14 cuts and had one top 10 finish. A solid ball striker with an excellent short game there is no reason that she can’t make another big jump in her career this year and earn her full status for next year’s LPGA season.

    jenq10. Jenni Jenq (United States)

    Every year there are one or two players that seemingly come out of nowhere to finish high on the Symetra Tour money list and earn their way to the LPGA. This year one of those players could be Jenni Jenq. The native Californian is beginning her second pro season on the tour, having decided to turn pro a few years after graduating Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She won the California Women’s Amateur title in 2011.

    Jenq is very accurate off the tee, with her approach shots, and around the green. She has an excellent putting game. Her commitment to practice and her strong mental approach to the game could be enough to propel her into the top 10 this season. Don’t be surprised if she wins an event this season.

    Dave Andrews, Author of Pops and SunshineAbout the Author: Dave Andrews is a Harvard-educated former television news reporter. Dave is an avid golfer who has become a fan of the LPGA and the Symetra Tour. He  is the author of Pops and Sunshine, a novel and screenplay about life on the women’s tour. The screenplay has been optioned by a production company in Hollywood. 

  • The Road (Back) to the LPGA

    Symetra TourThe Symetra Tour is the official developmental tour of the LPGA. It is made up primarily of young women from all around the world who have just turned pro and are trying to make the big jump to the highest level in women’s professional golf. The tour’s official nickname is “The Road to the LPGA.” It’s the equivalent of the Triple A league in Major League Baseball.

    Each year the top 10 money earners on the Symetra Tour receive full playing status on the LPGA for the following season. In 2013 the tour might have been better nicknamed “The Road Back to the LPGA.” Only one of the 10 players that earned her playing status on the LPGA for this year’s season will be a true rookie. The other nine have made it up to the LPGA in past seasons (either through the Symetra Tour or LPGA Q School), but they did not perform well enough… make enough money… to keep their cards. Their stories point to the difficulty of making a steady (and lucrative) career as a professional woman golfer. It is very hard getting to the LPGA. It is just as hard for many to stay there.

    GiuliaMolinaroThe only true LPGA rookie out of the Symetra Tour this year is Giulia Molinaro from Italy. Molinaro, who played college golf at Arizona State University, spent just the 2013 season on the Symetra tour and finished 2nd on the money list with just under $40,000 in earnings. Molinaro has done what few players have done, going from Symetra Tour rookie to LPGA rookie in only one year. Most players spend a few years on the Symetra Tour before they are able to make the jump to the LPGA. The vast majority of Symetra players never make it to the LPGA.

    The other nine top finishers on the Symetra Tour’s money list have had LPGA status in the past. All of them had to return to the Symetra Tour last year, or for the past few years, because they lost the LPGA playing status they had gained in previous seasons either through the Symetra Tour or Q School.

    Here are the other nine players and the year (in parenthesis) that they first earned their LPGA cards.

    P.K Kongkraphan-Thailand (2013)

    Marina Alex-USA (2012)

    Christine Song-USA (2010)

    Cydney Clanton-USA (2012)

    Sue Kim-Canada (2013)

    Hannah Jun-USA (2008)

    Perrine Delacour-France (2013)

    Alena Sharp-Canada (2005)

    Jaclyn Sweeney-USA (2011)

    There will be 28 rookies on the LPGA this year. 26 of those players earned their rookie cards through the Q School process. Besides Giulia Molinaro from the Symetra Tour, teenage sensation Lydia Ko earned her rookie card by winning an LPGA event in 2013.

    Of those 26 players, just 9 earned full playing status by finishing in the top 20 at Q School. That gives them Category 12 status on the LPGA’s player priority list. They will get into all of the full field events this season, giving them a good opportunity to make money and maintain their playing status for 2015. The top 125 finishers on the LPGA money list each season are assured of playing status for the following year.

    The other 17 rookies from Q School (those who finished 21st to 44th) earned limited playing status, Category 17, which will only get them into a handful of LPGA events this year. That means they will have to take advantage of those few playing opportunities to climb up the LPGA money list, or they will have to return to the Symetra Tour or Q School. Many of those players will play primarily on the Symetra Tour this season and hope they can finish the 2014 season in the top 10 on that tour’s money list.

    Hannah YunThe story of Hannah Yun exemplifies how difficult it is for players to reach the LPGA tour and to stay there once they have. Yun, who will turn 22 in April, first earned her full status card on the LPGA at Q School in December of 2011. She had already played three full seasons on the Symetra Tour at that point without doing well enough to earn her LPGA card that way.

    The gifted teenager played a full season on the LPGA in 2012. However, like most rookies, she had a hard time competing at the top level. She made only 4 cuts in 16 events, earning less than $30,000, and finished the year 116th on the tour’s money list. She returned to the final stage of LPGA Q School in December of 2012, trying to improve her playing status for the 2013 season.

    Yun did not do well at Q School and dropped to 152nd place on the LPGA’s priority list for the 2013 season (she maintained tour status for 2013 because she had finished in the top 125 on the money list in 2012). Her struggles continued in the limited number of LPGA events she was able to enter. She missed the cut in each of the 6 events she played. Midway through the 2013 season she lost her LPGA playing status through the “reshuffle” in the priority list and she was forced to drop down to the Symetra Tour for the remainder of the year.

    Her play and results improved dramatically against the lesser competition on that tour. She had several good finishes, including a win (her first as a pro) in the Symetra Tour’s Volvik Championship in August. She finished the Symetra Tour season in 20th place on the tour’s money list. That was not good enough, however, to earn her LPGA status for the 2014 season.

    She returned to the final stage of LPGA Q School last December where she shot a 68 in the first round and was tied for 4th place early in the five-day event. But her scores went up over the next four days and she finished the event in 63rd place, not good enough to earn her any LPGA status for this season.

    So this year Hannah Yun will be playing a full season again on the Symetra Tour. Her goal is to finish in the top 10 on the money list and automatically return to the LPGA fulltime in 2015. She is not alone in her up-and-down ride in women’s professional golf. The competition is intense, and only those with strong physical skills and an equally-strong mental game last a long time on the LPGA tour.

    The LPGA schedule has grown again this year. There will be 32 events, an increase of four from 2013. The season gets underway at the end of January with the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic. For the new rookies (or any player) it is all about making cuts and earning paychecks. In professional golf that is what it’s all about. If you don’t play well, it’s back to “the minors” where the road to the top of the hill starts all over again.

    Dave Andrews, Author of Pops and SunshineAbout the Author: Dave Andrews is a Harvard-educated former television news reporter. Dave is an avid golfer who has become a fan of the LPGA and the Symetra Tour. He  is the author of Pops and Sunshine, a novel and screenplay about life on the women’s tour. The screenplay has been optioned by a production company in Hollywood.