By Jordan Perez
New title sponsor, who dis? The Epson Tour has finally unveiled its much anticipated 2022 schedule.
Quickly fulfilling an empowering promise, the Tour’s 21-tournament schedule visits a series of familiar venues with a new twist: the average purse size has swelled to $210,000 with a record total of $4.41 million up for grabs this season. The largest purse in Tour history, $335,000, belongs to August’s French Lick Resort Charity Championship, with a $50,000 winner’s check.
2022 EPSON TOUR SCHEDULE
DateTournament & LocationPurseMarch 4-6Florida’s Natural Charity Classic
Country Club of Winter Haven; Winter Haven, Florida$200,000March 17-20Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic Longbow Golf Club; Mesa, Arizona$200,000March 25-27IOA Championship pres. by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon, Champions Course; Beaumont, Calif.$200,000March 31-April 3Casino Del Sol Golf Classic
Sewailo Golf Club; Tucson, Arizona$200,000April 21-23Copper Rock Championship
Copper Rock Golf Course; Hurricane, Utah$200,000April 29-May 1 Garden City Charity Classic
Buffalo Dunes Golf Club; Garden City, Kansas$200,000May 20-22IOA Golf Classic pres. by RP Funding Alaqua Country Club; Longwood, Florida$200,000May 27-29Inova Mission Inn Championship
Mission Inn Resort, El Campeon Golf Course; Howey-In-The-Hills, Florida$200,000June 8-12Carolina Golf Classic pres. by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC Kinston Country Club; Kinston, North Carolina$200,000June 16-18Ann Arbor’s Road to the LPGA powered by the A2 Sports Commission Travis Pointe Country Club; Ann Arbor, Michigan$200,000June 24-26Island Resort Championship
Sweetgrass Golf Club; Harris, Michigan$225,000July 8-10Twin Bridges Championship
Pinehaven Country Club; Guilderland, New York$200,000July 29-31FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship
Battle Creek Country Club; Battle Creek, Michigan$200,000Aug. 4-7French Lick Resort Charity Championship The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort; French Lick, Indiana$335,000Aug. 12-14Four Winds Invitational
South Bend Country Club; South Bend, Indiana$200,000Aug. 26-28Circling Raven Championship
Circling Raven Golf Club; Worley, Idaho$200,000Sept. 2-4Wildhorse Ladies Classic
Wildhorse Golf Course; Pendleton, Oregon$200,000Sept. 16-18Guardian Championship
RTJ Golf Trail at Capitol Hill, Senator Course; Prattville, Alabama$200,000Sept. 23-25Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout
Mystic Creek Golf Club; El Dorado, Arkansas$200,000Sept. 29-Oct. 2TBA
Ol’ Colony Golf Course; Tuscaloosa, Alabama$200,000Oct. 6-9Epson Tour Championship
LPGA International, Jones Course; Daytona Beach, Florida$250,000
In just five years, the average purse size on the Epson Tour has increased by over six figures, despite the challenges of a global pandemic. For its members and aspirants, this cash extra further democratizes the dream, giving the women a little more security on the tough road to the LPGA.
Ally Ewing, a two-time LPGA Tour winner and the newest player director on the LPGA board, vividly recalls the financial strain she experienced at the outset of her career. “To see the Epson Tour continue to elevate since I graduated in 2016 is great for the game of golf,” says Ewing (top photo). “I earned just over $110,000 when purse sizes averaged roughly $139,000, so a 50% growth over such a short span is both encouraging and essential to creating a financially viable path for these future LPGA Tour members.”
Along with the increase in parity comes more opportunities as the circuit is adding three new stops: the Wildhorse Ladies Classic at Wildhorse Golf Course in Pendleton, Ore.; Ann Arbor's Road to the LPGA powered by the A2 Sports Commission in Ann Arbor, Mich. at Travis Pointe Country Club; and an as-yet-unnamed tournament at Ol’ Colony Golf Course in Tuscaloosa, Ala.,
At the conclusion of the season, the top 10 players on the Epson Tour money list earn LPGA Tour status for 2023, along with a sweet bonus of $10,000 each to kickstart their LPGA Tour season.
The path to the LPGA tees off on March 4th at the Country Club of Winter Haven (below). It's going to be a journey.