The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is one of the longest-running women's professional sports associations in the world. Founded in 1950, the organization has grown from its roots as a playing tour into a nonprofit organization involved in every facet of golf. The LPGA Tour and the LPGA Professionals comprise the backbone of what has become the premier women's professional sports organization in the world today. The LPGA maintains a strong focus on charity through its tournaments, its grassroots junior and women's programs, and its LPGA Foundation. The LPGA is under the guidance of Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Mollie Marcoux Samaan is the ninth Commissioner of the LPGA since its formation in 1950. Her journey to the LPGA started at Princeton University, where she was a two-sport varsity athlete in soccer and ice hockey before graduating cum laude in 1991. In her senior year, she was awarded the Otto Von Kienbusch Sportswoman of the Year Award given to the University’s top female athlete. Following graduation, Marcoux Samaan served as assistant athletic director, assistant dean of admissions and coach of girls’ ice hockey and soccer at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey.
Read Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan's Full Bio
LPGA Tour Members will compete for a record-setting $101.4 million in official purses in 2023, the largest total ever presented to the world’s best female golfers, across 33 official events.
The LPGA Professionals was founded in 1959 as an outgrowth of the LPGA Tour. The newly renamed LPGA Professionals boasts the largest membership of women golf professionals in the world. LPGA Professionals are certified as golf instructors, coaches and business managers through a comprehensive curriculum designed to meet the changing needs of the golfing public.
More than 1,800 strong, LPGA Professionals are dedicated to the advancement of golf and serve throughout the golf industry as head professionals, assistant professionals, teaching professionals, directors of golf, owners of golf schools and facilities, golf administrators, college and high school coaches and more. LPGA Professionals support the LPGA’s various grassroots programs that were created to involve women and youth in golf as well as contribute to the overall growth of the sport. These include LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, LPGA Tour Junior Clinics, the LPGA Lesson Zone and LPGA Golf 101 programs.
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The LPGA Foundation was established in 1991 and is committed to being a leader in improving the lives of girls and women through the game of golf. Its mission is to empower, inspire and transform the lives of girls and young women through the game of golf.
The LPGA Foundation has four main goals:
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The LPGA Foundation administers several scholarship programs for young women who enjoy the game of golf and plan to attend college. Qualifications for all scholarships include strong academic programs, community service and recommendations. The LPGA Foundation's structure also allows for the establishment of endowed scholarships in honor or in memory of individuals who made a significant difference in the world of golf. The four existing scholarships are the Dinah Shore Scholarship, the Marilynn Smith Scholarship, the Phyllis G. Meekins Scholarship and the Goldie Bateson Scholarship.
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The major golf program for juniors under the umbrella of The LPGA Foundation is LPGA-USGA Girls Golf (Girls Golf), a national developmental golf program for girls. LPGA-USGA Girls Golf is an expanded program modeled after the LPGA Girls Golf Club, which was established in Phoenix in 1989 by LPGA Professionals member Sandy LaBauve. It became an initiative of The LPGA Foundation in 1994.
In January 2002, The LPGA Foundation and the United States Golf Association (USGA) launched a cooperative effort to further promote and grow girls’ golf and the future of girls’ golf in the United States, and the program was renamed LPGA-USGA Girls Golf to reflect this expanded partnership. The program provides an opportunity for girls, ages 7 to 17, to learn to play golf, build lasting friendships and experience competition in a fun, supportive environment, preparing them for a lifetime of enjoyment with the game.
The only national initiative of its kind, Girls Golf is aimed at introducing girls to the game of golf and empowering them with confidence, friendships and life skills.
Throughout its 20-year history, Girls Golf has empowered a total of more than 300,000 girls through golf — now impacting 60,000 more young women each year. More than 380 Girls Golf programs are operated by local site directors and golf professionals in communities across the country. These program directors (along with the assistance of staff, coaches and/or volunteers) coordinate golf clinics, professional instruction, outings, competitive events and social activities for their members.
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The responsibility for oversight and guidance of the management of the LPGA lies with the LPGA Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is composed of six independent directors; the LPGA Player Directors (Player Executive Committee); Marvol Barnard, the national president of the LPGA Professionals; and Mollie Marcoux Samaan, commissioner of the LPGA.
The 2023 LPGA Player Directors are: President Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, Ally Ewing, Stacy Lewis, Gemma Dryburgh, Mel Reid, Elizabeth Szokol and Kelly Tan.
The 2023 LPGA independent board members are: John Veihmeyer, Chair/retired Chairman of KPMG International; Jon Iwata, retired senior vice president and Chief Brand Officer of IBM; Madeleine Kleiner, retired executive vice president and general counsel of Hilton Hotel Corporation; Michele Meyer-Shipp, CEO of Dress for Success Worldwide; Tom Schoewe, retired executive vice president and Chief Financial Officer of Walmart; and Stephen C. Mills, former president and general manager of the New York Knicks
The Epson Tour, known as the “Road to the LPGA” and dubbed the official qualifying tour of the LPGA, annually graduates its top 10 players to the LPGA Tour. Inbee Park, Lorena Ochoa and Nelly Korda are three Epson Tour graduates who have all risen to become #1 in the Rolex Rankings. Other recent graduates who have found success on the LPGA Tour are major winners Patty Tavatanakit, Hannah Green, Mo Martin, and tournament winners Ally Ewing, Celine Boutier, Madelene Sagstrom, and Marina Alex. Sophia Popov, then a current Epson Tour member, famously won the 2020 AIG Women’s Open and a year later was joined by 5 other Epson Tour alumnae on the victorious 12-player European Solheim Cup team.
For more information Visit EpsonTour.com
The LPGA/Epson Tour Qualifying Tournament is a three-stage process (consisting of Stage I, Stage II and LPGA Q-Series) to determine membership status on both the LPGA and the Epson Tour for the following year.
For more information on how to qualify for the LPGA Tour, or to receive an application for this year's qualifying competitions, contact LPGA Operations at 386-274-6200.
Find more information on LPGA Qualifying. >>
LPGA International is a premier residential community in Daytona Beach, Fla., which serves as the home of the LPGA. LPGA International features two 18-hole golf courses (Jones and Hill), the LPGA Golf Academy and the LPGA's Headquarters office building. Jones, a Rees Jones-designed course that opened in July 1994, marked the first time in history that a golf course was designed specifically for professional women golfers. Hills, designed by Arthur Hills, opened in October 1998. LPGA International features a state-of-the-art teaching academy, which includes three championship practice holes, five putting greens and chipping greens, practice bunkers and a 360-yard double-ended driving range.
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The mission of the World Golf Foundation is to unite the golf industry in support of initiatives that enhance the growth of and provide access to the game of golf worldwide, while preserving golf's traditional values and passing them on to others.
In support of that mission, World Golf Foundation focuses on a variety of initiatives to grow and celebrate the game of golf around the world. Through The First Tee, the World Golf Foundation focuses on positively impacting the lives of young people. Under the banner of the World Golf Hall of Fame, it recognizes and celebrates golf's greatest players and contributors and serves as an inspiration to golfers and fans worldwide. The World Golf Foundation's GOLF 20/20 initiative pursues programs to ensure golf's continued growth and vitality. All World Golf Foundation initiatives work together to support the growth of the game among youth, women and minorities, while also fostering diversity within the golf industry.
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Located in St. Augustine, Fla., the World Golf Village is one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken in golf. At the center of the World Golf Village is the 75,000 square-foot World Golf Hall of Fame. The World Golf Hall of Fame includes interactive exhibits, one of the world's largest collections of memorabilia and an IMAX Theater. In addition, the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame - which has its own set of criteria for entrance - is housed as part of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
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Tune in to watch as the LPGA Tour tees it up for their first major championship of the 2024 season. The Club at Carlton Woods plays host to The Chevron Championship. The 132-player field, highlighted by 10 of the top 10 in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings, will compete for a $7.9 million purse.
