Kenzie Wright, a professional golfer playing on the Epson Tour has spoken out about the staggering costs that those who want to climb the ranks of the sport must bear.
Yesterday, the 25 year old posted a tweet revealing that entry fees and yardage books cost more than $16000 per year.
*I am not trying to get sympathy, I know that this is a choice* But I paid $16,826.47 for entry fees and yardage book alone in 2022.
— Kenzie Wright (@kenziewgolf) January 31, 2023
The LPGA has experienced a significant increase in prize-funds during the last two seasons. The 2023 schedule was valued at $101.4 million. However, the Epson Tour (ex-Symetra), was worth approximately $210k each event over a 21 tournament season.
While nobody is saying that the LPGA’s development tour should not be valued as much, it does bring in Brooke Henderson, the recent winner of the Tournament of Champions.
Wright made just six cuts in 15 events in 2022. Her $8000 prize money doesn’t cover a figure that doesn’t include travel, lodgings, or equipment.
Sponsors are crucial even at the highest levels.
Last April 2017, 2017 Women’s PGA Championship Champion Danielle Kang, shared the financial realities of tour, commneting
“How about the average tour player? Last week I earned $6,000, and made the cut. I didn’t break-even last week. This is me budgeting. I must drive, rent a vehicle, and book a room in a hotel.
BMW sponsors me and provides me with the car. This saves me $500, $1000, etc strong>
Wright was a promising student at the University of Alabama. She began fund-raising to get into the professional ranks through her gofundme webpage,in which she stated that her donation would go towards travel expenses, entry fees and other costs. gasoline, hotels, and other tournament-related costs during the early stages of my career. Your donation will enable me to dedicate all my energy and time to getting ready for the next level.
Golf Channel revealed seven months later the financial realities of entering the pro leagues.
Brentley Romine writes that “When Alabama alum Kenzie Witter turned pro in June, she wasn’t able to fit into an LPGA schedule or Symetra schedule. So she entered the Texas Women’s State Open, Garland, Texas and won by four shots. This made her entry fee of $300 into $17.500. She made $9,076.25 from that money, which she used to fund her six-event schedule for the Women’s All Pro Tour. She has been promoted to Stage I of LPGA Q School and is now a Symetra member for next year.
After being unable pay out the prize money, organizers made the 25-year old a victim of the Big Money Classic scam. Nicolas Echavarria was third in the race and was owed $20,000 for his effort. He left believing that his backer had robbed him of his entry fee.
Ryan French wrote about the struggles at the lower levels of the organization – called ‘the grind’
“I was contacted by a woman in the [Big Money Classic] field. She broke down as I explained to her how she could dispute the charges on her credit cards. This could lead to careers being cut in the worst case. One player I spoke to couldn’t sign up at Canadian Q-school due to not being paid by the BMC.
Wright felt it was necessary to go back to the gofundme website, and launched a 2022 appeal that received almost $4000. If the math is right, however, Wright’s amount is nowhere near what it costs to run an all-woman campaign.
