Futures Tour Money Winners Get LPGA Cards

Blue · 09-10-2006, 08:43 PM

The 5 leading money winners from the 2006 Futures Tour get fully exempt status on the 2007 LPGA Tour. The season ended today and they are, in order:

1 Song-Hee Kim $76,287
2 Charlotte Mayorkas $66,351
3 In-Bee Park $49,079
4 Kristy McPherson $40,558
5 Meaghan Francella $39,416

I think In-Bee Park's peformance is particularly impressive. She joined the Futures Tour in January after having her petition to join the LPGA as a 17-year turned down. She had 11 top-10 finishes and now she gets her exempt card without having to step foot in any round of Q-School. Way to go!

You may also remember her from some of her amateur exploits: AJGA player of the year in 2002, and a few appearances at the LPGA Takefuji Classic, finishing 8th in her first ever LPGA tournament.

MarinePaul · 09-10-2006, 08:49 PM

I;m happy for In- Bee, since I thought she got a raw deal by having her petition denied. I look forward to seeing her on tour next year.

Blue · 07-25-2007, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by Blue

The 5 leading money winners from the 2006 Futures Tour get fully exempt status on the 2007 LPGA Tour. The season ended today and they are, in order:

1 Song-Hee Kim $76,287
2 Charlotte Mayorkas $66,351
3 In-Bee Park $49,079
4 Kristy McPherson $40,558
5 Meaghan Francella $39,416

I know it's odd to quote my own post, but I think I follow the Futures Tour closer than a lot of people here. So now that we're about 2/3 of the way through the 2007 LPGA season, let's look at how last year's FT top money winners have fared on the big tour:

1. Song-Hee Kim.
105th on the money list. Best finish 35th. Best stat 23rd in driving distance
http://www.lpga.com/Greensheet.aspx?pid=9437&year=2007

2. Charlotte Mayorkas
58th on the money list. Best finish 12th. Best stats 20th in driving distance AND only missed three cuts so far all season, neither of them majors.
http://www.lpga.com/Greensheet.aspx?pid=9444&year=2007

3. In-Bee Park
49th on the money list. Best finish 4th. Best stat 5th in putting average.
http://www.lpga.com/Greensheet.aspx?pid=9452&year=2007

4. Kristy McPherson
91st on the money list. Best finish 18th. Best stat 60th in sand saves.
http://www.lpga.com/Greensheet.aspx?pid=9445&year=2007

5. Meaghan Francella
18th on the money list. Best finish 1st. Best stat 10 rounds in the 60s.
http://www.lpga.com/Greensheet.aspx?pid=5418&year=2007

Obviously, the Best stat selection is subjective.

So, who's having the best year? Well, Francella has made the most money, by virtue of her win and three other top-10 finishes. Mayorkas ha been remarkably consistent, with only three missed cuts (Fields, Safeway, Ginn Open). In-Bee Park finished fourth at the US Open, but hasn't finished higher than 33 otherwise and has missed the cut in 7 tournaments she played.

I vote for Francella, but Mayorkas has also been impressive. Does anyone have other views?

In another thread maybe we can compare these players with exempt rookies who came to the tour via Q-school.

x-admin · 07-25-2007, 03:35 PM

Many thanks for those interesting stats. I have to admit I am totally new to the Futures Tour but am trying to follow it more closely.

ajraymond · 07-25-2007, 11:26 PM

Song Hee Kim is the one that boggles my mind Blue. She was dominate on the futures tour last year and I'm surprised to see her stats this year. I think she is only 18-19 but I thought she would play better. In Bee is really starting to play well. I wouldn't be surprised to see her sneak out a win late this year or early next year.

Blue · 07-26-2007, 11:17 AM

I agree. I had Song-Hee Kim picked for ROY after she cleaned up on the Futures Tour last year.

I'm very impressed with Mayorkas. She's a very disciplined person -- a bit in the Annika mold, I think. That's not everything, but her no-cut streak may partially be the result of that. It's tough to come out your first year with all the travel and new courses every single week and perform consistently. She has a blog on both the LPGA site and on about.com for anyone who's interested.

09-10-2006, 08:43 PM	#1
Blue Forum Moderator Contests: Joint 3rd place overall winner 2009. Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 7,650 Images: 6	Futures Tour Money Winners Get LPGA Cards The 5 leading money winners from the 2006 Futures Tour get fully exempt status on the 2007 LPGA Tour. The season ended today and they are, in order: 1 Song-Hee Kim $76,287 2 Charlotte Mayorkas $66,351 3 In-Bee Park $49,079 4 Kristy McPherson $40,558 5 Meaghan Francella $39,416 I think In-Bee Park's peformance is particularly impressive. She joined the Futures Tour in January after having her petition to join the LPGA as a 17-year turned down. She had 11 top-10 finishes and now she gets her exempt card without having to step foot in any round of Q-School. Way to go! You may also remember her from some of her amateur exploits: AJGA player of the year in 2002, and a few appearances at the LPGA Takefuji Classic, finishing 8th in her first ever LPGA tournament.

09-10-2006, 08:49 PM	#2
MarinePaul Moderator Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Warren, Ohio Posts: 8,003	I;m happy for In- Bee, since I thought she got a raw deal by having her petition denied. I look forward to seeing her on tour next year. __________________ Happiness isn't getting what you want, it's wanting what you have.

07-25-2007, 03:09 PM	#3
Blue Forum Moderator Contests: Joint 3rd place overall winner 2009. Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 7,650 Images: 6	Originally Posted by Blue The 5 leading money winners from the 2006 Futures Tour get fully exempt status on the 2007 LPGA Tour. The season ended today and they are, in order: 1 Song-Hee Kim $76,287 2 Charlotte Mayorkas $66,351 3 In-Bee Park $49,079 4 Kristy McPherson $40,558 5 Meaghan Francella $39,416 I know it's odd to quote my own post, but I think I follow the Futures Tour closer than a lot of people here. So now that we're about 2/3 of the way through the 2007 LPGA season, let's look at how last year's FT top money winners have fared on the big tour: 1. Song-Hee Kim. 105th on the money list. Best finish 35th. Best stat 23rd in driving distance http://www.lpga.com/Greensheet.aspx?pid=9437&year=2007 2. Charlotte Mayorkas 58th on the money list. Best finish 12th. Best stats 20th in driving distance AND only missed three cuts so far all season, neither of them majors. http://www.lpga.com/Greensheet.aspx?pid=9444&year=2007 3. In-Bee Park 49th on the money list. Best finish 4th. Best stat 5th in putting average. http://www.lpga.com/Greensheet.aspx?pid=9452&year=2007 4. Kristy McPherson 91st on the money list. Best finish 18th. Best stat 60th in sand saves. http://www.lpga.com/Greensheet.aspx?pid=9445&year=2007 5. Meaghan Francella 18th on the money list. Best finish 1st. Best stat 10 rounds in the 60s. http://www.lpga.com/Greensheet.aspx?pid=5418&year=2007 Obviously, the Best stat selection is subjective. So, who's having the best year? Well, Francella has made the most money, by virtue of her win and three other top-10 finishes. Mayorkas ha been remarkably consistent, with only three missed cuts (Fields, Safeway, Ginn Open). In-Bee Park finished fourth at the US Open, but hasn't finished higher than 33 otherwise and has missed the cut in 7 tournaments she played. I vote for Francella, but Mayorkas has also been impressive. Does anyone have other views? In another thread maybe we can compare these players with exempt rookies who came to the tour via Q-school. Last edited by Blue; 07-25-2007 at 08:33 PM. Reason: fix spelling

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07-25-2007, 03:35 PM	#4
x-admin Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 344	Many thanks for those interesting stats. I have to admit I am totally new to the Futures Tour but am trying to follow it more closely.

07-25-2007, 11:26 PM	#5
ajraymond Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 656	Song Hee Kim is the one that boggles my mind Blue. She was dominate on the futures tour last year and I'm surprised to see her stats this year. I think she is only 18-19 but I thought she would play better. In Bee is really starting to play well. I wouldn't be surprised to see her sneak out a win late this year or early next year.

07-26-2007, 11:17 AM	#6
Blue Forum Moderator Contests: Joint 3rd place overall winner 2009. Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 7,650 Images: 6	I agree. I had Song-Hee Kim picked for ROY after she cleaned up on the Futures Tour last year. I'm very impressed with Mayorkas. She's a very disciplined person -- a bit in the Annika mold, I think. That's not everything, but her no-cut streak may partially be the result of that. It's tough to come out your first year with all the travel and new courses every single week and perform consistently. She has a blog on both the LPGA site and on about.com for anyone who's interested.