LPGA announces changes to Tour card allocation for 2025

The LPGA and Epson Tour have announced changes to how LPGA Tour cards will be allocated for the 2025 season. At the end of the 2024 LPGA Q-Series competition, the top-25 finishers and ties will earn LPGA status in Category 14 for the 2025 season. In addition, the Epson Tour, the Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA, will now award five additional LPGA Tour Cards in Category 15 through the new points-based ranking system at the conclusion of the season finale, the Epson Tour Championship. These five cards are in addition to the 10 cards awarded in Category 9 to top-10 finishers.

LPGA Q-Series shifts to awarding 25 Tour cards

The top-25 finishers and ties at the conclusion of the final stage of LPGA Q-Series will now be awarded LPGA Tour cards. This change will allow all athletes earning LPGA Tour Membership from Q-Series more access into LPGA Official Tournaments and place greater emphasis on rewarding full-season performance for players in Category 15 (LPGA 101-125 and Epson 11-15). Previously, athletes who finished in the top 45 and ties at LPGA Q-Series would earn LPGA status in Categories 14 (#1-20) or 15 (#21-45). All players who complete the all rounds before the cut at LPGA Q-Series will still earn Epson Tour status.

“Changing the number of cards awarded at LPGA Q-Series aligns with the mission of the LPGA to identify the very best players in the world and provide the opportunity for the most talented athletes to succeed at the highest level,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan.

“This change aims to reward full-season performance while also giving the world’s rising talent an opportunity to compete for coveted LPGA Tour status.”

Five additional Tour cards to be awarded through the Race for the Card

The Epson Tour's Race for the Card will now offer an increased opportunity for aspiring women’s golfers to reach the top professional tour in the world. In addition to the fully exempt cards awarded to the top-10 finishers on the Epson Tour, five additional cards will be awarded LPGA Tour status in Category 15. The introduction of these five Tour cards is the first increase in Tour card opportunities through the Epson Tour since the expansion from five to 10 in 2007.

“We are thrilled to announce the news of expanded access to the LPGA for Epson Tour Members at the end of the upcoming season,” said the Epson Tour’s Chief Business and Operations Officer, Jody Brothers.

“We annually review the performance data of our recent graduates, and the additional access substantiates that Epson Tour athletes are arriving to the LPGA ready to perform at the highest stage.”

The top-10 finishers in the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card will continue to earn Tour status in Category 9 on the LPGA Tour Priority List for 2025. Beginning in 2024, those finishing #11-15 will earn 2025 LPGA status in Category 15. They will be zippered with LPGA Tour Members finishing #101-125 on the Race to CME Globe Points List, alternating in the following order: LPGA Tour #101, Epson Tour #11, LPGA Tour #102, Epson Tour #12, and so forth.