LPGA Announces New Pathway For Top Collegiate Golfers to go Pro

Women's golf is growing, and I love it. Earlier this year the LPGA Tour introduced its LEAP Program—a unique process designed to help provide top amateur female golfers with a new path to LPGA Tour membership beyond earning eligibility through the Epson Tour and LPGA Qualifying (Q) School. In the first six months of its existence, LEAP is dangerously close to awarding its first player, Lottie Woad, a tour card. A player needs to accumulate 20 points to earn up to a year and a half of exempt LPGA status. Woad is currently at 17 LEAP points.

Lottie Woad at the 2025 U.S. Women's Open at Erin Hills. (Photo courtesy of the USGA)

RELATED: The LPGA's New LEAP Program, Explained (And Why We Dig It)

But the Tour isn't just stopping with LEAP, this week the LPGA announced the launch of the LPGA Collegiate Advancement Pathway (LCAP)—a newly developed program that creates a direct route for top collegiate golfers to enter the LPGA’s system of professional tours. The top 10 players enrolled in LCAP will earn Epson Tour membership based on their end-of-season rankings through the program.

So what does that mean?

In the official announcement release, Interim LPGA Commissioner Liz Moore explains, "The LCAP offers a new opportunity for top collegiate golfers to earn their way into the LPGA ecosystem. We continue to see outstanding talent emerge from the collegiate ranks, and this program is designed to recognize those who have performed at a high level throughout their college careers. Building on the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway (LEAP), which we announced last year, the LPGA is committed to providing opportunities and pathways for the world’s best golfers to compete within our system of tours — the premier tours in women’s professional golf.”

Moore wants more—and I concur. Golf, especially women's golf, is in such a different place now, and athletes should have the ability to explore all channels of opportunity to reach the highest level.

In order for players to be eligible for LCAP, they must be enrolled in good standing at an NCAA Division I member institution) and meet at least one of the following:

Option A: Exhaust four seasons of competition as defined by NCAA regulations.

Option B: Complete four years of collegiate academics, including a minimum of two seasons of competition.

Option C: Provide documented intent and evidence of early graduation, including a minimum of two seasons of competition.

Additionally, players will need to complete an LCAP application, which will become available July 22 at 12 p.m. ET. Players must maintain amateur status through the publication of the final LCAP Rankings. And meet all other membership eligibility criteria for the Epson Tour.

There will also be an official LCAP ranking system that will follow a two-year cycle, concluding with the NCAA Division I Individual Championship, and will include results from collegiate and non-collegiate events recognized by the World Amateur Golf Ranking. The Tour will release additional details on the ranking methodology and the first ranking later this year.

Rankings will determine player status categories. Categories are important because they tell the players which events and how many the are eligible for. Players who finish ranked Nos. 1–10 in the final LCAP Ranking will receive the following benefits:

Rank No. 1

-Epson Tour Priority List status in Category D for the remainder of the 2026 season and the following season (2027).

-Exemption to Final Qualifying Stage of the 2026 LPGA Q-Series, providing the opportunity to improve LPGA Tour status for the 2027 season.

Ranks No. 2–5

-Epson Tour Priority List status in Category D for the remainder of the 2026 season and the following season (2027).

-Exemption to Qualifying Stage of 2026 LPGA Q-Series.

Ranks No. 6–10

-Epson Tour Priority List status in Category L for the remainder of the 2026 season and the following season(2027).

-Exemption to Qualifying Stage of 2026 LPGA Q-Series.

This new developing program feels like a way for the Tour to address some of the gaps that LEAP may have. The amateur pathway is open to all amateurs, but this pathway is directly targeted for collegiate athletes—similarly to a PGA TOUR University mold/framework which has proven to beneficial on the men's side. It's a good thing to see how the women's game is tweaking its approach to be more comprehensive and wanting to nurture young, talented athletes.