Pro Reveals Huge Financial Cost Of Developmental Tour Entry Fees

A professional golfer on the official developmental tour of the LPGA Tour has revealed the huge cost of her 2022 entry fees and yardage books. Kenzie Wright, who plays on the Epson Tour, explained on Twitter that after working on her tax return, she found the cost came to a staggering $16,826.47.

In 2022, the Epson Tour offered total prize money of $4.41m across its 21 tournaments, averaging $210,000 per event. Wright, who was in her rookie year on the Tour, played in 14 tournaments. However, her earnings of $8,015 fell considerably short of her outgoings.

The revelation brings back into focus the reality that, for many players, competing on a tour isn’t necessarily enough to pay the bills. For example, DP World Tour pro Scott Hend revealed last April that being on the tour had cost him $50,000 following nine missed cuts in his first nine starts. 

The three-time winner on the Tour also took to Twitter to write: "Some un useful info for the Golf Fans out there.... So far in 2022 I've missed 9 from 9 cuts and haven't made a cent.... I've been on the road playing since 17th Jan. I have burnt through approx $50k usd. This is Pro Golf people and I love it. Better times coming soon. #golflife"

Meanwhile, even the highest-profile players who make the cut are not immune from incurring losses, as revealed by 2017 Women’s PGA Championship winner Danielle Kang. In the build-up to last year’s Chevron Championship, she explained she’d made $6,000 in a tournament and failed to break even. She said: “I made $6,000 last week, made the cut; I didn't break even last week. That's me budgeting. I have to drive, rent a car, get a hotel room. Luckily enough for me I'm sponsored by BMW that provides for me the car. That saves like $500, $1000 etc.”

Of course, for players on developmental tours, such as Wright, there is nowhere near the opportunity to earn big money, even for a win. For example, the player who finished 2022 on top of the Epson Tour money list, Swede Linnea Strom, had one victory that banked her a relatively healthy-looking $30,000. However, to earn her $119,190 last year she needed seven top 10 finishes from her 17 tournaments, highlighting the pressure to perform consistently.

With an unprecedented amount of money pouring into the top of the game, it is sobering to note that, further down the pecking order, earning a living as a pro remains considerably less clear-cut than it might seem.