FUTURES Golf Tour Kicks Off 25th Season at 2005 PGA Show

LAKELAND, Fla., January 29, 2005 -- The FUTURES Golf Tour officially launches its 25th season this week at the 2005 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. Invited members of the media and golf industry, as well as past and present FUTURES Golf Tour and LPGA Tour members, will help usher in the Tour's silver anniversary at a reception this weekend at the Orange County Convention Center.

The reception is one of many activities planned throughout the season to recognize the Tour's beginning in 1981, as the Tampa Bay Mini Tour. Renowned golf artist, Walt Spitzmiller, has painted a commemorative poster for the FUTURES Tour, which will be unveiled at the reception and used by the Tour in promotional materials throughout the 2005 competitive season.

"In celebrating our 25th anniversary, it gives us the opportunity to recognize so many talented, professional women athletes who played on the FUTURES Golf Tour throughout the years," said Zayra F. Calderon, president and chief executive officer of the FUTURES Tour. "Some of these players moved on to the LPGA Tour to have remarkable careers, but all of the players who competed on the FUTURES Tour deserve recognition. They are the product. Our silver anniversary gives us the perfect occasion to salute them.

Designed as a stepping-stone to the LPGA Tour, many current LPGA Tour members launched their professional golf careers on the FUTURES Tour, using FUTURES competition as the transition arena between college and amateur golf to the professional level. Two of the LPGA's last three Rookies of the Year were FUTURES Tour Players of the Year in the season prior to joining the LPGA. Beth Bauer was the FUTURES Tour's Player and Rookie of the Year in 2001, before becoming the LPGA's top rookie in 2002. Lorena Ochoa performed the same feat on the FUTURES Tour in 2002, to become the LPGA's top rookie in 2003.

In an association with the LPGA Tour and as a means of rewarding top FUTURES Tour performers, the top five players on the FUTURES Tour's Money List at the conclusion of each season, automatically earn full LPGA Tour status for the following year. The automatic exemptions began with three LPGA Tour cards in 1999, and improved to five automatic LPGA exemptions in 2003. To date, 22 players have earned full LPGA status since 1999, by finishing in the top of the FUTURES Tour's money standings.

A total of 36 FUTURES Tour members qualified last year for the 2005 LPGA Tour. FUTURES Tour players earned 13 of the 30 available exempt cards at the LPGA's Final Qualifying Tournament last December, while FUTURES Tour members earned 12 of the 35 available non-exempt LPGA Tour cards at that event. Seventy FUTURES Tour players competed in the field of 137 at last year's LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.

A number of FUTURES Tour "graduates" have moved on to successful LPGA Tour careers. Grace Park, winner of the LPGA's 2004 Vare Trophy, Kraft Nabisco Championship and the No. 2 finisher on the 2004 LPGA Money List, was in the FUTURES Tour's first class of automatic card winners in 1999. Karrie Webb, who won once on the FUTURES Tour in 1995, will become the first FUTURES Tour alumna to enter the LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fames this autumn. Other top alumnae include 2004 U.S. Women's Open champion Meg Mallon, and former Solheim Cup team members Rosie Jones, Dottie Pepper, Laura Davies and Tammie Green. FUTURES Tour alums, including Christina Kim, Cristie Kerr, Ochoa, Park, Webb and current LPGA Tour president Heather Daly-Donofrio, along with Kim Saiki, Wendy Doolan, Sherri Steinhauer and Moira Dunn, all were FUTURES Tour alums who earned LPGA Tour victories in 2005.

The FUTURES Golf Tour's 2005 competitive season will start March 11-13 at the Lakeland FUTURES Golf Classic in Lakeland, Fla.

Celebrating 25 competitive seasons in 2005, the FUTURES Golf Tour has remained committed to developing the skills and dreams of women golfers, establishing role models for youth and creating LPGA stars of tomorrow. With more than 240 alumnae as current members of the LPGA Tour, former FUTURES Tour players have won a total of 283 LPGA titles, including 30 major championships through 2004. Designated as "the official developmental tour of the LPGA," the FUTURES Golf Tour has become the largest international developmental tour and the second largest women's golf tour in the world. Throughout its first quarter century, membership has increased from approximately 150 North American players to more than 300 players from 27 different nations. The Tour now conducts 18 tournaments in 13 states and has raised more than $3.2 million for charitable organizations since 1989. For more information, please visit www.futurestour.com.

Contact: Lisa D. Mickey, FUTURES Golf Tour, 863-709-9100, Ext. 2 or lisa@futurestour.com.