Kenzie Wright, a professional golfer on the Epson Tour, has revealed the startling costs that are borne by those trying to make their way up the ranks.

• Related: Symetra pro opens up on the harsh financial realities of life on Tour

In a tweet posted yesterday, the 25-year-old revealed that the costs of entry fees and yardage books total over $16,000 for the year.

*not looking for sympathy at all I know this is a choice* but I spent $16,826.47 on entry fees and yardage books alone in 2022?

— Kenzie Wright (@kenziewgolf) January 31, 2023

Whilst the LPGA has seen an enormous increase in prize-funds over the last two seasons, with the 2023 schedule worth $101.4 million, the Epson (ex-Symetra) Tour was worth approximately $210k per event over a 21-tournament season.

Nobody is suggesting that the development tour should be ‘worth’ anything close to the star-laden LPGA, but it’s the tour that brings on the next Brooke Henderson, recent winner of the Tournament of Champions, et al.

With Wright making just six cuts from 15 events in 2022, her $8000 prize money goes nowhere to covering a figure that doesn’t include any equipment, travel or lodgings.

Even at the highest level, the role of players’ sponsors is crucial.

Last April, 2017 Women’s PGA Championship champion Danielle Kang, revealed the financial realities on tour, commneting:

 “How about the average tour players? 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, $1,000 etc.”

In May 2021, Wright, then a promising graduate from the University of Alabama, took to fundraising her way onto the professional ranks via her gofundme page, on which she states that, “Your donation will go towards entry fees, on the road expenses (i.e. gas, hotels) and other tournament related costs throughout the beginning of my career. With your donation, it will allow me to put all of my time and energy into getting myself prepared for the next level.”

Seven months later, Golf Channel revealed the hardship behind the financial reality of moving into the pro leagues.

In the article, Brentley Romine reveals, “When Alabama alum Kenzie Wright turned pro in early June, she didn’t have the ability to slot into an LPGA or Symetra schedule, so she entered the Texas Women’s State Open in Garland, Texas, and won by four shots, turning her $300 entry fee into $17,500. That funded her six-event schedule on the Women’s All Pro Tour, where she made $9,076.25. She advanced out of Stage I of LPGA Q-School and now has some Symetra status for next year.”

The 25-year-old has since been a victim of the Big Money Classic scam in which organizers left both the men and women players out of pocket after being unable to pay out the prize fund. Those players included Nicolas Echavarria, who was owed $20,000 dollars for finishing third, paid nothing, who left believing that his backer had stolen his entry fee.

Ryan French also revealed the struggle at the lower level of ‘the grind’ writing:

“I received a call from one of the women in the [Big Money Classic] field. As I walked her through how to dispute her charges on her credit card, she broke down in tears. In the worst-case scenario, careers could be shortened because of this. I talked to one player who couldn’t sign up for Canadian Q-school because he hadn’t been paid by the BMC.”

Wright saw it necessary to return to the gofundme site, launching a 2022 appeal, at which she received nearly $4,000. However, if the math is correct, this amount leaves her nowhere near the amount it costs to run a one-woman campaign.

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