When the LPGA postponed the second stage of Q-School last month, players got organized, building a group chat with more than 175 names. Everyone in the field stood to lose money when the 72-hole event was scrapped 90 minutes into the first official practice round on a Sunday, due to unplayable conditions.
The superintendent at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida, thought they might be able to get mowers out on the Bobcat Course by Tuesday, but it wouldn’t be until Friday before they could cut the grass on the Panther Course.
It was common for players to be out $3,000-plus on flights, prepaid rental cars and hotel rooms. Some lost as much as $9,000 traveling overseas with members of their team.
Then there’s the lost revenue from
missing two weeks of competition – in the case of the LET, two of the most lucrative weeks on the schedule in Korea and Taiwan.
LPGA announced a refund of $1,000
Group chat members drafted a letter to send to tournament officials asking for a partial refund of their entry fee: $4,500 for those who were exempt into Qualifying Stage and $3,500 for those who had advanced through the pre-qualifying stage.
The total entry fee cost for three stages of Q-Series can be as much as $6,500.
Before the letter was sent, the tour announced a refund of $1,000.
“I think the money is more of a gesture of good faith,” said Maria Fassi. “The way I read it was they knew they had made a mistake, and that’s why we were given that $1,000. I haven’t been around that long, but I’ve been around long enough to know the LPGA, or anybody, is just not going to give you money without asking.”
LPGA's Q-School set to restart this week
This week, LPGA hopefuls returned to rainy Venice, Florida, for a second go at second stage. The original tournament dates were Oct. 13-16, and the new dates are Nov. 3-6. The tour has hosted Q-School at Plantation Golf and Country Club for three decades, so there's plenty of institutional knowledge for the staff.
The original field of 204 players has been reduced to 198 for make-up week, meaning not everyone came back. The top 55 and ties will advance to Final Qualifying later this month in Mobile, Alabama.
Visually, it’s still not great at the Panther and Bobcat Courses, admits Jody Brothers, GM of the Epson Tour and LPGA Qualifying Series. But each green only needs two good hole locations, and preferred lies will be in effect for both courses to take care of mud balls and patchy turf.
All 18 greens on the Panther Course were rebuilt over the summer. The course was closed for practice to members and everyone else prior to the original first official practice round of Q-School.
“There’s no doubt they are firm,” said Brothers, “but they’re not unfair.”
Construction project compounded course issues
Construction on the Panther Course started in May. Players were first informed of this in an email that went on Oct. 7: “As with any renovation, weather is the one factor that can’t be planned for, and since mid-July the course has received more than 50 inches of rain, which slowed progress. Areas that have not fully recovered will be marked ground under repair for the tournament.”
Players could play advanced unofficial practice rounds on the Bobcat Course for $55+. They could start walking the Panther Course on Oct. 9, though they had to stay off the greens.
The Panther Course first opened for play on Sunday, Oct. 11, but only briefly, as rain from Hurricane Isaias overflowed the lakes on the property. One caddie walked out of his shoe; the course was so muddy.
“If you hit your ball in the middle of the fairway, you might lose it,” said Hailee Cooper of conditions that week. “A couple of the girls were like, ‘I don’t how we’re going to play,’ and that was Saturday.”
Gigi Stoll put together an Instagram reel breaking down her costs for second stage prior to stepping foot in Florida. Between the entry fee, rental car, caddie and Airbnb, she was already in $8,159.
After the event was postponed, Stoll figures she’d lost $2,000 going home the first time. She’s now more than $10,000 in the hole without hitting a shot.
It’s worth noting that there is no purse in the second stage. For some players, costs this high could mean the end of a dream.
What could have been done?
Could this have been prevented?
“I think in a situation like this, there should always be a Plan B,” said Stoll. “This happens frequently with the venues they select. Over the last six years, between second stage and the final stage of Q-School, there have been six weather delays.”
Stoll would like to see the tour look into hosting the last two stages in different areas of the country, somewhere in the Midwest or the West Coast.
She also wondered if the $200,000 the tour paid back to players could’ve gone toward securing a new venue in the 11th hour.
“Did we call around to see if another golf course would be suitable for us to play? No, we did not do that,” said Brothers.
“Look, there's a variety of reasons why. I mean, one is, we had no reason to believe that other golf courses in the area were playable based on the amount of rain that had been in the general area. I mean, you've only got a certain radius that you can move, otherwise the athletes are driving an hour to get to a property and that's because they can't move their Airbnbs that they've prepaid for. There’s just numerous reasons why that's super difficult. … You don't have side agreements in place. The rules officials haven't done advanced visits. You've got no yardage books. I mean, you’ve got to find two golf courses. I sort of push back at the premise that one was ready to play and the other one wasn't.”
Brothers went on to say that sending players home was one of the toughest decisions he’s ever been part of, and that officials understood fully the ramifications of asking everyone to leave and come back.
When asked if there was any thought to finding a contingency course when the tour first learned of summer renovations, Brothers said based on the progress of construction, there was no reason to believe, at the time, that a backup plan was needed.
“It is a reasonable question,” he continued, “and look, we have obviously learned a tremendous amount from this experience, and we’re going to recap when it’s over with and figure out what’s the right plan moving forward.”
On the subject of moving from Florida during hurricane season, Brothers said, “Everything is on the table. We’re going to really do a deep dive after this.”
In addition to the $1,000 refund, the tour also negotiated a “fair rate” at a local hotel, brought in the club repair truck, enhanced PT offerings, and added an extra meal ticket to feed caddies.
For some players who traveled long distances with their team – coaches and parents – it proved too costly to bring everyone back for a second time.
Those who came in early to adjust to the time zone change had a tough time finding a decent place to prepare. Practice facilities at Plantation didn’t open until Saturday afternoon, and the two courses were closed until Sunday’s first official practice round.
Did the plan come together too late?
Fassi said one could make the argument that they called it too early or too late the first time around. Either keep the players from traveling in the first place, or have a contingency plan to move it once everyone had already gathered in Florida.
“They make a lot of money off of Q-School," said Fassi, "and it’s our livelihoods. We want to be competing at a place where it’s fair and your talent can show.”
With so much money going into entry fees, there’s a call for transparency and proficiency. Simple, yet integral things, like making sure there are enough yardage books. Cooper, a Texan who played at A&M, said they ran out of yardage books the first time around on Friday and only had ones available in meters when she showed up on Saturday, before practice rounds had even begun.
She bought some white-out to get her through until more came in on Tuesday.
Only to be told she couldn’t return it if she’d marked it up. She’d have to buy another one.
Dinged once again, at the most expensive week in golf.
Beth Ann Nichols is a senior writer for Golfweek covering the LPGA and all things women's golf. Follow her on X/Twitter (@GolfweekNichols).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LPGA Q-School players lost thousands after postponement. Now they’re demanding answers
