Staff report
White County High School graduate Catie Craig made her debut on the Epson Tour in June, beginning her professional golf career after graduating from Western Kentucky in May.
The Epson Tour is the Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA, where players earn LPGA Tour Membership through the Epson Tour's Race for the Card. From 1999-2002, LPGA Tour cards were awarded to the top three individuals on the season's money list. Beginning in 2024, 15 LPGA cards were distributed to the top points earners from the season. Each regular season event offers the winner 500 points, and the Epson Tour Championship offers 650 points as the season finale.
Since the inaugural year, 207 players have graduated from the Epson Tour and advanced to the LPGA Tour.
Craig played four Epson events during June, including making her pro debut at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship in Battle Creek, Michigan June 6-8. Craig made the cut in her first tournament, posting rounds of 75, 68 and 74 to finish with a 217 total, and earned her first professional paycheck.
Craig made the cut at the Island Resort Championship in Harris, Michigan, last weekend, recording rounds of 71, 72 ad 77 to finish with a 220 total.
Craig also played in the Otter Creek Championship last weekend in Columbus, IN.,and the Great Lakes Championship in Harbor Springs, Michigan, during the June event, but did not make the cut.
“It was incredible to make a cut,” said Craig said in an interview on the Epson Tour website following her first tournament. “I really had no expectations. It was my first event as a pro and on the Epson Tour, and I was just gonna have fun. My mom was on the bag, so we were like, 'Let's just see what happens, and then we'll learn and improve next time.'”
Craig said in the interview it was exciting to earn her first paycheck playing the game she loves.
“I've played golf my whole life, and to finally play where I can make some money off of it, it's so different,” Craig said. “In reality, it's just golf, but to have a little extra bonus to it is pretty cool.”
Her pro debut came shortly after earning one of the most prestigious honors at the end of her amateur career, getting an invitation to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Craig missed cut at the event, but she did have the the opportunity to tee it up at Augusta National Golf Club for the final day of competition and said the memory is one that will stick with her forever.
“That was the best time of my life. It was a dream of mine to play that, with my interest in golf course architecture,” said Craig. “All that it took to get out there, all the tournaments I had to win and the top fives I had to take, really, when I got out there, it wasn't about the golf. It was about the experience. So that's all that I really cared about, is to have the time of my life and to have my family and friends out there.”
Before turning pro, Craig wrapped up her stellar collegiate career at WKU, including earning her second consecutive CUSA Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor. She finished her four-year career with a 73.58 stroke average, a new school record, and a perfect 4.0 GPA in Agriculture.
She totaled 8,610 strokes in 117 rounds, besting Mary Joiner's 73.92 record. She also finished her senior season with a 72.86 stroke average, the fourth-best in program history. She set the school record (70.2) in 2023-24.
During her college career, Craig finished with five career wins in 40 events, with 16 total Top 5 finishes. Craig was the 2023 Conference USA individual champion and made three NCAA Regionals.