2006 Duramed Futures Tour

The 2006 Duramed Futures Tour was a series of professional women's golf tournaments held from March through September 2006 in the United States. The Futures Tour is the second-tier women's professional golf tour in the United States and is the "official developmental tour" of the LPGA Tour.

The age minimum age for participation was lowered to 17 for the 2006 season.[1]

Schedule and results

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The number in parentheses after winners' names shows the player's total number of official money, individual event wins on the Futures Tour including that event.

Dates Tournament Location Winner
Mar 12 Lakeland Duramed Futures Classic Florida   Meaghan Francella (1)
Mar 19 Greater Tampa Duramed Futures Classic Florida   Ashley Prange (1)
Apr 9 Louisiana Pelican Classic Louisiana   Song-Hee Kim (1)
Apr 23 The Power of a Dream Golf Classic Texas   Hye Jung Choi (1)
Apr 30 Jalapeno Golf Classic Texas   Kristy McPherson (1)
May 7 IOS Golf Classic Texas   Song-Hee Kim (2)
May 14 Tucson Duramed Futures Golf Classic Arizona   Charlotte Mayorkas (1)
Jun 4 Aurora Health Care Championship Wisconsin   Song-Hee Kim (3)
Jun 11 Team WLF.org Golf Classic Illinois   Mollie Fankhauser (1)
Jun 18 Michelob Ultra Duramed Futures Players Championship Illinois   Salimah Mussani (1)
Jun 25 Lima Memorial Hospital Futures Classic Ohio   Ji Min Jeong (1)
Jul 2 Northwest Indiana Futures Golf Classic Indiana   Ashley Prange (2)
Jul 16 CIGNA Golf Classic Connecticut   Song-Hee Kim (4)
Jul 23 Alliance Bank Golf Classic New York   Ha-Na Chae (1)
Aug 6 Laconia Savings Bank Golf Classic New Hampshire   Charlotte Mayorkas (2)
Aug 13 Betty Puskar Golf Classic West Virginia   Kristy McPherson (2)
Aug 20 Hunters Oak Golf Classic Maryland   Ashley Hoagland (1)
Aug 27 The Gettysburg Championship Pennsylvania   Song-Hee Kim (5)
Sep 10 ILOVENY Championship New York   Ji Min Jeong (2)

Tournaments in bold are majors.

Leading money winners

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These top five money winners at the end of the 2006 season were awarded fully exempt status on the LPGA Tour for the 2007 season.

Position Player Country Earnings (US$)
1 Song-Hee Kim   South Korea 76,287
2 Charlotte Mayorkas   United States 66,351
3 Inbee Park   South Korea 49,079
4 Kristy McPherson   United States 40,558
5 Meaghan Francella   United States 39,416

Major tournament

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In 2006, the Futures Tour held its first major tournament. The Michelob Ultra Futures Players Championship in Decatur, Illinois, which has been on the Tour's schedule since 1985, was the Tour's first 72-hole event, and carried the Tour's largest purse ever — $100,000. The winner, Salimah Mussani, received a sponsor's exemption to play in the LPGA's State Farm Classic [1] in September, 2006. Mussani, a native of Canada, also played in the CN Canadian Women's Open, an August 2006 event on the LPGA Tour.

2006 traffic death

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On June 18, 2006, while driving from a tournament in Decatur, Illinois to the next tournament in Lima, Ohio, Futures Tour player Gaelle Truet was killed in a car accident at age 27. She was the first Tour player to perish in a traffic incident in the 26 years of the Futures Tour and the 50 years of the LPGA Tour. [2]

References

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  1. ^ "Duramed Futures Tour Lowers Minimum Age Requirement". Golf Business Wire. February 1, 2006. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
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