The FUTURES Tour is the second-tier women's professional golf tour in the United States. It began in Florida in 1981 as the "Tampa Bay Mini Tour," but has since become a national tour that has been designated as the "official developmental tour," of the main U.S. based professional women's golf tour, the LPGA Tour. Duramed, a pharmaceutical company, became the tour's title sponsor in 2006. Golf (gowf in Scots) is a sport where individual players or teams hit a ball into a hole using various clubs, and is one of the few ball games that does not use a fixed standard playing area. ... The LPGA is the Ladies Professional Golf Association. ...

The 2006 tour consists of 18 tournaments with purses ranging from US$70,000 to US$100,000 and total prize money of $1.35 million. Players come from all over the world play on the tour. The leading five money winners of the season earn membership in the following season's LPGA Tour, and other successful competitors receive direct entry to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, bypassing the sectional qualifiers. The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

FUTURES Tour graduates include LPGA champions Laura Davies, Christina Kim, Lorena Ochoa, Grace Park and Karrie Webb. Laura Davies (born May 10, 1963 in Coventry, England) is an English professional golfer. ... Christina Kim (born March 15, 1984 in San Jose, California) is an LPGA golfer best known for her animated and vocal style of play, as well as her flamboyant dress and Kangol berets. ... Lorena Ochoa (born in Guadalajara on 15 November 1981) is a Mexican golfer who plays on the U.S. based LPGA Tour. ... Grace Park was born Park Ji-eun (박지은) on June 3, 1979 in Seoul, South Korea, and is a professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. ... Karrie Anne Webb (born 21 December 1974) is Australias most successful female golfer, and one of the top players in the history of global womens golf. ...

The Big Break

Many of the contestants on The Golf Channel's The Big Break III: Ladies Only, which aired in the Spring of 2005, played on the Futures Tour, including Danielle Amiee, who ended up being the show's overall champion. The other players from the show that played on the Futures Tour were Jan Dowling, Valeria Ochoa, runner-up Pamela Crikelair, and LPGA veteran Cindy Miller. Show co-host Stephanie Sparks played on the Futures Tour from 1996 to 1999. The Big Break V: Hawaii, aired in the spring of 2006 and included six additional FUTURES Tour competitiors: Dana Lacey, Ashley Prange, Kim Lewellen, Kristina Tucker, Becky Lucidi and Jeanne Cho. Prange won the competition; Cho was runner-up. The Golf Channel, sometimes abbreviated as TGC, is an American cable television network with coverage focused on the game of golf. ... The Big Break is The Golf Channels reality television program. ... Stephanie Sparks (born on July 19, 1973 in Wheeling, West Virginia a Pittsburgh suburb) is an on-air personality at The Golf Channel and a former golfer, whose best years in golf came as an amateur. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Major tournament

In 2006, the FUTURES Tour will hold its first major tournament. The Michelob ULTRA FUTURES Players Championship in Decatur, Illinois, which has been on the Tour's schedule since 1985, will become the Tour's first 72-hole event, and will carry the Tour's largest purse ever — $100,000. The winner will receive a sponsor's exemption to play in the LPGA's State Farm Classic. [1] // Mens professional golf Major championships 6-9 April: The Masters 15-18 June: U.S. Open 20-23 July: The Open Championship 17-20 August: PGA Championship World Golf Championships (individual events) 22-26 February: WGC-Accenture World Matchplay Championship 24-27 August: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational 28 September - 1... The Michelob ULTRA FUTURES Players Championship is an event on the FUTURES Tour, which is the LPGAs developmental tour. ... The Decatur Transfer House in the background with a newly completed fountain in the foreground. ...

2006 Schedule and results

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

Dates	Tournament	Location	Winner
Mar 10-12	Lakeland Duramed FUTURES Classic	Florida	Meaghan Francella (1)
Mar 17-19	Greater Tampa Duramed FUTURES Classic	Florida	Ashley Prange (1)
Apr 7-9	Louisiana FUTURES Classic	Louisiana	Song-Hee Kim (1)
Apr 21-23	The Power of a Dream FUTURES Golf Classic	Texas	Hye Jung Choi (1)
Apr 28-30	Jalapeno FUTURES Golf Classic	Texas	Kristy McPherson (1)
May 5-7	IOS FUTURES Golf Classic	Texas	Song-Hee Kim (2)
May 12-14	Tucson Duramed FUTURES Golf Classic	Arizona	Charlotte Mayorkas (1)
June 2-4	Aurora Health Care Championship	Wisconsin	Song-Hee Kim (3)
June 9-11	Team WLF.org Golf Classic	Illinois	Mollie Fankhauser (1)
June 15-18	Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Players Championship	Illinois	Salimah Mussani (1)
June 23-25	Lima Memorial Hospital FUTURES Classic	Ohio	Ji Min Jeong (1)
June 30 - July 2	Northwest Indiana FUTURES Golf Classic	Indiana	Ashley Prange (2)
July 14-16	CIGNA Chip in For A Cure FUTURES Golf Classic	Connecticut
July 21-23	Alliance Bank FUTURES Golf Classic	New York
Aug 4-6	Laconia Savings Bank Golf Classic	New Hampshire
Aug 11-13	Betty Puskar FUTURES Golf Classic	West Virginia
Aug 18-20	Hunters Oak FUTURES Golf Classic	Maryland
Aug 25-27	The Gettysburg Championship	Pennsylvania
Sep 8-10	Albany FUTURES Pro Golf Classic	New York

tournaments in bold are majors Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,794 sq mi (170,451 km²)  - Width 162 miles (260 km)  - Length 497 miles (800 km)  - % water 17. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,794 sq mi (170,451 km²)  - Width 162 miles (260 km)  - Length 497 miles (800 km)  - % water 17. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Official language(s) English and French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans at last census; probably Baton Rouge since Hurricane Katrina Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Korea. ... Official language(s) See: Languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 660 miles (1,065 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Korea. ... Official language(s) See: Languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 660 miles (1,065 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Official language(s) See: Languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 660 miles (1,065 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Korea. ... Official language(s) None Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Korea. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... The Michelob ULTRA FUTURES Players Championship is an event on the FUTURES Tour, which is the LPGAs developmental tour. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Korea. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq mi (94,321 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 270 miles (435 km)  - % water 1. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Area  Ranked 48th  - Total 5,549 sq. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Official language(s) English Capital Concord Largest city Manchester Area  Ranked 46th  - Total 9,359 sq. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Area  Ranked 41st  - Total 24,244 sq. ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area  Ranked 42nd  - Total 12,417 sq mi (32,160 km²)  - Width 90 miles (145 km)  - Length 249 miles (400 km)  - % water 21  - Latitude 37°53N to 39°43N  - Longitude 75°4W to 79°33... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 160 miles (255 km)  - Length 280 miles (455 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ...

On June 18, 2006, while driving to the next tournament in Lima, Tour player Gaelle Truet was killed in a car accident at age 27, becoming the first FUTURES Tour player to perish in a traffic incident. [2] June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ...

External link

• Official site