Building the road to the LPGA

As the adage goes, invention is the mother of necessity. And that’s how what is now known as the Epson Tour got its start 43 years ago when a young professional, Eloise Trainor, organized her first tournament to help women pros dreaming of LPGA Tour careers prepare for the next competitive level. Trainor had big dreams for her own game at the time, but she quickly realized there was no way to prepare competitively for the LPGA’s qualifying tournament. As an assistant club pro in Florida, her tournament preparation consisted of only two events that had no resemblance to the rigors of LPGA qualifying. So, Trainor organized a tournament in January 1980 — right before the LPGA’s Florida qualifying event — and 53 players showed up to play at Northdale Golf & Tennis Club in Tampa.

“That was really the start of the Tampa Bay Mini Tour, which became what we know today [as the Epson Tour],” Trainor said. Trainor discovered that she enjoyed organizing and running a professional women’s golf tournament. Her own focus also shifted. “It ...