Some of the best up-and-coming professional women’s golfers will take to the course as part of the Inaugural PXG Women’s Match Play Championship Oct. 26 to Nov. 4.
One of the spotlight players in the field will be Jessica Porvasnik, who led the Women’s All Pro Tour money list having approached roughly $22,000 in earnings with her play.
“The opportunities for women’s golf below the Symetra Tour when I first came out of college, there just weren’t that many,” Porvasnik said. “You don’t see many events that are put together like this, so it’s pretty cool.”
Currently, female golfers have the option to play on four developmental tours en route to one day becoming a member of the LPGA Tour.
The four tours include the Women’s All Pro Tour, the Symetra Tour, Ladies National Golf Association in Florida, the Cactus Tour based out of Arizona.
Porvasnik has hopes of one day qualifying to play on the LPGA Tour and part of her journey included playing college golf at Ohio State.
However, when she went to turn pro after college, she realized that the avenues toward earning a living playing golf were very limited.
“When I first came out of college there were only two mini tours, with the WAPT only starting up about two years ago,” Porvasnik said.
The number of tours available for women are far less than the men’s side, which has about 30 “mini” tours for golfers to explore on their path to the PGA Tour, which is something Mark Berman, managing partner with MediaShare Consulting Group, and his various community partners are looking to change with the PXG Match Play Championship.
Porvasnik began swinging a golf club and playing golf when she was 12 years old.
“I started quite late compared to some of the other girls, but I took my first lesson and just kind of fell in love with it ever since,” Porvasnik said. “I played on a fast-pitch softball team, and we were really good, so I was kind of bummed to have to give up that sport to play, but in the end, it was the right decision.”
That decision has led to her being the closest she has ever been to earning a spot on the LPGA Tour.
Looking back, she cannot believe the journey she has been on since being a 12-year-old girl taking her first lesson, and she is happy to have the chance to make that path even more defined for future girls interested in taking up golf.
“It’s (women’s golf) growing so quickly and so fast,” Porvasnik said. “The demand wasn’t there before, but now more and more women are coming out of college with a real shot of having a career in golf.”
According to Porvasnik, the interesting thing about the WAPT in general is that it holds tournaments at a variety of courses, which allows the golfers to show their all-around game.
That theme of versatility will also be on display during the PXG Match Play Championship, which will span two weeks and consist of two tournaments, one stroke play and one match play, being held on consecutive weekends.
“It’s much more of a truer test of your game,” Porvasnik said.
One of her career goals is to one day compete as member of the U.S. squad at the Solheim Cup.
“Everything in life, you need to be patient and positive,” Porvasnik said. “If you have that outlook, it’s going to help you out in every aspect.”
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For more information about the tournament, click here.
