'It Is Very Frustrating How Far Behind The PGA Tour We Are' - Coach Wants More Opportunities For Leading College Golfers As LPGA Launches Elite Amateur Pathway

A leading college golf coach believes the step between amateur and professional is not as easily accessible on the women's side of the game as it is on the men's, with a significant factor being the stark difference in perceived number of tour starts.

Opportunities for male college players at tour level appear to be increasing all the time and have been highlighted as one of the key reasons why the gap between the amateur and pro game is as close as it's ever been by ASU men's golf associate head coach, Thomas Sutton.

World amateur No.1, Luke Clanton has led the way in recent months with a spate of exemptions into PGA Tour events and stands on the precipice of earning his full status via the PGA Tour U Accelerated program.

In a bid to fast track its own emerging talent, the LPGA Tour introduced the Elite Amateur Pathway - similar to PGA Tour U - in February. With a points system akin to the PGA Tour's version, Florida State University's Lottie Woad (16 points) is the closest female player to earning a full LPGA Tour card with 20 points while the University of Southern California's Jasmine Koo (six points) is joint-third on the list.

But before this year, USC women's golf head coach, Justin Silverstein said even the top female amateurs competing on the NCAA circuit were rarely being given the chance to show what they could do at tour level.

The USC chief - who has been a part of both Trojans golf teams for well over a decade now in various roles - says the lack of opportunity has long been a serious source of frustration for not only him but also the majority of other coaches in top-level golf programs.

He said: "The pathway and the opportunity that the men's college players are getting with the Korn Ferry starts and PGA Tour starts is giving them a bigger advantage than the women's players.

"The LPGA is starting to... you can see with this elite program that just came out - and hopefully there's another one coming out soon - that gives players like Catherine Park maybe two, three, four LPGA Tour starts a year in college. That will shrink the lead in time for them being elite tour players.

"It's not happening yet on the women's side, but it needs to. We've been very vociferous about that to the LPGA. There's some coaches on our side at the elite level that have had a line in, and I think they've been heard a little bit, but not as much as the men have.

"And [the top tours] have had less of a willingness so far to work with the women's collegiate coaches than the men have. We're getting there, but it's frustrating."

Silverstein - a University of Arizona alumnus - joined from his alma mater in 2013 and has since won Pac-12 Coach of the Year twice, the 2019 Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year and the 2019 WGCA West Region Coach of the Year.

Since being at the helm of the women's program and working with the likes of Amari Avery, Amelia Garvey, Park and Koo, Silverstein has led the Women of Troy to 23 wins in his first six seasons - including seven during his debut campaign (2018-19) - plus Pac-12 titles in 2019, 2021 and 2023.

USC has also claimed three NCAA regional wins (2019, 2022 and 2024) and his players have combined for 16 All-American honors and 15 All-Pac-12 first team awards.

But Silverstein pointed out that Jasmine Koo - currently ranked as No.3 in the NCAA rankings and a significant factor in the school's recent success - may not play a single pro tournament in 2025 if she doesn't qualify for the US Women's Open at Erin Hills.

The 37-year-old said that even with the LPGA Tour's new initiative, it will be difficult for the former Curtis Cup competitor to secure the necessary points unless more parties are willing to open up their events to leading college golfers.

Silverstein said: "I think the next step is getting them starts because on the women's side, elite players are getting a couple a year and those are including the US Open, which Jasmine's going to have to qualify for.

"She's the second best player in the world. She's got to qualify for the US Open. If she didn't qualify for US Open, she might not play a pro event this year. That's not happening on the men's side. And there might be a million reasons for that. I'm not sure I'm qualified to speak on that, but I just know what I see and there's a difference.

"I think if you spoke to any coach in the top-25 of women's college golf, they'd tell you the same thing. It's very frustrating how far behind the PGA Tour we are. And that's kind of where you're seeing a little bit of that gap [between college and the pro game].

"If Rose Zhang doesn't win that playoff in Jersey [2023 Mizuho Americas Open against Jennifer Kupcho], think about how different her year could have gone. Now, she probably is going to win at some point if she keeps getting starts. But if she doesn't, no Solheim Cup, maybe having to go to Q school. That's crazy. That should never happen."