The LPGA Tour’s schedule boasts 33 events around the globe in 2014, but the association’s reach is far wider and greater than what happens at its tournaments.

Thanks to the increase in popularity of women’s golf on a global scale, the Tour’s immense success in recent years and the growth of the LPGA, there’s much more for golf fans to sink their teeth into on a regular basis to get their golf fix. It’s actually become staggering to see just how the Tour has spread via ancillary events and properties.

First and foremost of an example is the Epson Tour, where the LPGA’s future stars battle all year in hopes of earning full exempt status for the following year. Earlier this season, three-time 2014 Epson Tour tournament champion Marissa Steen parlayed her success on “The Road to the LPGA Tour” into a Category 13 LPGA Tour status and began playing on the “big Tour.”

Every year, the top 10 finishers on the Epson Tour money list earn LPGA Tour cards for the next season, giving all players who tee it up in those events a huge goal to chase all season. With 20 events in 2014 from February to September and a growing list of sponsors and partners, the Epson Tour is strong and poised for continued growth in the future.

For LPGA Tour players over 45, the Legends Tour offers a great way to fill their competitive urges and enjoy fellowship with longtime friends. This year, the Tour features eight events, including the ISPS Handa Cup Sept. 25-28, where the sport’s superstars can give fans the thrill of watching Hall of Famers and pioneers of the game tee it up in a competitive atmosphere.

Whether it’s watching greats like Nancy Lopez, Patty Sheehan and Pat Bradley play golf around the country or seeing former LPGA tournament champions square off inside the ropes again, Legends Tour events offer fans rare treats they will remember for a lifetime. Watching great golf and rubbing elbows with some of the best women to ever play the game is not a bad combination at all.

The LPGA’s flagship match-play event is the Solheim Cup, and this year’s International Crown is an event that has a bright future ahead of it, but they are not the only international competitions in which the LPGA is involved. Whether it’s the PING Junior Solheim Cup – which began in 2002 – the aforementioned ISPS Handa Cup or this week’s Evian Championship Juniors Cup, golf fans have multiple extra events to follow on a regular basis.

The LPGA’s Teaching and Club Professional members get to show off their skills each year at the LPGA T&CP National Championship, which this year was won by Jean Bartholomew at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga. They spend their years teaching the game to thousands of amateurs across the country, but the week of the national championship is a chance for them to be in the spotlight and compete for a coveted title on a grand stage.

Some of the most intense drama seen on or around the Tour all season happens at Qualifying Tournament, and each year’s qualifying tournaments give fans a glimpse at future LPGA stars they will soon see on Golf Channel. Players must navigate their way through a gauntlet of three stages that begins in August in Rancho Mirage, Calif., continues in Venice, Fla., in October and culminates at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., in December if they hope to play professional golf on the LPGA or Epson Tours.

It is a grueling process, but the trio of tournaments also provides golf fans with great storylines to follow online or in person. Seeing players realize their dreams in December is a compelling and inspirational experience, and it happens every year.

All of these events, properties and competitions, and more, are illustrations of just how far the game of women’s golf has come and the expansion of its roots throughout the golf community. With seemingly endless opportunities to showcase the best of the women’s game to the world, coupled with a rising tide that is raising all ships, the LPGA Tour and its events are poised for a great future.

LPGA’s ancillary activities provide great things for golf fans

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