“I didn’t have the funds” – LPGA Tour debutant Paige Crawford shares her ‘inspirational’ journey of becoming a pro golfer

Paige Crawford won the John Shippen Cognizant Cup with a three-over-par 75, earning her exemption onto the LPGA Tour. She will make her debut in the 2023 Congnizant Founders Cup, which will be played at the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey, from May 11 to 14.

Crawford discussed her journey and stated that her ultimate goal is to play on the LPGA Tour. Addressing reporters ahead of the competition, the golfer revealed that she used to play at the Big Sky Conference Championship and held a record.

When asked about her journey, Paige Crawford stated:

"I won Big Sky Conference championships. I still have the record for that luckily, in 2013. and then after that, I was just ..I graduated but I played on mini-tours. That's really expensive, and I did not have the funds."

"My parents were helping out a little bit, and so I was only playing like four or five tournaments a year at the most," she added. "And in between, I was helping my sister or taking care of my nephew. He's 14 now. And then I got a few jobs and I was saving up.

"I worked at a climbing gym, worked at the golf course, and DoorDash during Covid time, and I was just saving all I could. And the. Megan got the van. We were doing a lot of car camping before she got the van, and I was like, okay, I guess I'm going to quit my job. And I was really scared about it. And luckily I went to Florida and played in the match-play event, and I ended up finding a sponsor then."

" So last year was my first time playing full-time ever. So it's really amazing. I am so grateful for this opportunity. At my age, a lot of girls stopped playing, but I just have to keep going. I couldn't help", she added.

The LPGA Tour shared a video of the press conference on their social media pages.

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2023 Congnizant Founders Cup field

Here's a list of all the golfers who will be playing at the 2023 Congnizant Founders Cup:

• Nelly Korda
• Lydia Ko
• Jin Young Ko
• Lilia Vu
• Atthaya Thitikul
• Minjee Lee
• Lexi Thompson
• Brooke Henderson
• Georgia Hall
• Celine Boutier
• Xiyu Lin
• Hannah Green
• Nasa Hataoka
• Ashleigh Buhai
• Ruoning Yin
• Allisen Corpuz
• Jennifer Kupcho
• Hye Jin Choi
• Brittany Altomare
• Narin An
• Pajaree Anannarukarn
• Aditi Ashok
• Jaravee Boonchant
• Celine Borge
• Celine Boutier
• Ashleigh Buhai
• Matilda Castren
• Jennifer Chang
• Peiyun Chien
• Hye-Jin Choi
• Chella Choi
• Karen Chung
• Carlota Ciganda
• Allisen Corpuz
• Lauren Coughlin
• Paula Creamer
• Daniela Darquea
• Karis Davidson
• Laura Davies
• Manon De Roey
• Perrine Delacour
• Amanda Doherty
• Gemma Dryburgh
• Jodi Ewart Shadoff
• Ally Ewing
• Dana Fall
• Maria Fassi
• Luna Sobron Galmes
• Sofia Garcia
• Julieta Granada
• Hannah Green
• Georgia Hall
• Mina Harigae
• Lauren Hartlage
• Nasa Hataoka
• Brooke Henderson
• Esther Henseleit
• Daniela Holmqvist
• Yu-Sang Hou
• Wei-Ling Hsu
• Caroline Inglis
• Hyo Joon Jang
• Eun Hee Ji
• Linnea Johansson
• Moriya Jutanugarn
• Ariya Jutanugarn
• Haeji Kang
• Minami Katsu
• Sarah Kemp
• Cristie Kerr
• Megan Khang
• Sei Young Kim
• A Lim Kim
• In Kyung Kim
• Grace Kim
• Gina Kim
• Frida Kinhult
• Cheyenne Knight
• Lydia Ko
• Jin Young Ko
• Nelly Korda
• Jessica Korda
• Aline Krauter
• Jennifer Kupcho
• Stephanie KyriacouInes Laklalech
• Bronte Law
• Maude-Aimee Leblanc
• Minjee Lee
• Andrea Lee
• Alison Lee
• Min Lee
• Jeongeun Lee6
• Stacy Lewis
• Lucy Li
• Xiyu Lin
• Brittany Lincicome
• Pernilla Lindberg
• Yan Liu
• Yu Liu
• Ruixin Liu
• Gaby Lopez
• Katie Lu (a)
• Polly Mack
• Stephanie Meadow
• Wichanee Meechai
• Morgane Metraux
• Azahara Munoz
• Yuna Nishimura
• Yealimi Noh
• Anna Nordqvist
• Ryann O'Toole
• Alexa Pano
• Sung Hyun Park
• Annie Park
• Kum-Kang Park
• Pornanong Phatlum
• Valery Plata
• Mel Reid
• Riley Rennell
• Paula Reto
• Kiira Riihijarvi
• Pauline Roussin
• So Yeon Ryu
• Hae Ran Ryu
• Madelene Sagstrom
• Lizette Salas
• Yuka Saso
• Sarah Schmelzel
• Sophia Schubert
• Jenny Shin
• Jennifer Song
• Marissa Steen
• Lauren Stephenson
• Linnea Strom
• Ellinor Sudow
• Jasmine Suwannapura
• Maddie Szeryk
• Elizabeth Szokol
• Emma Talley
• Kelly Tan
• Bailey Tardy
• Patty Tavatanakit
• Gabriella Then
• Atthaya Thitikul
• Charlotte Thomas
• Lexi Thompson
• Mariajo Uribe
• Albane Valenzuela
• Lilia Vu
• Samantha Wagner
• Chanettee Wannasaen
• Lindsey Weaver-Wright
• Amy Yang
• Angel Yin
• Ruoning Yin
• Xiaowen Yin
• Pavarisa Yoktuan