Eligibility Policy For Sapphire Golf Tour

The Sapphire Golf Tour, is a premier developmental circuit dedicated to increasing diversity in professional golf by creating competitive opportunities for African American women. Designed to bridge the gap between collegiate and elite-level competition, the tour provides a platform for rising talent to compete, earn, and gain the exposure needed to excel in the sport. The Sapphire Golf Tour is a professional tour, amateurs are ineligible to receive any purse money or prizes at our tournaments.

Professional Eligibility:

• Female professional golfers must be sixteen (16) years of age or older by the first round of any Sapphire Golf Tour in which they register to play.
• Foreign players must possess ‘Internationally Recognized’ status to participate in the Sapphire Golf Tour.

Amateur Eligibility:

• Female amateur golfers must be sixteen (16) years of age or older by the first round of any Sapphire Golf Tour event in which they register to play.

Policy Compliance:

To ensure compliance with the aforementioned eligibility requirements, a female is defined as any person who is assigned female at birth, regardless of their gender identity or gender expression. Participants may be required to submit their original, unedited birth certificate to verify age and gender. 

This policy is set to take effect for the 2025 season and is subject to modification at any time.

Tournament registration is available through our website under Sapphire Golf Tour>Info > 2025 Schedule. Simply click on the registration button next to the tournament you wish to sign-up for. All tournament registrations open at the beginning of the season.

In order for players to register for tournaments early, entry fee payments will not be processed until  the Monday, 8 weeks prior to each tournament. Once a player registers, her status will show “pending approval” until her entry fee payment is processed, or until the number of registered players reaches 40.

Tournament entries will be accepted by the current Priority List. 

If the tournament fills before the 3 week priority deadline, players will be moved to the waiting list according to the Priority List.

All players MUST be female and incoming freshmen to rising seniors with a college golf program to be eligible for the Collegiate Series, in addition to meeting the Eligibility Requirements for Sapphire Golf TourOpen Fields.

Tournament registration is available through our website under Sapphire Golf Tour Info > 2025 Schedule..

Simply click on the registration button next to the tournament you wish to sign-up for. Registrations open at the beginning of the season.

Entry fee payments will not be processed until the Monday, 3 weeks prior to each tournament. Once a player registers, her status will show “pending approval” until her entry fee payment is processed. If the tournament fills before the 3 week priority deadline, players will be moved to the waiting list according to the Priority List below.

Entry Priority: 2025 Collegiate Series fields are limited to 24 players. All players must register at least 3 weeks prior to the event to be prioritized. Priority for entry will be as follows:

* Category 1: Top 200 on current WAGR (as of the entry deadline)

* Category 2: Top 100 on current Collegiate Rankings

* Category 3: All other players in order of registration

The Sapphire Golf Tour reserves the right to refuse participation to anyone.

WAGR points are being considered to be available at each event of the Collegiate Series based on the strength of the field.

Points will not be allocated to fields less than 8 players. We will update the College Coaches and athletes  & social media soon.

Tournaments will consist of 36 holes of stroke play (weather permitting). The maximum field at most events is 24 players, including 4 host exemption.

Open fields will be available with no cut line. Amateurs are included in the number, but ineligible for any prize money. At the conclusion of the tournament, all pros completing the 36 hole event will be awarded prize money.

Collegiate Division fields will not be cut after 36 holes. No prize money or certificates are available.

Should there be a tie for 1st place, the tie will be broken by a sudden-death playoff after all scores have been officially approved and posted. The designated starting hole for a playoff will be hole #18. All subsequent holes will be determined on-site.

88 RULE APPLIES: Any player shooting 88 or higher during the first or second round will be cut from the field. The committee does have the right to waive this rule under extreme conditions.

Events are walking. Players may carry their own bag or use a push cart during tournament rounds. Should a player bring or hire a caddy, the caddy may use a push cart, but must wear a caddy bib. The Sapphire Golf Tour officials reserve the right to amend this policy during tournament play should golf course conditions be unfavorable (i.e. wet/saturated areas that may be affected by push carts). All players will be notified of any change prior to the start of a tournament round.

Purse payments will be made by Direct Deposit to the player’s US bank account approximately 5 business days following the final round of each event. Players competing for the 1st time will receive an email from Intuit Quickbooks to set up an account. The player will follow the link provided to enter W-9 and direct deposit information. All future direct deposit payments will be made to the bank account set up in the Quickbooks account. Contact the Office at 1-888-842-1925 – with any problems or changes that need to be made.

Unfortunately, direct deposit is not available for our foreign players without a US social security number, TIN or ITIN, and US Federal Law requires the Sapphire Golf Tour to withhold 30% of foreign players’ winnings for US taxes. Purse payments can be mailed to foreign players with a US mailing address, or payments can be wired to the foreign player’s bank account. A wire authorization form will be sent instead of the Quickbooks link to all players that do not provide a US Social Security Number or US TIN on the registration form.

Note: A player must complete all rounds of the event, as played, to receive a purse payment. However, should a player need to withdraw after the cut due to a medical or family emergency, she would receive the last place check

Pairings are based on player standings. First round tee times will be posted by 5:00 PM, two days prior to the first round. Pairings will be posted on the Sapphire Golf Tour website. Tee-times will also be texted to each player, so it is the player’s responsibility to provide a contact number and enable text messages on the registration form. Tee times are NOT available at the tour office.

The player must start at the time established by the Committee. The tour encourages players to be present on the tee box of their designated starting hole at least five minutes before scheduled tee time. The Tour incorporates the note under Rule 6-3b, thus if the player arrives at her starting hole ready to play, within five minutes after her starting time, the penalty for failure to start on time is two strokes at the first hole. After five minutes, the penalty for breach of this Rule is disqualification. The clocks on the starting tees are the “Official Time”.

Withdrawals will be accepted for any reason, when notice is given by 5:00 PM, 7 days before a tournament’s first round. There will be a $50 administrative fee for all refunds. Players MUST email our Tournament Director at info@sapphiregolftour.com to withdraw. For withdrawals after the deadline, the player will waive her entry fee to the tournament. Medical and personal withdrawals after the  deadline will be evaluated  on a case-by-case  basis and, if accepted, there will be a $75 administrative fee. No Shows will NOT receive a refund or credit for any reason. No refund or credit will be given for any reason once a player has teed off.

All tournament decisions affected by rain or extreme conditions will be made case-by-case by the tour officials, host professionals, and event sponsors. Any weather-shortened tournament is official only after 36 holes, with tour officials making every effort to complete as many rounds as possible. Play may be extended an extra day, but not beyond, and in most cases, to complete 36 holes. No partial rounds will count. A tournament may be canceled if 36 holes cannot be completed.

Sapphire Golf Tour pro-am pro participation is reserved for top points earners and those players requested by tournament sponsors and teams. The Sapphire Golf Tour wants to showcase the top players and local tournament sponsors want to play with those players. The number of professionals needed varies per event. The pros assigned to the Pro-Am will be posted on the website by 5:00 PM four days before the tournament pro-am.

Players will be allowed to miss a maximum of two (2) pro-am tournaments over the course of the year. If a player needs to miss a pro-am they need to notify the Tournament Manager by 5:00 PM four days before the tournament pro-am.