Quebec golfer believed to be the first woman to gain status on any of the world’s six biggest men’s pro tours
Sat, 28 May 2011 08:41:48
by Jeff Brooke
Isabelle (Izzy) Beisiegel has broken a gender barrier in golf and made history, winning membership and playing privileges on the men's Canadian Tour.
The St. Hillaire, Que., native tied for ninth place at the tour's spring qualifying tournament in Parksville, B.C., on Friday.
That made the 32-year-old a member of the Canadian Tour for the rest of 2011. Other women, including Michelle Wie and Annika Sorenstam, have famously played in men's tournaments, but Beisiegel is believed to be the first woman to gain status on any of the world's six biggest men's professional golf tours.
"I still can't believe it. It's a little overwhelming," Beisiegel told cantour.com following her final round at Morningstar Golf Club.
Her placing wasn't high enough to give her automatic entry into the rest of the tour's events this year - only the top five at the Q-school Friday won an unconditional card. But her "non-exempt" or conditional status means she should still be able to get the events of her choice, said Reegan Price, the tour's director of business and tournament affairs.
The developmental circuit begins its eight-event Canadian swing next week in Victoria, then moves the following week to Kamloops.
Price said the tour is happy to have Beisiegel aboard. "It's great for her and it's great for the tour," he said by telephone.
The tour is already riding a surge of good publicity. It has invited former amateur darlings Nick Taylor and Matt Hill to play in a handful of the tournaments on home soil, and fellow Canadian young gun Adam Hadwin is turning into the star of the tour.
While women competing in men's events has been criticized in some corners and called a gimmick, Price said he doubts there will be any backlash.
"I don't think any modern person would have a problem with it," he said. "She proved she is capable."
Beisiegel, who now makes her home in Broken Arrow, Okla., is a former LPGA Tour player whose promising early career was derailed in 2004 by the onset of Grave's Disease, a thyroid illness. She had surgery in 2006 and, since her recovery, has been slowly trying to re-establish herself in tour golf.
She's playing a regular schedule on the LPGA Futures Tour, where she's 28th on the money list this year and hoping to earn an LPGA card for 2012, and she competed last week at the CN Canadian Women's Tour season opener in Squamish, B.C., where she tied for 23rd spot.
She's no stranger to dabbling on men's tours. In 2004, she became the first woman in history to enter the PGA Tour's Q-school. She also tried last year.
She had also entered the Canadian Tour's Q-school twice before. The third time was lucky.
She set herself up for her card by shooting a stunning four-under-par 68 in the third round Thursday - from the same tees as the other 38 competitors in the field. Morningstar played to about 6,900 yards.
The 68 was the second-best score of the day.
