And while she isn’t quite a member just yet, Crawford got an idea of what that dream would look like last year on the LPGA Tour.

The now 32-year-old won both THE JOHN SHIPPEN Cognizant Cup and THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Invitational in 2023, victories that earned her berths in the LPGA Tour’s Cognizant Founders Cup, Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give and Dow Championship, the last of which saw her team up with Madison Barnett, another African American professional golfer.

Even though she missed playing the weekend in all three of those starts, the exposure and experience that Crawford gleaned from competing with the world’s best golfers on the biggest stage in the women’s game has been invaluable to her journey thus far as it has served as a reminder of what she’s chasing after and the change she’s trying to help effect. And Crawford is so grateful to THE JOHN SHIPPEN for giving her the chance to see up close and personally what her future could ultimately look like if she were to make it to the LPGA Tour one day.

“These opportunities are amazing. I'm so grateful for THE JOHN SHIPPEN,” Crawford said in a pre-tournament press conference at the 2023 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. “They are my favorite tournaments. I appreciate them getting Black girls out here to play golf, exposing us to the top level, playing really nice courses, getting these sponsor exemptions. It's an amazing experience. It's life-changing for us. We don't get these opportunities often, and I'm just so grateful for them.”

After advancing from LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying Tournament Stage I and competing in Stage II last October, Crawford will have full Epson Tour status for the 2024 season, which begins in early March at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic. While she isn't much of a goal-setter, the 32-year-old would consider playing well enough to skip Stage I – an event she has struggled with in the past – as her main objective for this season on the Epson Tour, and she’s also looking forward to playing in other events around the country, most of all THE JOHN SHIPPEN tournaments.

But with money still very much being a big factor in her professional golf journey, Crawford isn’t super confident in how much she’ll be able to compete this year.

Paige Crawford Hopes to Encourage Others to Pursue Dreams No Matter What

Paige Crawford fell in love with watching golf on TV.

Related Articles