Heading into the 2024 season on the Epson Tour, Madison Young was prepared for what might be her final run in professional golf.
Multiple injuries, financial challenges and stress of professional golf had brought her to the brink of walking away. Still, deep down, she knew she wasn’t quite ready to give up on the dream.
So, Young approached the season with a simple mindset: “play bold and trust the Lord.”
Five events into her third season on the Epson Tour in 2024, Young’s perseverance paid off. She captured the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic in Arizona – her breakthrough victory.
“I qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open right before I won and I think once I did that, I felt like I could win on the Epson Tour,” Young said. “I beat a couple of LPGA players in a playoff just to get that spot. I think that opened my eyes a little bit. I was like, ‘Okay, I guess I have to keep playing now.’”
Young turned pro in the summer of 2019 and quickly faced a wrist injury that ultimately set her back six months after playing through it at Q-Series. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, limiting her playing opportunities in 2020 after her wrist healed.
She narrowly missed advancing to final stage at Q-Series in 2021, but was able to play in 21 events on the Epson Tour in 2022 making 11 cuts and finishing 55th in the Race for the Card.
The Georgia native put together another solid campaign in 2023 making 13 cuts out of 21 events and finishing 45th in the Race for the Card despite tearing her labrum in her hip.
By early 2024, the emotional, physical and financial toll of the grind had her question how much longer she could continue. But her win in Arizona sparked a shift – not just in her confidence but in her trajectory.
But even as she moved to the top of the points standings, Young had to grind to remain in position to capture that coveted LPGA Tour card.
“I was in contention the week after I won and I was like, ‘okay, I feel good,’” Young said. “Then after the U.S. Open, I had a bad week back on Epson and then I think I missed like two cuts in a row at one point. I felt like I got in my head a little bit about where I was, and I was falling every week in the rankings. Even when I played well, I was still falling in the rankings.”
Images courtesy of Getty Images.
After finishing tied for fifth the event before the Epson Tour Championship, Young’s LPGA card for 2025 was still not a guarantee. A 66 on moving day propelled Young to the final group where she played bold and steady to finish tied for sixth at 13-under, just enough to earn her card finishing ninth in the Race for the Card and finally secure her place on the LPGA Tour.
“Honestly, that whole day was such a blur,” Young said. “It was cool. I think I felt some relief, but also it was the same feeling as when I won. I think when I won, I looked at my husband and it was like, ‘did that really just happen?’ It was surreal and such a cool moment.
“It was like a life flash before your eyes type a moment. It was cool to remember as a kid playing in GSGA and AJGA tournaments, I always wanted to play on the LPGA Tour. I knew that I was capable of it, and I have always truthfully wanted to be number one in the world and I know I'm capable of that.
“But after all the struggles and all that, you start to wonder if it will ever happen. I think having it happen was just like someone slapped me in the face.”
For Young, she’s okay with the scars she endured on the road to the LPGA.
“My journey was tough,” Young reflected. “We all have our own journey. Financially it never really made sense for me to play professionally, and it still really doesn’t make sense for me. I’ve never really had any sponsors. My parents have helped a lot, and my husband has funded everything.
“It’s been a wild ride and battle of all the elements you could possibly think, but I am so grateful for that. I definitely think that is what has given me an edge. When my back is against the wall, I rise to the top a little bit more than if everything was just handed to me easily. I would not have it any other way.”
Those experiences will remain with Young as she embarks on her rookie year on the LPGA Tour.
“I think getting into the groove and traveling back-to-back weeks I feel like I learn a lot and I get into game mode a little bit easier,” Young said. “To be completely honest, I have been so nervous before every round, which I was on Epson, but it has definitely been a little bit magnified out here. I feel like once I have more events that are back-to-back, I'll be able to settle in a little bit more. I am super excited about going to the places that we are going to. I feel like we go to some cool locations, so that's what I am really looking forward to.”
Young has made the cut in both events she’s participated in so far in 2025 and hopes to recover from a recent rib injury to continue her momentum the rest of the campaign.
“At the end of the year playing in the CME Group Tour Championship and having a big rise in the world ranking would definitely be top of the list,” Young said of her goals. “It's just cleaning up a little bit of everything and sharpening my game in general. I don't think that there's anything that's like glaringly wrong, but I want to be one of the best in the world, so I have to clean up pretty much everything.”
