Kartusch tees off busy summer Winnipegger pleased with lessons learned from first pro tourney By: Joshua Frey-Sam Posted: 5:09 PM CDT Monday, Jun. 22, 2026

Seeing is believing, and Addison Kartusch recently got a glimpse into what life could be like as a pro golfer.

The 19-year-old Winnipegger teed it up in her first professional event over the weekend in the Great Lakes Championship in Harbor Springs, Mich., playing among 143 others who aspire to swing it on the LPGA Tour one day.

The 54-hole event was the ninth tournament of the season on the Epson Tour, which has been the development tour of the LPGA Tour since 1999. The 19-event circuit goes throughout the summer and is powered through the Race for the Card, which grants the tour’s top players a membership to play with the best in the world.

Kartusch, who just wrapped up her sophomore campaign of NCAA Division 1 golf at Bowling Green State University, still has some time before she needs to worry about playing for money and membership, but this experience was less about where she finished on the leaderboard.

“I think it was really cool to be able to see kind of where the top players are,” Kartusch told the Free Press on Monday.

“I watched a little bit of the top players in the Race for the Card when I was done my round, and even the girls that I played with, it was very interesting to see. It was a really good learning week for me to kind of see where my game needs to improve, if getting to the next level is something that I want.”

Kartusch, who was one of two amateurs in the field, played with two pros in Samantha Bruce of the Philippines and Korea’s Ashley Kim during the first two rounds. No one from the group made the 36-hole cut, but the Manitoban was the closest of the bunch, as her one-over par, 145 total left her out of Sunday’s final round by two shots.

“I think it was a really good experience, especially because the course was playing so much longer. It was nice for me to see that I was able to play pretty decent at that length, or I guess at that level as well,” she said.

“It was a really good learning week for me to kind of see where my game needs to improve.”

“I wish I could have made the cut and I could have played on Sunday, but that’s not the worst outcome that could have happened.”

Kartusch received an exemption into the tournament last fall after opening the collegiate season with a convincing seven-shot victory at the A-Ga-Ming Invitational in Kewadin, Mich. Her 11-under par (205 total) set a new program record for best score at a 36-hole tournament.

It was the first of two wins on the university calendar for the decorated Manitoban, who also won the National Golf Invitational at seven-under (209 total) in April, setting a tournament record and becoming the first player in Bowling Green State’s program history to win a post-season event.

Her exemption was also a first for Falcons head coach Erin Fahey, who has never had a player from her program reach a professional event.

“Playing college golf, you see some really good golfers, which is great, and always kind of great to stack yourself up against that, but I know Addi has the ambition to get to the next level after she graduates, and so for her to get that experience going into her junior year… I think it’s huge for her,” said Fahey.

Fahey had dinner with Kartusch and her father the night before the opening round, and could sense that Kartusch’s mind was on edge about her pro debut. The next day, the teen looked razor sharp as she navigated a tough track.

“It’s funny when you look at Addi, I can never tell if she’s nervous or what she’s thinking, like she’s very even-keeled on the golf course,” said Fahey.

“It was really cool to see. I was talking to Macie (Elzinga) — one of her teammates who came to watch — and I got a glimpse. I’m like, ‘How cool is it gonna be when we can watch her at U.S. Opens and things like that, too?’ It was kind of fun to see her, and she looked really comfortable to me, and like she fit right in.”

Regardless of the outcome, Kartusch said it was a tremendous opportunity to see how the next wave of LPGA up-and-comers approach a professional event. She’s added plenty to her mental bag as she prepares for another big season at university.

“The mindset is not any different than any other normal golf tournament.”

“No. 1 is that the mindset is not any different than any other normal golf tournament. Like, I understand that they’re playing for money and they’re playing for a living, and it’s a bit of a grinder tour for sure, but I think changing your mindset and trying to go out there and know that you’re playing for money is difficult,” she said.

“But I think keeping the same mindset is a big deal for all those girls, and I think that was a big deal, especially for me.”

Kartusch will stay busy this summer. She will look to defend her crown at the Manitoba Women’s Amateur Championship in Gilbert Plains next week, then head south for the Women’s Ohio State Amateur Championship in Daytona, beginning July 13.

If all goes to plan in the provincial championship, she will tee it up at the Canadian women’s amateur championship from July 21-24 in Toronto.

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