For women's collegiate golfers, playing on the LPGA tour is like college football players moving on to play in the NFL.

That's why former Nittany Lion Katie Futcher has many Penn State fans excited as she is participating in her first LPGA tournament after qualifying in December.

Futcher, a standout golfer who graduated from Penn State in 2003, had made the cut in the previous three tournaments before missing the cut this past weekend at the Safeway International presented by Coca-Cola in Arizona.

"This season is going very well. I made all three cuts so far, and I had a top 10 finish in the last tournament so I'm playing very well," Futcher said before the Safeway International.

She is referring to the Mastercard Classic, which was played the weekend of March 12, when she placed in seventh overall.

By placing seventh, Futcher earned herself $32,278 for that tournament alone. After her first three tournaments, she had grossed $40,536 in 2006.

While Futcher made a name for herself at Penn State, she still acknowledged huge differences between the collegiate game and the professional game. Where football players say that the level of play is much higher when they jump to the next level, Futcher's focus was on the courses.

"College courses are set up for amateur players. LPGA courses are longer and the greens are faster. The best players in the world are playing on these courses," Futcher said.

Futcher still has very strong ties to Penn State, however. When attempting to qualify for the tour in December, Futcher asked her former Penn State coach, Denise St. Pierre, to caddy for her.

"Denise is like my second mom. It's a pleasure to have her caddy for me whenever she can," Futcher said.

With St. Pierre at her side, Futcher qualified for the tour and is now reaping the benefits of participating in the LPGA tournament. She expects to compete in over 20 different tournaments during this year's golf season.

However, when it comes to the four Majors, Futcher wouldn't go so far as to guarantee herself a spot. She said that qualifying for the tour doesn't get her an automatic bid into the Major events. In order to participated in the majors, she would have to re-qualify for each of those all over again.

Whether St. Pierre can caddy for those qualifiers remains to be seen, as the coach is probably concentrating on the current Penn State team, which is in season right now.