Via Texas Golf, I notice that the Futures Tour is going to have a new tournament in San Antonio next year. When the LPGA Tour purchased the Futures Tour, many of us wondered what the effect on the junior circuit would be - how quickly would upgrades to purses and courses be seen? how major or minor would those upgrades be?

Perhaps this new San Antonio tournament gives us some insight into both those questions.

First, the purse: The new tournament plans a purse of $125,000 in 2009, $150,000 in 2010 and 2011. In 2008, only three tournaments on the schedule top $100,000 in purse.

Second, the course: The new tournament is planned for Dominion Country Club. "Country Club" alone is an upgrade over many current and past Futures Tour locations. (They play on the municipal course in McAllen, Texas, for goodness' sake! That's got "hardpan" written all over it ...) But Dominion Country Club was the home for 17 years to the Champions Tour tournament that is now known as the AT&T Championship. The course is the centerpiece of a neighborhood that is home to many of the San Antonio Spurs plus country music legend George Strait. It's not a great golf course, from an architecture standpoint, but in terms of conditioning and facilities, it's top of the line.

If this is a sign of things to come for the Futures Tour, then it's a very good sign, indeed.

(As an aside, the organizers of this event claim they may try to lure an LPGA Tour tournament to San Antonio after their three-year Futures Tour commitment comes due. But an LPGA insider told me a couple weeks ago that it's a near-certainty the LPGA will have a new event in Texas in 2009, probably in Austin. If the LPGA is already in Austin, then it's very unlikely they would look at also going to San Antonio.)