VENICE, Fla. — With the Epson Tour season complete and the LPGA Tour on its Asian swing, the rest of eyes on women’s golf shift to the Sunshine State for Stage II of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament from Oct. 21-24. A 179-player field is set to compete in southwest Florida on the Panther and Bobcat Courses at Plantation Golf & Country Club.
“It’s great to be back in Venice to provide these athletes the opportunity to chase their LPGA Tour dream,” said Mike Nichols, the Chief Business Officer of LPGA Qualifying Tours. “After finalizing the Race for the Card Top 10 on the Epson Tour just a couple weeks ago, we are eager to continue the Q-School process and see who will join the newest 10 members of the LPGA on Tour in 2022.”
Individuals will battle in a 72-hole, stroke-play format featuring no cut. To be eligible for LPGA Q-Series from Nov. 29—Dec. 12 on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama, a player must finish inside the top 45 plus ties at Stage II and meet all criteria for LPGA Tour membership. If a player finishes within the top 45 plus ties but is not eligible or able to compete in Q-Series, her vacated spot will not be allocated to another player.
“Looking back does me no good, so I’ll look forward and attack each day here at Stage II of Q-School with determination,” said Allie White (Lancaster, Ohio), who finished at No. 36 in the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card and just $148 shy of exemption into Q-Series. “I’m pumped to get on the courses this week and continue building on the pretty stellar season that I had.”
Action begins at 8:00 a.m. EDT all four days with the rotation Bobcat Course-Panther Course to be used in the first two rounds. The entire field will be re-paired by score for round three with lower scores playing the Panther Course and higher scores playing the Bobcat Course. In the final round, players will alternate the course played in round three and be re-paired by score. If a player started the third round on the Bobcat Course, she will be re-paired by score and play the Panther Course in the final round.
COUNTRIES (AND STATES) OF STAGE II
A total of 37 countries are represented this week at Stage II of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament, led by the United States with 71 players and then followed by Australia and Sweden at the next highest of 10 competitors apiece.
“The Epson Tour prepares us for these moments and back home, the Swedish Golf Federation does a great job setting us up for a long career in professional golf,” said Elin Arvidsson (Falkenberg, Sweden), a Epson Tour veteran who earned a career-best finish of a tie for fourth at the IOA Golf Classic presented by RP Funding in May and matched it at the Four Winds Invitational in August. “It means a lot to represent my nation’s colors on Tour every week and I’m working to join fellow Swedes on the LPGA.”
Individuals from 27 different states are also set to tee it up in Sarasota County. Ten players hail from the host state, while Texas boasts the most with 12.
“This week is extra special because my sister Auston is in the field after making it through Stage I,” said August Kim (St. Augustine, Florida), who secured two top-10 finishes in her final three starts of the 2021 Epson Tour season. “It’ll be super cool to look over and see her across the fairways.
“I found some good momentum down the stretch and hope to carry that over.”
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