After fierce competition, the list of 46 players who won the right to advance to the 2023 LPGA Tour has been confirmed. In particular, this year, a large number of rookies with various ages, nationalities, and occupations are selected, raising expectations for the next season.
The LPGA ‘Qualifying (Q) School Series’ held at Highland Oaks Golf Club (par 72) in Dosun, Alabama, USA over two weeks from the 4th (local time) to the 11th has come to an end. It is known that 23 of the 46 players selected through this tournament are rookies entering the LPGA tour for the first time.
As a Korean player, Yoo Hae-ran took the overall ‘Senior’ by hitting a final total of 29 under par 545 strokes. Yoo Hae-ran received $15,000 in prize money as well as a ticket to the LPGA Tour. Park Geum-gang, who has been active on the LPGA 2nd Tour, also successfully advanced to the LPGA Tour stage next year by tying for 9th place with a final total of 20 under par 554 strokes.
In particular, attention is focused on the various backgrounds of the players who step on the stage of the LPGA Tour for the first time this year. For the first time, three teenagers and two players over the age of 30 were named to this year’s Q Series passing roster. Among them, Alexa Fano (USA) is the actual protagonist of the golf documentary ‘The Short Game’, which depicts the challenges of junior players. Her story became known and became a hot topic even before the opening of the Q series. Pano unfortunately did not make it into the top 20 by one stroke, but he will be able to play an active part in parallel with the 1st and 2nd tours next year.
The story of Valerie Fleta (Colombia) is also a hot topic. Fleta, who turned pro the month before the Q series, is a fifth-year student at Michigan State University, and is known to have been studying for the exam throughout the tournament as the tournament and final exams overlapped. “At home, I tried to forget everything about the golf course and only think about school,” said Fleta, who finished the first round sluggishly with a 1-over-par 73. That was so much better,” he said.
The experience of Bailey Tardy (USA), who finished second with 27 under par and 547 strokes, two strokes behind Hae-ran, is also touching. 메이저놀이터
The second part tour, the Epson Tour, is one of the ways to go directly to the regular LPGA tour. Players who rank in the top 10 on the money list on the Epson Tour can play on the regular LPGA tour the following year.
However, Tadi suffered at the threshold on the way to the LPGA Tour for two consecutive seasons. He’s short of $343 in 2020 and $1765 in 2021, so he doesn’t qualify for the LPGA Tour. It is known that the heartache at that time was so great that he tried to give up participating in the Q Series this year and submitted the application 15 minutes before the paperwork deadline. Eventually, with the support of her friends, her paperwork, which she reluctantly submitted, led her to the LPGA path for the first time in her life.
Ines Laclalek (Morocco), who is the first Moroccan national player to step on the LPGA tour, was encouraged by watching coach Walid Lakraki, who led her country’s national soccer team.
After the Q Series, Laclalek explained: “I was impressed with what coach Lakraqui said after beating Portugal 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. His words gave me the confidence that anything is possible.” Immediately after the match against Portugal, coach Lacrachi said, “It doesn’t cost anything to dream. We can also dream of winning.”