No one can blame Tardy for not wanting to play Q-School. In the past three years, the Georgia native had been precariously close to locking up an LPGA card, only to see it just slip from her grasp. In October, she finished 11th on the Epson Tour money list in 2022 — the top 10 get LPGA cards. In 2021, basically the same thing happened when she finished 12th. Back in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic shortening the season, the Epson Tour awarded cards to the top five instead of the top 10. Tardy was sixth by an impossibly small margin ($343).

But last week at Highland Oaks in Dothan, Alabama, during the final four rounds of Q-Series, Tardy left nothing to chance, pulling herself far away from the bubble. The top 45 players and ties get their cards, with the top 25 earning better status. Tardy shot a 67-65 in her final two rounds to finish second at 27-under overall, two shots back of medallist Hae Ran Ryu, a 21-year-old from South Korea.

“I didn’t want to come to Q-School at all. Even at the beginning of the year, I told everyone, I’m not going to Q-School. I’m not doing it. That’s not what I want to do. And I’m so happy I did,” Tardy said on Sunday. “I’m ecstatic. Just a lot of hard work, and it all paid off the last two weeks. I don’t know, it’s kind of surreal right now. I think it’ll hit me a little bit later. But I can finally say I’m an LPGA [Tour] member.”

The 46 players who gained tour privileges at Q-Series come from 21 countries, including the first LPGA player from Morocco: Ines Laklalech (T-12). In fact, she’s the first player from all of north Africa and the Arab region. Behind Tardy in third were two other former college standouts: Aline Krauter from Germany, who was part of Stanford’s 2022 NCAA title team and Valery Plata from Colombia, who played at Michigan State.

At T-21, you’ll see another name you might recognise: Alexa Pano. The 17-year-old gained notoriety back in 2013 as one of the stars of Netflix’s film, The Short Game. She had a decorated junior career, winning her age division at the Drive, Chip and Putt National finals three times and taking the 2019 AJGA Girls Junior Championship title. The junior star decided to turn pro this spring rather than go to college, and went on to earn an LPGA Tour card with a T-21 showing, including closing rounds of 68-67.

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The post This standout college golfer finally has an LPGA tour card after three straight years of near misses appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

On Friday after the second round at the Robert Trent Jones Trail’s Magnolia Grove facility, 26-year-old Alana Uriell signed for an incorrect scorecard — giving herself a par instead of a bogey at Magnolia Grove’s Falls course. Uriell was sitting in 18th place, with the top 70 this week making the cut, and the top 45 after the second week securing LPGA Tour status for 2023.

Made even more brutal is the fact that the USGA is adjusting its rules in 2023 to allow tournaments to adopt modal local rules to not penalise players with a DQ for signing an incorrect scorecard. In other words, in a month, the LPGA might’ve adopted the local rule this week to prevent Uriell from this career-altering mistake. So, so brutal.

This blunder comes after the beginning of the week when LPGA hopeful Gabi Ruffels, sister of tour pro Ryan Ruffels, realised as she was travelling to LPGA Q-series that her name did not appear in the player portal. Her team had not completed the registration as previously thought.

We can’t imagine what kind of heartbreak will be coming out of Alabama over the next couple of weeks. We just know it’ll be brutal … as Q-School always is. Brace yourself.

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The post New rules tweak coming next month could’ve prevented this heartbreaking Q-School DQ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins

For nearly two decades, the USGA and R&A have allowed amateurs to compete in professional qualifying schools without jeopardising their amateur status. But now the LPGA Tour has decided that for its qualifying series, only professionals will be allowed to play in the final stage.

The LPGA Tour announced the change to its criteria on Thursday, noting that golfers can play as amateurs in stages I and II of Q-Series. But any player who advances to or is exemption into the final stage — an eight-round tournament that spans over two weeks — must turn pro to be eligible.

The change goes into effect this year. Tour officials cited the desire to create an equal playing field for those committed to playing full time on tour.

“LPGA Q-Series is the final stage to competing on the LPGA Tour, which is a fully professional tour that requires that its Membership competes as professional athletes,” said Ricki Lasky, Chief Tour Business and Operations Officer for the LPGA, in a press release. “Ensuring all competitors have made the same choice to be a professional player elevates the Q-Series competition and creates the most appropriate options for athletes at different stages of their careers.”

The decision eliminates the option for college golfers to play in the final stage as amateurs, earn an LPGA card and defer using the card until after their college season finishes in the spring. The deferral programme began in 2018 and attempted to give collegiate players the best of both worlds: If you made it through Q-Series, you could maintain your amateur status with the guarantee of being able to join the tour after having the opportunity to play out your collegiate career with your teammates — and you’d still have the chance to play in the Augusta Women’s Amateur, too.

But it was rarely utilised.

Of the 16 amateurs who made it through Q-Series since the deferral was announced, only two of them made use of it: Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi. The other 14 players turned pro immediately, missing out on the spring semester and NCAAs. While Kupcho and Fassi were able to play out their amateur careers with their teams and shine at the ANWA, starting their pro careers in July instead of January made it harder to keep their cards: With fewer tournaments to play, they had fewer opportunities to move up the money list. Both players kept their cards after the 2019 season.

One aspect of Q-Series that hasn’t changed is that all players who make it through stage II, regardless of if they’re pros or amateurs, will get Epson Tour status. Amateurs will be allowed to compete on the Epson Tour, with the option to turn pro after their collegiate seasons end. Noted Lasky: “Providing Epson Tour status to those athletes who advance through Q School but choose to retain their college eligibility provides an appropriate pathway for those players to complete their college season or career and then immediately compete on the Epson Tour.”

The LPGA said it will continue to work with the Women’s Golf Coaches Association on creating ways for college players who aspire to play pro golf to work their way on to the LPGA Tour.

This year’s LPGA Q-Series will run from December 1-4 at Magnolia Grove (Crossings and Falls Courses) in Mobile, Alabama, then continue on December 8-11 at Highland Oaks (Highlands and Marshwood Courses) in Dothan, Alabama.

Players finishing inside the top 45 and ties following the conclusion of the cumulative eight rounds of Q-Series will receive LPGA Tour status for the following season. All players finishing outside the top 20 and ties will also receive Epson Tour status.

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The post LPGA changes Q-Series rules, requires entrants be pros and revokes deferral option for college golfers appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“How I played in Q-School definitely aided the decision and made it a little bit easier,” Pano said. “Timing was a big thing, too. I knew I wanted to play in the Augusta Women’s Amateur. My biggest goal, ever since they announced ANWA, was to make the cut. There was no way I could turn professional without accomplishing that.”

When Pano did achieve her goal of playing the final round of ANWA — the only round of the tournament that is played at Augusta National — the next step in her career was inevitable. The 64th ranked amateur in the world has competed in all of junior and amateur golf’s top individual tournaments, as well as prestigious team events such as the Junior Ryder Cup and Junior Solheim Cup, which she says she’ll miss the most.

The timing of Pano’s decision makes sense considering the conclusion of the ANWA and her Epson Tour status. However, as soon as the news broke of the 17-year-old’s announcement, chatter began circulating: Why was the high-profile junior bypassing college?

Pano’s answer involves a rule change in NCAA recruiting that took effect on May 1, 2019. The update in regulations stated that athletic prospects could no longer take scheduled unofficial visits with college coaches until their junior year of high school. Before the NCAA put this rule into effect, players could reach out to coaches, speak to them and organise campus visits regardless of the student’s age. The rule was instituted to reduce early recruiting and give students time to make informed decisions about where they’d like to attend college.

“Before they changed the rules, when I was 12-, 13- and 14-years-old, I did do college visits. I’ve been super lucky to have been able to meet a lot of coaches,” Pano said. “I’ve actually discussed this with my dad quite a bit: If the rules hadn’t changed, I think I might have ended up committing to a college pretty early, around 14- or 15-year-old. But it turned out that the rule change gave me more time to think about my options, and that was a really good thing for me.”

For Pano, the NCAA’s new regulation served its intended purpose in giving a young athlete time to make an informed decision about her future. Just in this case, it didn’t lead her to making a decision about where to go to college — it led to her choosing to not go to college at all. Had Pano been enticed by more Division I programs as just a middle-schooler, her path may have looked different. Despite this detail, the star amateur maintains that her decision is the right one.

“Everyone has the best plan for them,” Pano said. “For some people that may be college golf, and so many people do amazing in college and then go on to do amazing things in their professional careers. But for me, turning pro now is what I think is going to work out the best.”

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The post Alexa Pano turns pro at 17 years old, in part because of NCAA rule appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Tod Leonard
Pauline Roussin-Bouchard basically called her shot. While playing a practice round for the LPGA Q-Series in Dothan, Ala., the 21-year-old from France got into a chat with her caddie, coach and physio about how long it had been since she had a hole-in-one. Ten years, in fact. She would have been in elementary school.

“And I said, ‘This is the perfect week to have one,’ “ Roussin-Bouchard said.

She said she got perfect yardage fpr a pitching wedge on the 13th hole at Highland Oaks on Saturday and hit a perfectly shaped shot that produced perfect backspin. The result was an ace that propelled her to a round of five-under-par 67 in the seventh of eight rounds in this two-week marathon that decides who gets full LPGA playing privileges for the 2022 season.

?ACE ALERT?

Are you kidding me?! Leader @pauline_roussin aced the par 3 13th at #QSeries ? pic.twitter.com/polWrqH5qO

— LPGA (@LPGA) December 11, 2021

In a video posted by the LPGA, fans step out onto the course to offer their congratulations to Roussin-Bouchard after her ace, and she’s seen signing her ball. She explained later that she signed it, “Pour Francois”—that’s her physio, to whom she promised the ball should she make an ace. The hole-in-one was the fifth of her life and the fourth in competition.

There were two aces at 13 on Saturday, with Meghan MacLaren canning the other one with a choked-down 9-iron. It was only the second lifetime ace for MacLaren, a 27-year-old from England whose father is on the bag this week. The hole-in-one was critical for MacLaren, who shot 70 and stands on the cut number for an LPGA card at four under.

The ace for Roussin-Bouchard sums up her stellar play in the tournament. She is 32 under over 126 holes, with Sunday’s final round to play, and holds a five-shot lead for medalist honours. She is the only player in the field to have scored all seven rounds in the 60s. The former standout at the University of South Carolina, who rose to No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, turned professional in August, and she shot 60 in the second round en route to winning the Skafto Open on the Ladies European Tour.

“I’ve been working hard for these two weeks for the last couple of years since I’ve been in the U.S.,” Roussin-Bouchard said. “I’ve been working on every aspect of my game, and even when I feel I’m lacking something, I have other keys to rely on. So even if I’m 70 percent of my game, I can be a hundred percent of that 70 percent. The last seven rounds it was just solid putting, solid approach shots especially and solid driving.”

Na Rin An, of Korea, shot two-under 70 and is alone in second at 27 under. Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, the reigning LET player of the year and rookie of the year, is in third at 23 under after scoring 71.

On Sunday, the drama will play out deeper in the pack, because only the top 45 and ties in the field of 74 will get their LPGA cards. The rest will get full status on the Symetra Tour. The current cut for the top 45 is four under, and among those on that number is Linn Grant, a 22-year-old Swede who was a dominating player at Arizona State and was No. 4 in the WAGR when she turned professional in August.

Notable players outside the bubble are Mariah Stackhouse (two under) and Anne van Dam (two over).

The post Player’s ace sums up her phenomenal performance in LPGA Q-Series appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“I’m a little bit of a golf nerd,” she says. Kim adds that she also finds driving cathartic.

If nothing else, it was also a respite from the rules controversy and ensuing backlash that the 35-year-old three-time LPGA Tour winner found herself entangled in after reporting a violation that involved Dewi Weber and Kendall Dye during Thursday’s sixth round of LPGA Q-Series at Pinehurst No. 9.

As Weber had prepared to play the par-3 17th (the group’s eighth hole of the day), Dye motioned to Weber’s caddie to confirm what club Weber was hitting. Doing so is a violation of Rule 10-2 under soliciting advice. Kim saw the interaction, and after the group putted out says she alerted an official who was behind the green.

“I said, ‘I think I saw an infraction,’ ” Kim told Golf Digest in a phone interview on Monday. “I said, ‘Is this allowed?’ and made a motion. I was not exactly given a clear answer of yes or no.

“Given that we were chasing daylight, I wasn’t going to [carry on]. I was 99.99 percent sure it was a violation. [The official] asked if I wanted to handle it now or later, and I said we’ll handle it after the round. That was my choice, because I needed to make sure from this individual that it was a violation. I didn’t receive any confirmation that it wasn’t.”

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The result was a two-stroke penalty for Weber and Dye, even though Weber was unaware of the communication at the time. When the two-week Q-Series concluded on Saturday after the eighth and final round, Dye and Weber missed out on LPGA Tour cards—Dye by four strokes, Weber by nine—with Weber conceding that the penalty had affected her weekend play.

Kim, who did secure her card, says she feels horrible about that but remains resolute in her decision to report the violation.

“A lot of people think it’s [bad] that I waited,” Kim said, “but I didn’t want to make an accusation if there was a chance it was going to be a false accusation.

“I was very surprised [they didn’t know the rule]. I don’t want to say I am disappointed in them as individuals, but I am disappointed in the fact that [the violation] was even a possibility, that people claim to have seen it thousands of times. What shocked me was their lack of knowledge of the rules. Does that suck? Royally. Is it excusable? Absolutely not.

“I think everybody, myself included because I don’t know all the rules verbatim, [should know the rules]. There’s no harm in knowing the Rules of Golf. This isn’t basketball, where it’s you can foul someone but [are told] don’t get caught. That’s the antithesis of everything golf is founded on.”

Not long after the story first broke, a firestorm ensued on social media, particularly after Kim’s first tweet following the incident, which read, “Quick PSA-if you’re a golfer, please read and know the rules. PLEASE!!!”

Quick PSA-if you’re a golfer, please read and know the rules. PLEASE!!!

— Christina Kim (@TheChristinaKim) November 1, 2019

The responses that followed ranged from support of Kim, to calling her a narc, or worse.

Though Kim has spent much of the past few days defending her actions on Twitter, she says she also spoke to all parties involved each of the next two days, including before the final round.

“I was shaking in the two hours after [I talked to them]; it did rattle me” said Kim, who had eight putts through her first three holes of the final round. “I told [both players], ‘I hope you shoot 62 today.’ ”

Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Their responses, Kim said, ranged from supportive to just trying to move on and focus on what was at stake.

Days later, Kim continues to feel for both players but doesn’t regret her decision to report the infraction, or the manner in which she did it.

“The only thing that has been difficult is knowing that there was a truly innocent unknown rules violation,” she said. “That hurt me. It sucked.

“It’s tough, too, because I know the people involved. They’re good people, but mistakes happen. Those mistakes have severe consequences, but that’s not to say they can be excused. I’m not going to [ignore the violation], because then I’m complicit and all three of us would deserve to be disqualified. It was a tough decision to make in that I care about these people, but I also care about the 95 other players in field. The only thing I regret is people had to be affected by an honest mistake, and it was all avoidable. I feel sad about that.”

At the same time, Kim was overcome with emotion after her tie for 24th to secure her card following a season in which she missed the cut 13 times in 20 starts.

“I told myself to make it a two-week journey,” she said of the Q-Series. “I could approach it as, ‘Woe is me; I failed this year,’ or that I had an opportunity to showcase that I belong out there.”

Kendall Dye. Photo: David Cannon

So Kim packed up her car and made the eight-hour drive to Pinehurst. Along the way, she listened to podcasts and pumped herself up. She even carried her bag the first four rounds before calling in a caddie for the final four.

“It was a tough year,” she said, noting personal and professional struggles. “At times the light inside of me dimmed. I felt like I was in Barrow, Alaska, and it was December 21, and I was waiting for the sun to rise, and you can’t see it coming.”

Things started to turn when her swing changes started to take hold. She’d also switched to a low-carb keto diet, switched to more blade-like irons within PXG, and leaned on those in her inner circle, including her boyfriend.

All of it led to her feeling rejuvenated, she said, and it showed on the course with a tie for 20th at the Indy Women in Tech Championship in September. It was her best finish in two months and stopped a streak of four straight missed cuts.

Then came Q Series and securing her card.

“I knew it was going to be OK,” Kim said. “Aside from the dumpster fire that took place the last few days, it’s been really cool.”

The post Kim feels sad about the rules controversy at LPGA Q-Series but stands by her actions appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

I played a little as a child, occasionally at Emirates Golf Club when my father was in his first stint at the club, and during the summer holidays back in the UK. I actually made a hole in one on my first full 18 holes on a golf course at the age of 10 during one of these summer trips. Sadly, I haven’t had one since.

● ● ●

I didn’t really play again until I was playing professional football at al Nasr at the age of 19. Only training for two to three hours a day, I had plenty of time on my hands and this was when I truly caught the bug and became a little bit of a range rat, spending most mornings and afternoons on the practice tee up at Jebel Ali.

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● ● ●

After school I took a gap year to pursue my football career and ended up signing for Al Nasr Club in Dubai, playing in the youth and reserve teams. Due to the Arabian Gulf League regulations, only a certain number of foreign players could play for the first team in one particular season and at that time they had a host of foreign players including a World Cup winner in Luca Toni. Unfortunately for me, they were a lot better than I was. I played as a centre midfielder or a number 10 for most of career.

● ● ●

I attended Jumeirah English Speaking School by Safa Park. Then, at age 11, after spending a year at Dubai College, I moved back to the UK having signed schoolboy forms with Wolverhampton Wanderers. During my final year of school, I was selected to play for the England Independent School representative team and we played against the Australian and Scotland schoolboys teams. Unfortunately, I was released from Wolves at age 15 for being too small.

● ● ●

Like most people at the age of 22, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do as a career. My only real plan was to try and become a professional footballer. That was why I thought I’d try and do as many things, in as many different industries as possible, to find a career path. It just so happened that I managed to find it in the first industry I tried.

● ● ●

I happened to be playing golf with Chris Turlik, who was working on the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at the time, and told him that I didn’t think my career in football was going to amount to anything; he asked if I’d be interested in working as an intern for 25th anniversary edition in 2014 and I jumped at the chance. It was really a baptism of fire.

● ● ●

I’m very fortunate that I’ve found my passion at 26. The region has given so much to my family, being our home for over 30 years, providing incredible opportunities for my father, and now me. I feel a great responsibility to support the game in this part of the world.

● ● ●

We have a very close relationship and as many are aware, my father [Emirates G.C. teaching professional James Williams] has a great affinity for conversation. He’s great to be able to bounce ideas off and has been very supportive of me and my sister in our respective career paths. My sister, Anna-Louise, is a physiotherapist in London.

● ● ●

He’s been a huge influence but by his very nature, I don’t think he’d like to take any of the credit in this regard. He’s very conscious of not getting too involved with what I’m doing and to letting me find some things out on my own. But it is comforting to know that if I ever do need any advice or assistance, I don’t just have David Spencer [the MENA Tour’s strategic advisor] and [tour founder] Mohamed Juma Buamim to turn to.

● ● ●

It’s a huge honour to become general manager of the MENA Tour, and I’m very grateful that David and Mohamed have entrusted me with such a responsibility. They have been great mentors and have included me in all aspects and discussions regarding the tour from the very beginning. We’re a young tour made up of young players, in a region that in a golfing sense is still quite young, so it’s quite fitting that we have a young general manager, brought up in the region to take the tour on its next steps.

● ● ●

Williams is flanked by the MENA Tour’s amateur trailblazer Rayhan Thomas, patron Darren Clark and Dubai Golf boss Chris May.

I wouldn’t say star-stuck, but there are a few moments when you have to pinch yourself doing what I do. Spending a couple of days with [former Open champion] Darren Clarke, our patron… I got to hit balls with him on the range, compete in chipping competitions, play on the course with him. That was a pretty incredible moment. Darren’s been great at imparting his wisdom, not only with me but with players on the MENA Tour and we wish him well as he embarks on his career on the Champions Tour.

● ● ●

The best part of my game is probably my short game, in particular, bunker play. My father is probably the best bunker player I’ve ever seen and that includes tour pros and Pete Cowen, so it’s something I’ve always enjoyed working on.

● ● ●

I’m a relatively straight driver of the ball but lack in distance, a fact that annoys me given I play a lot of golf with MENA Tour players and my girlfriend…all of whom hit it longer than I do. My girlfriend is a good golfer, currently playing off one handicap. She works as a cabin crew for Emirates Airline and is looking to head to LPGA Q-School in August.

● ● ●

We’ve got a lot of work to do with the MENA tour over the next few years and I hope to see this through to the end. Dubai is my home and I see myself staying here for a long time to come. The game is still young in this part of the world and I wish to continue the work of David, Mohamed and my father by contributing to its development as best I can.

● ● ●

It is a bold ambition to become the finest feeder tour in the world and so should it be. The MENA Tour is headquartered in a city that was built on bold ambitions and lofty goals. We have the opportunity to introduce the game to more people in the region and offer a pathway for those in the region, expat or local, to progress.

● ● ●

David Spencer is a great ideas man and for him to be so open and approachable is one of the reasons I love what I do. David’s been around the golf industry so long and is really on the pulse of what is happening in the world of golf. He’s a mentor and I can’t wait to work even closer with him in the years to come.

● ● ●

I’ve known ‘MJB’ [Juma Buamaim] since I was a young child and he was GM at Emirates Golf Club. To work with him over the last few years has been a true insight into Dubai’s story and golf’s story in the region. His passion is evident in everything he’s been involved with and he’s constantly encouraged me to put myself in uncomfortable positions and to understand I have a responsibility to grow the game in this part of the world.

● ● ●

The tour has so much potential and this is starting to be recognised throughout the region. There is no reason that we can’t be staging 15-18 quality tournaments a year, with prize funds north of US$100,000. We also have ideas of a mini MENA Tour and other grassroots programmes that we’re looking to implement as we progress too.

● ● ●

I’ve never really been a gamer despite being from that generation. In fact, the only console I owned was the original PlayStation. Strangely though, I have recently taken an interest in eSports as it’s an exciting industry. The ties with the traditional sporting world grow ever closer.

● ● ●

“It can get quite frustrating for my Mother, with the constant golf talk, however, she has a remarkable amount of patience, and a good knowledge of the game considering she has never had any interest in playing.”

● ● ●

I was aware of how respected and popular dad was as I encountered others in the industry who know him, but I was still amazed at the amount of praise he received after rejoining Emirates G.C. (earlier this year). He’s a great character and one certainly of the old-school, and I think the genuine care and passion he has from the game is infectious and resonates with people.

● ● ●

We actually don’t work on the range together that much anymore. He knows my swing so well, having been there when I first started, that we often have a lesson over the phone or a cup of coffee. Whether I put his advice into practice is another story though!

● ● ●

Like most people working in the golf industry, he doesn’t often get the opportunity to play much. In fact, I don’t think we’ve ever played a full 18 holes together. Since returning to Emirates he’s had a little more time to work on his own game and it’s great to see him hitting balls on the range out of our office window. He’s a hugely talented sportsman and his golf swing is a joy to watch. I hope he can get back to playing competitive golf again. — with Kent Gray

The post Meet the new, 26-year-old GM of the MENA Golf Tour appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
One of the most celebrated golfers in the history of the Iowa State women’s golf program was found dead at an Ames, Iowa, golf course on Monday with police suspecting foul play.

Celia Barquin Arozamena, a 22-year-old from Spain who had finished her senior season in the spring by winning the Big 12 individual title, was taking classes to complete her civil engineering degree this fall and preparing for Stage II of LPGA Q school. On Monday, her body was discovered at Coldwater Links Golf Course after officials were concerned with seeing a golf bag with no one near it on the course. Barquin Arozamena was eventually found some distance away. Police report that it appears she was assaulted before she died but did not say how she was killed.

Late Monday night, Ames police arrested and charged Collin Daniel Richards, 22, with first-degree murder.

“We are all devastated,” Iowa State women’s golf coach Christie Martens said in a school release. “Celia was a beautiful person who was loved by all her teammates and friends. She loved Iowa State and was an outstanding representative for our school. We will never forget her competitive drive to be the best and her passion for life.”

Barquin Arozamena with her European Ladies Amateur trophy.

At the completion of her career at Iowa State, Barquin Arozamena had become the school’s all-time leader in stroke average (73.44) and her 16 top-10 finishes tied for second most in Cyclone history. She earned All-Big 12 honours three times and played in NCAA Regionals all four years in school. She was also a three-time first-team academic all-Big 12 selection.

Barquin Arozamena’s accomplishments helped her be named the school’s female athlete of the year.

This summer, her play on the course continued to shine as she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open in June and won the European Ladies Amateur in July, which earned her a spot into next year’s Women’s British Open.

https://twitter.com/CycloneWGOLF/status/1041893840360271873

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By Keely Levins
LPGA Q-School’s makeover is now official. Stages 1 and 2 of Q-School will still be played as separate, four-round tournaments, but the final stage as you know it is gone. The 90-hole final stage of Q-School has been replaced by Q-Series. Q-Series is two 72-hole events, and they’ll be played back-to-back at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. The first event will be played at the No. 6 course from October 24 to 27, with the final four rounds played at No. 7 from October 31 to November 3.

The field will consist of players who finished the LPGA season ranked 101 to 150 and ties on the money list. Players who finished 11 to 30 on the Symetra Tour money list will also be invited to Q-Series. The top five collegiate players in the country are exempt, as are up to 10 players ranked in the top 75 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. The rest of the field will be made up of players who qualify for stage 2 of Q-School.

Let’s focus in on those top five collegiate players in the country, and the other college players that make it through Stage 2. In the past, if you were a college golfer and made it to through the final stage of Q-School, you were in a tough spot. You’d either have to turn professional immediately or forfeit your spot on tour and finish your college season. If you turned professional immediately, you’d be leaving your team before the spring season began, and as such, would miss the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament. If you left Q-School to maintain your amateur status, you’d be left playing Symetra Tour events during the summer—amateur golfers who made it through Stage 2 are able to keep their amateur status and play on the Symetra Tour. After a summer on the Symetra Tour, the player would have to try to play LPGA Q-School again in the fall, in hopes of making it to the big tour.

It’s a dilemma that was most recently brought to light at the 2017 Q-School when the then-No. 1 amateur in the world, Leona Maguire, left after two stages of Q-School to go and finish her career at Duke. At the time, Maguire said her team came first. Now with the deferral, other collegiate athletes won’t be faced with the difficult decision Maguire dealt with.

By adding the opportunity to defer, the LPGA is allowing these college players to try to qualify for the tour without the tough decision of leaving their college teams or not. Athletes who want to transition out of amateur golf and into professional golf can now do so without missing out on the NCAA tournament or the Solheim Cup. They can play out their spring seasons and then join the LPGA on July 1st.

“I would’ve loved to have been able to have an LPGA card right now instead of a Symetra card,” Maguire told Golf World. “It’s a good option to have for seniors so they can finish their degree. It was important to me to get my degree and honour the commitment to my team and to have another chance. It’s a good thing that seniors are going to have the opportunity to do that.”

Her coach at Duke, Dan Brooks, thinks the deferral is something that is a good thing depending on the age of the player. For seniors, it saves them from having to choose between their individual golf career and their team and education, as Maguire did. But with the change, Q School just got a bit more tempting, especially for those top five collegiate players who have an exemption into Q-Series.

“Encouraging sophomores and juniors to go and try to get their card — that’s unfortunate,” Brooks told Golf World. “I’m not in favour of anything that doesn’t encourage people to finish their degrees.”

While the deferral solves the problem Maguire faced, Brooks points out that the dates of Q-Series present a new problem for collegiate golfers.

“Considering the dates of Stage 2 and Q-Series, much of the college fall season is taken up,” said Brooks. “Fall and spring could consist of a different array of players, in the top events especially.”

With those five collegiate players getting an invitation to Q-Series, those athletes will be faced with the decision of skipping collegiate events to try and get their cards. This could end up affecting team rankings, Brooks pointed out. There could be a team with more than one player in the top five, or there could be a team that relies heavily on their top player — were all five of the top five to choose to play Q-Series, their teams’ results and thus their ranking would change. In the spring, these teams would be playing catch up. Again, players are put in the position of choosing between their team and their own individual career.

At the completion of Q-Series, a minimum of 45 players and ties will receive LPGA membership, a change that will get more players better status on tour. Specifically, the change moves the players who finish 21-45 up 25 spots on the priority list. The remaining players from Q-Series will get membership on the Symetra Tour.

“What I like most about the Q-Series is that it will be a true test for how players will qualify for the LPGA Tour,” commissioner of the LPGA, Mike Whan, said. “The playing status earned by competitors at Q-Series will be a direct reflection of eight rounds of head-to-head competition on a demanding test of golf at Pinehurst Resort.”

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