DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Dec. 4, 2005 — Thirty-one members of the FUTURES Golf Tour earned 2006 LPGA status after the concluding round of today’s LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. Twelve members earned 24 of the available 2006 fully exempt LPGA cards, while 19 FUTURES Tour players earned non-exempt (conditional) status among the next 35 and ties.
"It’s huge â?¦ it’s really crazy," said two-year FUTURES Tour member Libby Smith of Essex Junction, Vt., who fired a final-round 69 and tied for second with FUTURES Tour alumna Lee Ann Walker-Cooper of Cary, N.C., at five-under-par 355 in the 90-hole annual Q-School.
A former standout basketball player at the University of Vermont, Smith said she was able to earn her 2006 exempt LPGA Tour status for the first time by thinking about standing on the free throw line and making foul shots.
"In a way, it’s the same thing in golf," said Smith, who carded a bogey-free round today with three birdies on the front nine holes at LPGA International’s Legends Course. "You can’t think too much. You just have to play. But that’s why you practice."
It didn’t matter to Smith that Japanese superstar Ai Miyazato lapped the field by a decisive 12-shot margin to win this year’s qualifying tournament at 17-under-par 343 with rounds of 66-69-70-66-72. And for FUTURES Tour member Katie Futcher, who was paired with the six-time Japan LPGA Tour season winner, the rock-star popularity that attracted more than 60 credentialed members of the Japanese media didn’t rattle the Texan. Instead, Miyazato shared a rice ball with Futcher in Saturday’s fourth round, and Futcher provided a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to the young star in today’s final round.
"This week was all about trusting my preparation," said Futcher, 24, of The Woodlands, Texas, who earned her exempt status on her first attempt at four-under-par 356, tying for fourth place alongside Brooke Tull of Georgetown, Texas. "I learned on the FUTURES Tour how to manage myself and handle pressure situations. This is what I came here to do this week."
While she already had non-exempt LPGA Tour status, Tull said last month’s 2006 FUTURES Tour Qualifying Tournament helped get her ready for this week’s LPGA Q-School.
"I played bad there, but it helped me know what I needed to work on," said Tull, who carded a one-under-par 71 today. "By the time you get here, it’s really more about the mental part of your game."
A year ago, Julieta Granada visited LPGA International to watch her compatriot Celeste Troche play in the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. This week, the 19-year-old FUTURES Tour rookie earned her 2006 LPGA exempt status at three-under-par 357, tying for sixth with Morgan Pressel of Boca Raton, Fla., and Kate Golden of Jasper, Texas.
"This is it," said the beaming FUTURES Tour rookie of Asuncion, Paraguay, who received hugs from her physical trainer, mental coach, family and friends. "To win [the last 2005 FUTURES Tour event] in York [Pa.] was pretty special because it taught me that I’m never out of it and it gave me a lot of confidence coming into this week."
FUTURES Tour members finishing in the top-20 were: 11th – Diana Ramage (69) of Fayetteville, Ga., 359 (-1); 13th – Meredith Duncan (70) of Shreveport, La., 360 (even); tie for 14th – Allison Hanna (72) of Portland, Ore., and Becky Iverson (73) of Gladstone, Mich., 361 (+1); T-16th – Alena Sharp (69) of Hamilton, Ontario and Angie Rizzo (71) of Coon Rapids, Minn., 362 (+2); and T-16 – Karin Sjodin (73) of Gothenburg, Sweden.
"I think last year, I made too big of a deal of Q-School," said Hanna, a non-exempt LPGA Tour member who sank a 20-footer for par on the last hole today. "I’m a lot better player this year and it just seems real simple to hit my target. It’s a good feeling to get my full card."
Duncan, who had LPGA status in 2004, used her short game to get on track in today’s final round. She chipped in twice for birdie and finished the day with five birdies and three bogeys.
"If somebody would have asked how much I’d pay for even par at Q-School, I’d have said whatever it costs," said Duncan.
Seven players went into a three-hole playoff for the final three exempt cards, returning to holes nine, 10 and 18. Tied at 363 (+3) going into the playoff, Brittany Lang of McKinney, Texas, Christi Cano of San Antonio, Texas and Seol-An Jeon of Seoul, Korea grabbed the last available cards with birdies over Erica Blasberg of Corona, Calif., Mardi Lunn of Cowra, Australia, Clarissa Childs of Glendale, Calif., and Teresa Lu of Taipei, Taiwan.
"I did it the hard way," said Lang, who carded a 73 in the final round to drop into the playoff. "It was a lot of golf and I wasn’t playing my best this week, but I got it done and that’s all that matters."
Ditto, for Jeon, who played on the FUTURES Tour in 2002-2003, and has struggled with a shoulder injury for most of this year on the LPGA Tour. But it was Cano who was reduced to tears on earning her LPGA Tour card on her first attempt.
"Everybody believed I could do it — maybe even more than me," said Cano, who also was in a playoff this summer to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open sectionals. "My dream finally came true."
But even when the dream doesn’t completely pan out, at least one FUTURES Tour member believes there’s still something to be learned from the annual marathon called Q-School.
"It’s all about improving," said Jenny Gleason of Clearwater, Fla., who finished sixth on the 2005 FUTURES Tour Money List and carded a final-round 73 to finish at 364 (+4) in fifth place for non-exempt 2006 LPGA Tour status. "I’ll keep gaining on it."
And no doubt, reaching for the bigger dream.
Contact:
Lisa D. Mickey
FUTURES Golf Tour
863-709-9100, Ext. 2
lisa@futurestour.com
