Here we are, technically less than halfway through summer, but already the first of the major tour qualifying tournaments is upon us. And many top-level players who have strong ties to Colorado have their eyes on the prize: much-sought-after tour cards for the 2016 season.
The first stage of LPGA (and Symetra) Tour Q-school begins Thursday and continues through Sunday (Aug. 6-9) as the process of determining the most worthy golfers gets underway.
Qualifying for the LPGA is the first on the docket for the world’s major tours. With there no longer being a direct route to the PGA Tour through Q-school, the Web.com Tour is now the immediate goal of men’s Q-school participants in the U.S.
The four-stage Web.com qualifying process begins on Sept. 2. There are six “pre-qualifying” tournaments in September, 11 first-stage events in October, five second-stage tourneys in November, and the qualifying finals set for Dec. 10-15 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Making it to that final stage guarantees some Web.com Tour status for 2016, but considerable priority is given to players who finish in the top 45.
The Champions Tour holds regional qualifying in November and the finals Dec. 1-4 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The European Tour conducts three stages of qualifying, beginning Sept. 15 and concluding with the finals Nov. 14-19 in Girona, Span.
While the competitors with strong Colorado ties who are entered in Web.com, Champions and European qualifying won’t be finalized until later dates, many of the locals who will be competing in LPGA/Symetra Tour Q-school are coming into focus.
The first of three stages of LPGA qualifying will be held in Rancho Mirago, Calif., this week. A total of 288 players are entered for stage 1, and the top 60 and ties will advance to stage 2.
Among the players with major Colorado connections in the field in Rancho Mirage are former University of Denver golfer and former Pueblo resident Kimberly Kim, who won the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur at age 14; two-time CWGA Player of the Year Somin Lee, of Denver; former state high school champion Lindsay McGetrick; Colorado Springs resident Paige Crawford; and former University of Colorado golfer Kristin Coleman.
Kim (pictured) is trying to revive a career which also included playing on the LPGA Tour in 2011, and being runner-up in three USGA championships: the 2006 and 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the 2009 U.S. Girls’ Junior.
The second stage of LPGA qualifying will take place Oct. 22-25 in Venice, Fla. Assuming they don’t earn 2016 LPGA cards by finishing in the top 10 on the 2015 Symetra Tour money list, here are the players with strong Colorado ties currently exempt into stage 2: former CU golfers Jenny Coleman (who competed in the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open) and Emily Childs; former CWGA Player of the Year Becca Huffer; former DU golfer Katie Kempter, who held an LPGA Tour card in 2010 and who won a Symetra Tour event this year; and Carleigh Silvers of Greeley.
The top 80 finishers and ties from stage 2 will advance to the Q-school finals, set for Dec. 2-6 in Daytota Beach, Fla. The number of LPGA Tour cards awarded there hasn’t been finalized, but last year 45 players earned some LPGA status.
In 2014, five local players made it to the LPGA Q-school finals — former CU golfer Emily Talley, former DU golfer Sue Kim, Huffer, Childs and Silvers — with Talley just missing earning her LPGA card by finishing 58th.
