They all own impressive golf resumes, and they would love to add “2013 LPGA Tour Player” to their list of accomplishments.
This week, eight golfers with significant Colorado ties hope to take the next step on the path to fulfilling their LPGA Tour dreams. The second of three stages of Tour qualifying will take place Tuesday through Friday (Oct. 9-12) in Venice, Fla.
A total of 157 players are in the stage II field, and the top 70 and ties after four rounds — with no cut — will advance to the final stage. That final qualifying tournament, set for Nov. 28-Dec. 2 in Daytona Beach, Fla., will determine the players who earn LPGA Tour cards for 2013.
The number of exemptions available hasn’t been set, but last year the top 40 finishers and ties in stage III earned some status on the LPGA Tour.
The eight local players vying to advance to the final stage are Kelly Jacques (pictured) of Longmont, Dawn Shockley of Denver, Ashley Tait of Littleton and Kristin Walla of Aspen, along with former University of Denver golfers Katie Kempter and Sue Kim (Shockley is also a former Pioneer), and ex-University of Colorado players Emily Talley and Jessica Wallace.
The group includes two 2012 U.S. Women’s Open qualifiers (Kim, who made the cut, and Jacques), three top-10 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open finishers this year (Jacques, Kempter and Tait; champion Joy Trotter of Chino Hills, Calif., is also entered), and two former CWGA Stroke or Match Play champs (Tait and Walla). In addition, Kempter earned a spot on the 2010 LPGA Tour, but lost her card after that year.
Jacques and Talley have already survived one stage of LPGA Tour qualifying this year, finishing 18th and 30th, respectively, last month to advance. Jacques has posted three top-20 finishes on the Symetra Tour since Aug. 1, while Talley won the California Women’s (Amateur) Championship over the summer just before turning pro.
Kim, who played golf at DU for just one semester before going pro, recorded four top-10 finishes on the Symetra Tour this year. And Kempter recently placed a season-best fourth in the Symetra Tour’s 2012 finale.
Shockley was exempt this year on both the Ladies European Tour and the Symetra Tour. She had a fourth-place showing in the spring in a Symetra event, but she’s made only two cuts on the LET this year.
