With at least the top 100 players and ties after four rounds advancing to Stage II — set for Oct. 15-18 in Venice, Fla. — Paige Crawford of Colorado Springs leads the local contingent. She made six birdies on Friday and shot a 2-under-par 70 at the Dinah Shore Course, giving her a 1-under 143 total, good for a share of 35th place.

Other locals in the top 100 with two rounds remaining are Ashley Tait of Littleton (145, 61st place), former Coloradan Elizabeth Wang (also at 145), University of Colorado golfer Robyn Choi (146, 78th place) and former Buff Brittany Fan (147, 100th place).

Celina Yuan of Australia holds the 36-hole lead at 9-under 135.

The field will be cut after 54 holes to a minimum of the low 125 players and ties.

This year in the LPGA qualifying process, a Q-Series replaces the third and final stage. There, a maximum of 108 players will compete in two 72-hole stroke-play tournaments held on consecutive weeks Oct. 22-Nov. 3 at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. Scores will be cumulative over the two weeks.

Amateurs who earn their cards can defer their acceptance of LPGA membership until July 1, 2019.

Here are the round-by-round scores for the players with strong Colorado connections:

35. Paige Crawford of Colorado Springs 73-70–143
61. Ashley Tait of Littleton 71-74–145
61. Amateur Elizabeth Wang, who grew up in Colorado 76-69–145
78. University of Colorado golfer/amateur Robyn Choi 74-72–146
100. Former CU golfer Brittany Fan 74-73–147
121. Amateur Emily Gilbreth, a former Denver resident 76-72–148
142. Hannah Wood of Highlands Ranch 71-78–149
169. Former CU golfer Natalie Vivaldi 72-78–150
210. Amateur Jaylee Tait of Littleton 77-75–152
273. Samantha Stancato of Colorado Springs 76-80–156

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

For 2017, that time has arrived, including for some Coloradans aspiring to the big time.

The first of three stages of LPGA Tour qualifying will be held this week. And next week, qualifying for the Web.com Tour — the top level available in the U.S. directly through the Q-school process for males — will begin.

Qualifying for the European Tour begins next month and culminates in mid-November, while the PGA Tour Champions National Qualifying Tournament Finals are set for Nov. 28-Dec. 1 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

But for now, let’s take a quick look at what awaits players with strong Colorado ties at the early stages of LPGA and Web.com Q-school.

— Stage I of LPGA qualifying runs Thursday through Sunday (Aug. 24-27) in Rancho Mirage, Calif. A record-sized field of 362 golfers is expected to participate, and the top 90 finishers and ties will advance to Stage II, set for Oct. 19-22 in Venice, Fla. From there, the top performers will earn spots into Stage III, Nov. 29-Dec. 3 in Daytona Beach, Fla., where 20 players will land full LPGA Tour status for 2018.

Among the “locals” in the field for Stage I are Emily Gilbreth of Denver, winner of the CWGA Match Play this summer; University of Colorado golfer Brittany Fan, a senior who will continue to play for the Buffs this fall; former Buffs Esther Lee, Jamie Oleksiew and Natalie Vivaldi; Samantha Stancato and Paige Crawford of Colorado Springs; and former University of Denver player Mariell Bruun. Among those exempt into Stage II in October are former CU golfers Kristin Coleman and Emily Childs, along with former University of Northern Colorado player Carleigh Silvers.

— Web.com Tour Q-school includes four stages — although that can be a bit confusing as they’re called Pre-Qualifying, and First, Second and Third Stage.

Pre-Qualifying, a 54-hole tournament, is set for six sites, running either Aug. 30-Sept. 1 or Sept. 6-8. Roughly the top half of the fields are expected to advance to the First Stage, though the fields for later this month haven’t yet been announced.

The rest of the Web Q-school process goes like this:

First Stage (12 sites) — Between Sept. 26-Oct. 13.

Second Stage (5 sites) — Between Oct. 31-Nov. 7.

Final Stage — Dec. 7-10 in Chandler, Ariz.