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12-8-08
LPGA QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT
Stacy Lewis started the final round as the leader and was able to close out the 2008 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament with medalist honors at 18-under-par 342 (69-66-71-67-69).
Lewis, the 2007 NCAA Champion from the University of Arkansas, carded five birdies and a pair of bogeys on Sunday to post her final-round 69 for a three-stroke victory over 2008 LPGA Tour rookie Amy Yang (67-71-70-67-70–345). After starting the day with bogies on holes four and six, Lewis fired three straight birdies on eight, nine and 10. Settling for even par the rest of the day, Lewis closed out the final qualifier with birdies on 17 – by chipping in from the front of the green – and 18 to secure her victory.
“It feels pretty good. I thought I played really well all week,” Lewis said. “I don’t know, just to prove to people that I am out here to play and compete is pretty exciting.”
Yang, a three-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, and Lewis will be joined by 18 others who earned their 2009 LPGA Tour cards at the qualifying tournament. In her rookie year on tour, Yang only competed in seven events, yet earned more than $60,000.
“Early in the morning was so cold and windy all day, today, so I tried to play safe golf,” said Yang, who said she looked up to Annika Sorenstam growing up. “Everything is better than last year, especially putting. I am so happy; I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
On Sunday, Yang carded four birdies and a pair of bogeys.
Playing in the final threesome with Lewis and Yang was Michelle Wie. Wie finished the five-day final qualifier in Daytona Beach, Fla. at 12-under-par 348 (69-65-72-68-74), which put her in a tie for seventh. After playing in LPGA Tour events since she was in seventh grade, Wie finally has her tour card.
“It’s a weird feeling right now. It’s a good feeling; I really earned it,” she said. “It feels good to get that card. It is just a surreal feeling right now. I felt good about my game; it was just pretty steady. It was one of those things where I want to play really well, but you also don’t want to play bad. So, I just played pretty conservatively, I thought.”
But Wie told reporters that she still has plans to play golf with the men. Wie has played in eight PGA Tour events, missing the cut each time.
“Because I am kind of the person that I start out wanting to do something, and I am going to do it,” she said. “I have always wanted to do it, ever since I have played golf, so I want to do it. It's as simple as that.”
The five-day qualifier was played on both the Legends and Champions courses at LPGA International. The 137-player field was cut to the low-70 and ties after Saturday’s fourth round, and all players had a chance to tackle both the Champions and Legends courses for two rounds each. The Champions course was used for Sunday’s final round.
The following is a list of the women who earned their LPGA Tour cards:
1. Stacy Lewis
2. Amy Yang
3. Anna Grzebien
T4. Beth Bader
T4. Sophie Giquel
T4. Shiho Oyama
T7. Michelle Wie
T7. Lisa Strom
9. Mollie Fankhauser
T10. Charlotte Mayorkas
T10. Carolina Llano
T12. Mika Miyazato
T12. Anna Rawson
T12. Jeehae Lee
T15. Jeanne Cho-Hunicke
T15. Anja Monke
T17. Louise Stahle
T17. Ashleigh Simon
T19. Marcy Hart
T19. Audra Burks
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