Stage II of LPGA Qualifying Tournament
Plantation Golf and Country Club – Panther and Bobcat Courses
Venice, Florida
October 20, 2015
Storylines

VENICE, Fla., October 20, 2015 – Professional golfers from all over the world will descend on Venice, Fla., for Stage II of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament. Players are trying to finish in the top-80 and advance to final stage of Qualifying Tournament where LPGA Tour dreams are realized.

Stage II is a 72-hole tournament held at Plantation Golf and Country Club on both the Panther & Bobcat Courses. The first-round is scheduled for Thursday, October 22 with the final-round slated for Sunday, October 25.

The top-80 players plus ties at the end of Sunday’s final round will advance to final stage of LPGA Q-School, which will be held at LPGA International Golf Course – Jones & Hill Courses from Wednesday, December 2 through Sunday, December 6. There is no cut at Stage II and players that complete 72 holes will automatically receive Epson Tour status for 2016.

A total of 195 players, 60 of which advanced out of LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage I in late August at Mission Hills Country Club, will be competing to advance to final stage. The white line yardage for the Bobcat Course is 6,536 while the total yardage for the Panther Course is 6,363.

Players that finish in the top-20 at final stage will receive category 12 status on the priority list for the LPGA Tour while players that finish 21 through 45 will receive category 17 status (conditional).

NELLY KORDA HEADS TO STAGE II WITH MOMENTUM: Nelly Korda (Bradenton, Fla.) will head into the Second Stage of Q-School with momentum after coming off an impressive 11 shot victory at the AJGA Ping Invitational.

Korda, who is the younger sister of four-time LPGA winner Jessica Korda, petitioned the LPGA for a waiver to go to Q-School in a bid to play the Epson Tour next year. She turns 18 in July of 2016. The LPGA has a rule requiring members be 18 years old.

STAGE I MEDALIST STRAUSS READY FOR NEXT STEP: Bertine Strauss (Austin, Texas) carded rounds of 67-67-70-70 to claim medalist honors by a stroke at Stage I of LPGA Qualifying School at Mission Hills Country Club.

“This is a good confidence builder for me for the rest of the year,” Strauss said after her final round of Stage I. “This is the lowest four-day total that I’ve ever shot so it gives me the confidence to know what I’m capable of.”

The University of Texas grad and 2015 Big 12 Player of the Year will resume her quest to become the fourth South African on the LPGA at Stage II.

PAIR OF JUNIOR SOLHEIM CUP PLAYERS IN FIELD: A pair of players who competed at the PING Junior Solheim Cup at St. Leon-Rot Golf Club, Germany, will be competing at Stage II.

Megan Khang (Rockland, Mass.), and Nelly Korda (Bradenton, Fla.) were both members of the victorious US team which captured its first PING Junior Solheim Cup on foreign soil with an impressive victory 13-11 over Team Europe. The win means America has clinched the trophy for the third PING Junior Solheim Cup in-a-row.

Khang and Korda finished second and third respectively at the Opening Stage of Qualifying School to easily advance to Stage II in Venice.

Khang and Korda finished second and third respectively at the Opening Stage of Qualifying School while Liu finished T28 to easily advance to Stage II in Venice.

2013 U.S. WOMEN’S AM CHAMP EMMA TALLEY CONTINUES HER QUEST FOR LPGA CARD: One of the most accomplished amateur golfers in the field this week is Emma Talley (Princeton, Ky.), who captured the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2015 NCAA individual championship becoming only the fifth player in women’s golf history to accomplish the feat.

Talley, now a senior at the University of Alabama, has also competed in nine LPGA events throughout her storied amateur career with a career-best finish of T17 coming at the 2014 RICOH Women’s British Open at Royal Birkdale, where she garnered low am honors.

Q2 TO MARK PROFESSIONAL DEBUT FOR HAYLEY DAVIS: Hayley Davis (Femdown, U.K.) will be making her professional debut at the Second Stage of LPGA Qualifying School.

Davis was a three-time All-American at Baylor where she helped lead the Bears to the finals of NCAA Championship. Davis also had an impressive amateur career where she won the England Open and represented England in several international competitions including the World Amateur Team Championship.

88 INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS FROM 31 COUNTRIES: Of the 197 players in the field, 88 are representing a country outside the United States. There are a total of 31 countries (not including the United States) that will be represented in Venice.

There are 11 players from Thailand, seven from Canada, six from Australia, China and Mexico and five from South Korea and the United Kingdowm.

There will be 108 players representing the United States.

18 FLORIDIANS IN THE FIELD: Of the 108 players representing the United States, Florida has the second most of any state with 18. Below is a look at the players from the Sunshine State.

Emily Flanigan Motta (Davenport)
Courtney Harter (Clearwater)
Ginger Howard (Bradenton)
Alexandria Jacobsen (Palm City)
Nelly Korda (a) (Bradenton)
Lauren Mielbrecht (Gulf Stream)
Christina Miller (Bradenton)
Jennifer Neville (Bradenton)
Catherine O’Donnell (Ponte Vedra)
Erica Popson (Davenport)
Kaitlyn Price (Jacksonville Beach)
Brandi Rodriguez (Winter Park)
Ericka Schneider (Bradenton)
Michelle Shin (Cape Coral)
Jessy Tang (Daytona Beach)
Mallory Viera (Howey in the Hills)
Carly Yadloczky (Casselberry)
Shena Yang (Tampa)

California has the most representatives at 21.

PLAYERS THAT JUST MISSED LPGA STATUS LAST YEAR: There are a pair of players that just missed LPGA Tour status through Stage III last year that are in the field this week.

Jayde Panos (Perth, Australia) and Fiona Puyo (Biarritz, France) both finished T46, one stroke out back of those that received conditional status last year.

LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR TOP PLAYERS: Some of the top players on the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit are in the field this week.

Nicole Broch Larsen (Copenhagen, Denmark), who ranks second the LET Order of Merit with €226,917.29 is the leading money earner on the LET in Stage II. The Dane won The Helsingborg Open and has three additional top-5 finishes on the LET this season.

Rebecca Artis (Coonabarabran, Australia) and Amy Boulden (Conwy, U.K.) who rank seventh and 11th respectively on the Order of Merit are also in the field this week.

Top Storylines: Stage II of LPGA Qualifying Tournament

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