At the conclusion of Stage I of the 2022 LPGA Qualifying Tour, one person stands at the top. Alessandra Fanali, one of the 82 amateurs in the field, brought her A game to shoot four under-par rounds. It was her Sunday 3-under par 69 that solidified the solo spot up top.
“It feels good,” said Fanali. “I still don’t really realize it, but it’s good. I’m so excited. This is what I’ve been waiting for since I was 12.”
Fanali went bogey-free on the front nine of Mission Hills Country Club’s Dinah Shore course and carded four birdies on the day.
“This morning I was thinking about going out there and playing my normal golf,” said Fanali. “I made two birdies on two par-5s so that felt great. It was easy today, and I had fun.”
This week Fanali was flying solo but plans to have someone on her bag at Stage II in October. Seeing professionals compete this week also gave her a better view of tour life and professional golf.
“It felt great to be here and play as an amateur,” said Fanali. “You see different mindsets [from Epson Tour and LPGA plyers] and different goals, and I feel like I can get there.”
One shot behind Fanali, at 13-under, were Natthakritta Vongtaveelap and Valery Palata - both amateurs like Fanali. Vongtaveelap shot 5-under on the day, carding six birdies. Plata was 4-under on the day with five birdies.
Epson Tour members with the top scores who get to move onto Stage II were Kaleigh Telfer (12-under),
Brittany Fan (10-under), Bobbi Stricker (10-under), Ho-yu An (10-under), Alisa Rodriguez (9-under), Anna Redding (8-under), Breanne Jones (8-under) and Maggie Ashmore (8-under).
“It feels really good to be up at the top of the leaderboard again,” said Telfer. “I’m just happy that I’m playing well going into next week’s Epson tour event in Idaho.”
A total of 106 players shot 2-over or better and will advance to Stage II in Venice, Florida from October 18-21.
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