September 17 — Several golfers with New England connections will advance to the final stage of their quests for LPGA careers.
Sarah Brown, whom officials wrongly disqualified during a Futures Tour event in New Hampshire this summer, fired a final-round 2-under 70 Friday to share fourth place in one of two contests to determine who moves on to the LPGA final qualifier in Florida in December.
Korda’s It. Also making the cut, despite a final-round 1-over 73 was Jessica Korda, this year’s “It girl,” according to Golfweek. Korda, a member of the 2010 Curtis Cup team that beat its U.K. counterparts at Massachusetts’ Essex County Club in June, shared sixth place. Jaclyn Sweeney (Andover, Mass.) finished in a tie for 13th, while Curtis Cupper Jennifer Johnson finished T16 after shooting a 3-under on the 6,442-yard, par-72 Dinah Shore course at Mission Hills CC in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
The top 30 will advance to the final stage, while Brian Vega (Andover), Molly Aronsson (Sherburne, Vt.) and others missing the cut have the option of playing the second sectional qualifier in Florida later this month.
Not for the faint of heart — or light of wallet. As Golfweek’s Beth Ann Baldry observed, golfers must pass a grueling test just to be eligible to try to eke out a living on the LPGA Tour. And, as Futures Tour golfer Whitney Wade told New England Golf Monthly earlier this season, it’s an expensive grind in golf’s minor leagues — which is why so many young women put it all on the line to make it to The Show.
The California tourney was one of two 2010 sectional qualifiers the LPGA offered wannabe pro golfers. The top 30 from that event as well as the Florida sectional matches later this month will advance to the final stage, a five-day, 90-hole endurance test at the LPGA International’s Champions and Legends courses in Daytona Beach.
The low-70 players and ties who survive the 72-hole cut will play their final rounds on the Champion course. And they had better be up to the marathon, because in addition to the worldwide competition, it’s not cheap. It cost $4,000 for a golfer to enter one of this year’s sectionals and $5,000 to enter both.
Upbeat. Despite shooting a closing-round 77 and missing the cut by a wide margin, Vega maintained her usual chipper outlook.
“Well that wasn’t what I was going for,” Vega tweeted Friday afternoon. “At least we get another shot in Florida.”
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out at the Boston Golf Examiner and National Golf Examiner websites.)
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