Top-ranked LET player Beth Allen and England's Mel Reid finished tied 6th and seventh respectively at the LPGA Final Qualifying School to earn their tour cards for 2017.
Top-ranked LET player Beth Allen and England's Mel Reid finished tied 6th and seventh respectively at the LPGA Final Qualifying School in Daytona Beach, Florida to earn their cards for the 2017 season.
Edinburgh-based Allen, who currently leads the LET Order of Merit, looked in control throughout the tournament, posting a final round level-72 to ensure that she will be plying her trade on the world's most lucrative female circuit next year. Meanwhile two-time Solheim Cup star Melissa Reid finally achieved her dream of playing across the other side of the pond at the third time of asking with rounds of 69, 64, 75, 72 and 72 for 352.
For a player who has endured a series of bad breaks in recent years – losing her mother in a car accident in 2012 and missing the deadline for last year’s qualifying tournament – the feat comes with a sigh of relief for not only Reid but also her team, who made joining the LPGA Tour their main goal of 2016.
“Just super, super relieved and Benji today was awesome,” Reid said about her caddie. “He’s struggling, he’s not feeling that well. I mean just really, really happy with everyone on my team, really.”
Like her caddie, Reid was also feeling ill this week, coming down with a cold ahead of her round on Friday, further compounding the endurance test that comes with completing 90 holes to qualify for the Tour. But Reid took it in stride as yet another challenge to overcome.
“You know what I said to Benji, I said ‘I don’t feel well’ on the third day. He said ‘Really, I didn’t expect anything else,’’ Reid said. “It’s just the way it goes with me sometimes. I’m hoping my life now is going to run a little bit smoother and you never know now I might win early on the LPGA. Hey, nothing worth having comes easy does it?”
Reid’s future in golf hinged on the outcome of her play this week in Daytona Beach, telling LPGA.com at the start of the week that she would be reevaluating her future in golf if she didn’t earn her card this week. That decision was made for her on Sunday.
Meanwhile World No. 2 amateur and GB and I's Curtis Cup star, Bronte Law from Cheshire, narrowly missed out on her card, eventually finishing in a tie for 24th, two shots away from full-time status, although she will earn a spot at a limited number of events next season.
Other British players who made the final day but finished outwith the all-important top 20 were former Curtis Cup player Stephanie Meadow (T27) from Northern Ireland.
Credit- LPGA
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