Five of the top 10 players on this year’s Ladies European Tour, which closed the season on Nov. 30, earned LPGA cards in final qualifying on Tuesday. This also applies to medalist Helen Briem, the 1.80 meter tall German who won her LET debut as a professional last year and finished second three times this season.
England’s Mimi Rhodes (2), France’s Nastasia Nadaud, Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini (5) and Ireland’s Lauren Walsh (10) also finished in the top 25 and tied at the end of the again-shortened 72-hole tournament at Magnolia Grove.
“That shows how good European golf is, how good the LET is,” said Briem, who finished ninth in LET points.
Heavy rain causes several interruptions, including the cancellation of Thursday’s first round in its entirety. On Saturday it was decided to reduce the event to four rounds.
Briem’s average swing speed is 170 km/h, although she can reach a speed of 180 km/h when she goes after it. After opening in 7-under 65 on the Crossings course, Briem closed in 4-under 68 on the same layout to finish at 13 under, one shot ahead of South Korea’s Soo Bin Joo. LPGA veteran Ryann O’Toole fired a 7-under 65 to finish in third place, alongside France’s Perrine Delacour and China’s Mohan Du and Jing Yan at 11 under.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Briem said. “I didn’t come into this week with many expectations. But overall, I’m very happy that I’ll be able to play LPGA next year.”
Rhodes birdied card 72 to advance to the LPGA at No. 5 under along with seven other players, including major champion Hinako Shibuno of Japan, LPGA veteran Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Duke products Erica Shepherd and Ana Belac, and Thailand’s Suvichaya Vinijchaitham, who turned pro midway through her second season at Oregon to compete in the final stages. Vinijchaitham birdied her final hole to shoot 68.
Walsh, who was teammates at Wake Forest with Rhodes and fellow graduate Carolina Chacarra, birdied four of her final eight holes to shoot 5-under 67 and finish two shots shy of the cutoff. Emma McMyler, a recent Duke graduate, did the same, although her 67 was capped by five birdies in her final six holes after starting on the back nine.
The round of the day went to another German with a long stroke, Polly Mack. The former Alabama standout started the day tied for the lead before rocketing up the leaderboard with an 8-under 64 to easily qualify for the LPGA. This was Mack’s fifth consecutive appearance in the final stage; she also achieved full LPGA status in 2022 and 2023.
“You always know that the last stage will be tiring, that the weather will be bad, it will rain, it will be cold, it will be all kinds of things,” Mack said. “I’ve been doing this since 2021, every year continuously, and the dream is not to come back here every year, but I think I’ve learned a lot over the years, which this week has helped me stay mentally in the process of knowing: the birdies will come, my game is in the right place. I just have to stay patient and accept what it is. I mean, some days we’re better, some days are tough. I’m proud of myself now and I’m proud of the progress. I’ve made it through the years, and now I am here again in this place.”
Two players, Jessica Porvasnik and Kate Smith-Stroh, missed by a shot, at 4 under. Michelle Zhang, who turned pro two years ago after an excellent season at SMU, was the only player at 3 under. Among those at 2 under was 17-year-old Gianna Clemente, who double bogeyed her final hole at Crossings, No. 9, to shoot 1-under 71. Canada’s Megan Osland started the day inside the track before shooting 77 at Crossings and finishing on the T-45.
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