Four Australian women have advanced to the second stage of LPGA Q-School in California.
Hira Naveed, of Perth, Queensland amateur Becky Kay, and New South Wales duo Soo Jin Lee and Celina Yuan, will contest the second stage of Q-School mid-October.
But there was no such luck for amateur Steph Bunque, Nadine White and Elizabeth Elmassian, with their LPGA dreams put on hold for another year.
Naveed, who joined the professional ranks in July after graduating from Pepperdine University, finished at 10 under, just three shots behind eventual winner Bianca Pagdanganan.
“I was just trying to give myself a chance to make it to stage two and didn’t want to go overboard,” Naveed said after a three-under-par final round highlighted by five birdies.
“I had a good prep event a few weeks ago, played decent and won it.
“I came in with a lot of confidence and wanted to put a decent number on the board every day. I managed to do that and am really happy.”
Kay, 20, is also one step closer to her dreams of turning professional and playing an American tour after her two-over-par finish earned her a T45 finish, and a ticket to the next stage in Florida.
Lee and Yuan round out the Aussie contingent, each progressing at three over par result for T57.
The remaining 92 players to finish at five over par or better will advance to stage two from 14-17 October at Plantation Golf and Country Club.
From there, the top 60 plus ties will then contest the LPGA Q-series (final stage) over two weeks from 23 October – 2 November at Pinehurst.
Competitors who finish in positions 1-45, including those tied for 45th place, at the end of Q-Series will receive LPGA membership in category 14 on the LPGA priority list.
Competitors who finish outside the top 20, will also receive Symetra Tour membership.
Australian results
2 Hira Naveed 70-70-69-69 (-10)
T45 Becky Kay (a) 75-71-72-72 (+2)
T57 Soo Jin Lee 77-74-66-74 (+3)
T57 Celina Yuan 69-75-69-78 (+3)
T97 Steph Bunque (a) 74-73-70-77 (+5)
T107 Nadine White 77-73-71-74 (+7)
WD Elizabeth Elmassian