Teenaged Australian star Su Oh completed her first season in America on a high, holding strong for a third-place in the Symetra Tour's season-ending championship in Florida.
Oh, 19,who graduated through Golf Australia's national program, closed with a 70 at Daytona Beach after contending throughout. She was just two shots behind the winner, Thailand's Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong.
The former world No. 1 amateur, who plays out of Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne, heads to the LPGA Tour school this week full of optimism after a difficult year on the Symetra Tour.
Top-10s in the final two tournaments of the year were not enough to push her into the top 10 on the money list who were automatically granted LPGA Tour status for next year.
Oh, who has been travelling with her golf-loving father, SG Oh, had struggled in the early part of the season, and diverted to Europe to play two major tournaments as well as returning to Australia. She ended up 87th on the tour money list with $US7921 from 11 starts.
But she told lpga.com that she remained positive. “It’s been a really fun experience this year,” she said. “I played the Australian tour early and then came here and then went to play two majors in Europe. I went home and then came back here so I have kind of been all over the place. I’m learning a lot of things traveling the United States, I’ve been to a lot of places I never thought I’d go. It has been a cool experience with my dad just road-tripping around.”
Oh, who won the world amateur teams championship for Australia with Minjee Lee and Shelly Shin in 2014, has already won the ANZ Ladies Masters as a professional.
She was prominent at the LPGA Tour school last year before fading in the grind to the finish, while Lee went on to receive her card.
The tour school stage two is a four-round event beginning this Thursday, with the top 80 and ties progressing to the third stage in December.
The final stage is a five-round marathon, again at Daytona Beach.