Golf Australia National Squad member Jayde Panos heads a list of four Australians who begin their quest for 2015 LPGA Tour Cards at Stage I of LPGA Qualifying School at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California.
Panos is joined by Sydney’s Justine Lee, Lauren Hibbert and Kiama’s Katy Jarochowicz.
The Rancho Mirage Qualifier is the first of the LPGA Tour’s three qualifying events in 2014. The top-100 players and ties from this week will advance to the second stage of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida, from Sept. 30 – Oct. 4.
A minimum of the top 80 and ties from Stage II will advance into the Final Qualifying Tournament.
Stage III of LPGA Q-School will be contested over 90 holes Dec. 3-7, at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. Top finishers in the final stage will earn 2015 LPGA membership.
Last year, four players – Amy Anderson, Megan Grehan, Erica Popson and Kelly Tan – started their qualifying journeys in Rancho Mirage and ended up earning their 2014 LPGA Tour Cards by making it through all three stages of Qualifying School.
All four players have competed on the LPGA this season and have combined to earn over $225,000. Anderson leads the way ranking 74th on the money list with $100,705.
This week’s First Stage of Qualifying School features a field with an international flavor as 31 different countries are represented by 90 players. Next to the United States, Canada has the most participants in the field with 12.
Stage I of Qualifying School will feature 69 amateurs, including the third ranked amateur Alison Lee who is coming off a stellar freshman year at UCLA and Doris Chen who won the 2014 NCAA Championship for USC.
Lee won the inaugural ANNIKA Award, given to the nation's top collegiate female golfer. Additionally, Lee was voted 2014 Pac-12 Player and Freshman of the Year after winning the 2014 Pac-12 Championship and a pair of additional tournaments.
Chen won the aforementioned NCAA Championship and has also been a named a three-time All-American during her three seasons at USC.