Four Australian women have survived the first round of the LPGA Tour’s gruelling Q-school process.
Headlined by Sydney teen Celina Yuan, who eased home today with a 76 on the Dinah Shore Course in California to finish 4th in stage one, all four will next progress to the second stage in mid-October.
Impressively on the Australian depth chart, the next three were all amateurs with Victorian Julienne Soo and Queenslanders Robyn Choi and Lauren Mason all comfortably in the top 100 of the 320 who began the week.
Yuan, 19, was first most of the week after a scintillating opening 64, and settled down after a rash of early bogeys in her fourth and final round with birdies on either side of the turn to coast home at eight under par.
Soo, a rising star with the Oklahoma Sooners in NCAA golf, impressed with a closing 73 to finish T33 at one over.
Choi, shining through her time at the University of Colorado, closed with a 72 to finish T46 at two over.
Mason, a student at Texas Tech, was consistent throughout the week and closed with a 75 to sit T82 at five over.
Golf Australia high performance director Brad James was encouraged by the results.
“Second stage provides a nice opportunity for all the Australian athletes to advance on to the next Q-Series stage,” James said.
“We’re really pleased with Celina’s result, but just as much with the three amateur collegiate players who have our full support for the next challenge.”