LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage I
Mission Hills Country Club
Rancho Mirage, Calif.
August 4, 2015
Storylines

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (August 4, 2015) – This week, 283 players will begin their quests for their 2016 LPGA Tour Cards at Stage I of LPGA Qualifying Tournament at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

The Rancho Mirage Qualifier is the first of the LPGA Tour’s three qualifying events in 2015. The top-60 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, Fla., from Oct. 22-25. A minimum of the top-80 players and ties will advance into the Final Qualifying Tournament.

Stage III of LPGA Qualifying Tournament will be contested over 90 holes Dec. 3-7, at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. Top finishers in the final stage will earn 2016 LPGA membership.

PLAYERS LOOKING TO FOLLOW IN THE STEPS OF 3 FROM 2014: Last year, three players – Alison Lee, Sophia Popov and Laetitia Beck – started their qualifying journeys in Rancho Mirage and ended up earning their 2015 LPGA Tour cards by making it through all three stages of the Qualifying Tournament. Lee was co-medalist at the Final Qualifying Tournament shooting a 10-under 350.

All three players have competed on the LPGA this season. Lee, with three top-10 finishes, leads the way ranking 27th on the money list with $367,483.

INTERNATIONAL FIELD: This week’s First Stage of the Qualifying Tournament features a field with 29 different countries being represented by 113 players. Next to the United States, Canada has the most participants in the field with 20. South Korea also has an impressive showing with 14 players.

AMATEURS ABOUND: Stage I of the Qualifying Tournament will feature 85 amateurs, including 2015 NCAA individual champion Emma Talley and 15th ranked amateur Megan Khang.

Talley became the first NCAA individual champion in Alabama women’s golf history this year at Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. after shooting a 3-under 285. Talley also won the 2013 U.S. Amateur Championship.

Khang is coming off of a win at the 2015 U.S. Girls’ Junior and earned low-amateur honors at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open after finishing T35. The 17-year old is still undecided on college.

LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage I Top Storylines

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