Germany’s Isi Gabsa got off to a hot start on day one of the Final Qualifying portion of 2024 LPGA Q-Series, one that has put her in a great starting position with four rounds remaining to earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2025 season.

The Epson Tour winner fired a flawless 8-under 64 on the Crossings Course at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Magnolia Grove on Thursday, carding a whopping eight birdies to kick off her fourth appearance at the final leg of the LPGA Qualifying Series and sit alone in second through 18 holes in Mobile, Ala.

Gabsa raced out of the gate in the first of five rounds, grabbing two quick birdies on the par-4 1st and par-3 2nd holes to move to 2-under immediately. She collected three more birdies on holes four, six and nine to make the turn at 5-under and struck again with a birdie on the par-4 10th hole to climb to 6-under.

The 29-year-old then picked up two more birdies on 12 and 16 to move to 8-under for the day, parring holes 17 and 18 to ultimately post a 64 and sit one shot back of Yu Liu, who recorded a 9-under 62 on the Falls Course on day one.

“Putting was amazing,” said Gabsa of her first-round effort. “I made a lot of putts. Irons were pretty good, and I gave myself a lot of birdie chances. And lucky enough, I got to make a lot of putts.”

Gabsa hasn’t competed on any major women’s golf tour since mid-July, last playing in the Twin Bridges Championship on the Epson Tour, where she missed the cut after 36 holes. Before that, she was primarily playing on the LPGA Tour on a medical extension, having consistently dealt with injuries over her last couple of years as a pro athlete, and made five cuts in nine starts before her extension ended after the conclusion of the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer.

Because she didn’t fare well enough in the nine tournaments she played as part of her medical, Gabsa wound up losing her LPGA Tour card in June and then became an Epson Tour member, a circuit she hadn’t held membership on since the 2021 season. She only made four starts on the Epson Tour before teeing it up at the Qualifying portion of LPGA Q-Series in October, handily advancing through that stage after finishing in a tie for sixth in Florida.

Despite the challenges she has faced the last couple of years, Gabsa is looking as strong as ever early in Mobile, Ala., determined to battle her way back to the LPGA Tour this week at Final Qualifying. She first earned Tour membership for the 2019 season after finishing ninth on the Epson Tour’s Official Money List in 2018 and has maintained at least some LPGA Tour status since then, recording two top-25 results and earning $318,038 over the course of her career.

With four more rounds to go and with her LPGA Tour card on the line, Gabsa is keeping her eyes on what’s right in front of her at Magnolia Grove, knowing that this venue can easily eat a player’s lunch if they let their guard down. She’ll be playing the Falls Course on day two of Final Qualifying and will be working to ride her hot hand all the way to the top 25 come the end of the week, a finish that would see her return to the Tour in a full-time capacity in 2025.

“I think they're both very similar. They're not that big of a difference,” said Gabsa of the two courses. “A couple of par 5s are easier on Crossings because they're a little bit shorter, so it's easier to hit a wedge in, but other than that, it's a couple of tough holes, a couple of easier ones where you have to get an advantage to make birdie. So, not that big of a difference.”

Isi Gabsa Gets Off to Hot Start, Cards 64 on First Day of Final Qualifying

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