Top Young Golfers Su Oh, Alison Lee and Ginger Howard Share Lead at LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage II

LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage II
Plantation Golf and Country Club – Bobcat and Panther Courses
Venice, Florida
October 2, 2014
Third Round News & Notes

VENICE, Fla., October 2, 2014 – The youth movement has been well documented on the LPGA Tour in 2014 and if LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage II is an indication, don’t expect that to change. 18-year-old Su Oh (Bentleigh East, Australia), 19-year-old Alison Lee (Valencia, California) and 20-year-old Ginger Howard (Bradenton, Florida) are tied for the lead at 8-under-par 208 with the final round set for Friday. They will be paired together in the final group (1:27 p.m., Bobcat Course).  

Oh and Lee, who played together on Thursday, both carded a 6-under 66, while Howard fired a 3-under 69 to move up to 8-under 208. 

Celine Herbin (Santander, Spain) is one shot back at 7-under 209 after shooting a 2-under 70 while Carly Werwie (Kenosha, Wisconsin), Annie Park (Levittown, New York) and Katherine Perry (Cary, North Carolina) are four shots out at 4-under 212. 

There are currently 18 players in a tie for 64th at 4-over-par 220.  

The top 80 players plus ties will advance to Final Stage of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida from December 3-7. Players that finish inside the top 20 at final stage will receive category 12 status on the LPGA Tour in 2015.  Meanwhile, players that finish 21 through 45 will earn category 17 status on the LPGA Tour.

Amateur Alison Lee, who started her sophomore year at UCLA on Wednesday, shot a 66 on Thursday to move to 8-under 208 through 54-holes. She is one of only three players (Herbin and Park) that has been under-par all three days. 

“I made a lot more putts today,” said Lee, who finished T4 at the LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage I. “This helps keep me in a comfortable position going into tomorrow. I was frustrated the first two days with my putting, but they were dropping in today.”

Lee has less stress than most because she has three years of eligibility left at UCLA if Qualifying Tournament doesn’t work out. 

“I am an amateur so there is a lot less pressure for me in this kind of event and that’s how I want my mindset to be for tomorrow. I don’t want to play with a lot of pressure, I just want to focus on myself and my game.”

Lee has a specific plan for the rest of LPGA Qualifying Tournament.

“I’ve talked to my coach and if I get my full status (top 20 at final stage) then I will turn professional, but if not I will stay in school another year.”

Lee didn’t make the decision to head to Q-School until after her freshman year this summer.

“It was a last minute decision I made because originally I just wanted to play in college all four years and then turn professional after. I played really well during my freshman year and I just felt like to be on Tour it is a lot about timing and if you’re game is going well then why not give it a shot.”

Lee was inspired by Michelle Wie’s decision to go back to Stanford and finish her degree.

“I still want to graduate from UCLA even if I turn professional and seeing Michelle Wie do that – graduating from Stanford even tough she wasn’t on the team – is something I admire.  I still definitely want to graduate.”

Lee is an International Development Studies major at UCLA.     

Oh, who plans on turning professional in between Stage II and III, has a healthy little rivalry going with Lee. Oh also carded a 6-under 66 to improve to 8-under 208.

“I think I first met Alison at U.S. Girls and she totally thrashed me,” recalled Oh while laughing with Lee in the interview room. “She always plays well when I play well.”

Oh started with a bogey, but never let the slow start bother her. 

“I went birdie-birdie after the bogey and I had seven birdies and one bogey and I putted really well today. I set my own personal stroke record for the amount of strokes with 24 putts today.”

Oh’s approach to Friday is very similar to Lee’s. 

“I’m just going to go out there and try to play another good round of golf. I have to finish in the top 80 and I am an amateur so the only thing that is important is finishing in the top 80.”

Oh is still a senior in high school. Schooling in Australia goes from February through November. 

“I just finished grade 12 and it has definitely been a big year, a bit crazy.”

Oh said she thought about going to college, but at this point she would rather be a professional. 

“I don’t know if I am ready, but I’ll find out. Being a professional has been my goal since the start of the year so I have worked very hard towards it.”

Oh is the No. 5 ranked amateur in the world by WAGR and fellow Aussie golfer Minjee Lee was the No. 1 ranked amateur before recently turning professional.

“We always get written about in the same article. It’s good because it promotes more golf in Australia. We have been very good for each other.  She would play well and then I would play well and then if I play well she would try to play well. I think it has been a good rivalry.”

Oh become a golf prodigy when she played in the Australian Women’s Open when she was 12-years-old. 

Howard, who took home medalist honors in 2011 at Stage II, will join Oh and Lee in the final group on Friday. 

“I just tried to stay steady, but the plan was just to keep it level so it was nice to go a few under,” said Howard, who had a tough year on the Epson Tour in 2014.

Although she admits winning is not the goal, it would be nice to finish in the top spot.

“It would definitely be nice, but it was not the goal. The goal was to break my record from 2011 (-15), but it would nice to win again. It would be tough for tomorrow, but you never know.”

Howard finished 78th on the Epson Tour money list in 17 events played.

“I am playing my best golf of the year right now. I just had a turnaround with my coach and hopefully it stays this way.  I also give my sister credit for being on the bag this week, she has been feeding me a lot of good vibes.”

Howard has been playing on the Epson Tour since 2012 and desperately wants to play on the LPGA Tour.

“I want to be on the LPGA badly. It’s definitely my number one goal and it is a huge dream of mine that I have been trying to chase for so long.”

STRONG DAY FOR STEPHANIE MEADOW REPRESENTING NORTHERN IRELAND: Stephanie Meadow (Jordanstown, England) had her best day yet in Venice as she fired a third round 3-under 69 to get to 3-under 213.  She moved from T23 to a tie for eighth with one day left.    

It was a simple day at the office, 15 pars and three birdies. 

“I hit the ball better today,” said Meadow, who finished third at the U.S. Women’s Open this year.  “Putting is kind of tough out there right now, but I got a few to drop.”

Meadow is in a good spot after three days.

“I am not too stressed.”

Although she has played in three LPGA Tour majors this year (U.S. Women’s Open, RICOH Women’s British Open & Wegmans LPGA Championship), she is viewing this event no differently.

“You have to treat it like any other tournament, you want to win and do your best and see where you are at. It is good preparation for Stage III because I probably won’t have many tournaments in between this and Stage III so you have to take advantage of any competitive play you can get.”

Off the golf course, Meadow wants to be a role model to young girls in Northern Ireland.

“One of the biggest things for me is giving back to little girls, especially in Northern Ireland. There are no LPGA golfers from Northern Ireland and we have Rory and Graeme and all these men and I’ve seen how that has brought up so many good male players and I think to be on the same level as those guys and to be able to affect the girls would be really cool.”

Meadow has seen an improvement in the women’s golf programs in Northern Ireland, but wants to see more.

“I think when you come from such a small country, it’s pretty cool to be able to have such an impact. At the LPGA tournament in Prattville, Alabama, it was the first time the Northern Ireland flag had ever been on the poles and that was a big deal for my federation back home. It is pretty awesome to know that you are the first to ever do that.”

“I’ve put so many hours in for so long and I want to be the best.”

Does she feel ready for the big stage?

“Absolutely, my life has been crazy since the U.S. Open, but I feel good that I have experienced a mini-rookie year because Tour life is different, it is definitely not college golf. It takes a little time to adjust and I’m happy I can do that now and next year I can be ready to go.”

IVY LEAGUER OVERCOMES NERVES AND SHOOTS 66: She was admittedly nervous and couldn’t really sleep well in the weeks leading up. Michelle Piyapapattra (Corona, California) will sleep well tonight after a 6-under 66, which matches the low round of Stage II.  She made a huge leap from T147 to T64. 

She carded eight birdies and one double-bogey.

“After yesterday, I was just hoping to be near the cut line to help my Epson Tour status,” said Piyapapattra, who shot a 75-79 in the first two days and was six-over through 3 holes yesterday.  “I was much more relaxed today.”

Piyapapattra is playing in her first Qualifying Tournament after graduating from Columbia with a double major in anthropology and political science in May. She was exempt to Stage II because she finished fourth on the Canadian Tour Order of Merit (767.50 points). She won the first Canadian Tour event of the year at Morning Star Golf Club in British Columbia while she was still an amateur (she could have won $10,000). 

She also received an exemption into the Canadian Women’s Open on the LPGA Tour this year.

“The Canadian Open was the first event I played in as a professional and I didn’t do that well just because of all the people and the cameras. Just being around LPGA Tour players and being inside the ropes was a good experience.”

“Even changing my status from amateur to professional and being able to win money was a lot of extra pressure.”

How did a girl from Southern California wind up at Columbia?

When she played in AJGA events on the east coast, the Princeton golf coach started to show interest. She thought she was going to go to Princeton, but her college decision came down to Columbia and Oregon.

“They are polar opposites, I know. I originally turned down Columbia and thought it would be easy at Oregon money wise because I could get a full ride (Ivy League programs can’t give athletic scholarships). The next day I thought about it and realized that I could have gotten into Oregon without golf, but Columbia has a 6 percent admission rate so let’s just go to Columbia.”

It isn’t easy to play golf at Columbia, which is located in Harlem. The Columbia home course is 25-minutes away in New Jersey.

“We can’t play half the year, we don’t have an indoor facility and nobody has a car so you just have to learn to hit in a simulator.”

She is one of two Ivy League players in the field this week. Kelly Shon (Port Washington, New York) is a recent Princeton graduate. 

YOUNGEST PLAYER AND LONGEST LAST NAME: Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong (20 letters) is only 17-years-old (she will be 18 in November) and the youngest player in the field. The Buengkan, Thailand native shot a 5-under 67 on Thursday to move from T80 to T15 at 1-under 215.

“I just took it one shot at a time today,” said Santiwiwatthanaphong, who carded a 76-72 in day one and two. “I hope I make a big move up the leaderboard after this round.”

With a wide smile on her face, she talked about her lofty goals.

“I want to play on the LPGA Tour and be number one in the world.”

In 2013, on her 17th birthday, she won the PTT Global Chemical Thailand Ladies Open. She beat Pornanong Phatlum, who is No. 33 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, by one stroke.  The teenager became the third amateur to win the Open in the 26-year history of the event. 

Earlier in the year, she won the Thailand Ladies Amateur Championship.

HEE YOUNG PARK’S SISTER IN FIELD: Hee Young Park, a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour, may have some company on Tour next year.  Her younger sister, Ju Young Park, is currently competing in LPGA Qualifying School Stage II.

Ju Young shot an even-par 72 on Thursday and is 3-under 213 in a tie for eighth.

Hee Young has 30 top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour since her rookie season in 2008. She currently ranks 35th on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. 

Hee Young won the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic last year. 

HOW DID THE TOP COLLEGE PLAYERS IN COUNTRY FARE:

MEDALISTS AT LPGA QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT STAGE II: Here is a look at some of the recent medalists at LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage II.

2013 – Amy Anderson (-16)
2012 – Katie Burnett (-15)
2011 – Ginger Howard (-15)
2010 – Lucy Nunn (-6)
2009 – Stephanie Connelly (-3)
2008 – Chella Choi (-9)
2007 – Na-Yeon Choi (-7)
2006 – Angie Hill/Nontaya Srisawang (-2)
2005 – Annie Young (-8)