Kaufman Advances from LPGA Q-School Stage II; Medalist Lindblad Doesn't

National

VENICE, Fla. -- The LPGA Tour has traditionally won the prize for having the weirdest Q-School in golf, and that is the case once again this year.

Ingrid Lindblad, the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, made six birdies and one bogey on the way to a 5-under-par 67 Friday on the Bobcat Course at Plantation Golf & Country Club, and with that she earned medalist honors in Stage II of Q-School -- but she won't advance to the final stage.

She finished 72 holes four shots clear of the field, with a total of 270 (18 under). But she entered Q-School as an amateur, and according to Q-School rules, she can't advance to the Q-Series (final stage). That's fine with Lindblad, an LSU grad student from Sweden who always intended to return for her fifth year of college eligibility.

Alexandra Forsterling, a 23-year-old former Arizona State star from Germany, turned professional in 2022 and won the Ladies European Tour Q-School last year. She finished second this week in Stage II. She closed with a 69 for an aggregate of 274, and she will advance to the Q-Series, which will be played Nov. 30-Dec. 5 at the Robert Trent Jones Trail course in Mobile, Ala. -- Magnolia Grove GC. The Q-Series has been changed, again. This year, instead of a 144-hole event spread out over two weeks -- quite possibly the ultimate example of psychological torture in all of sports --  it will now be six rounds played on six consecutive days. Before 2018, the Q-Series was a five-day,  90-hole event.

Pinyada Kuvanun, 27, a former University of Toledo star, came within one stroke of making the 72-hole cut at the Q-Series last year. So she was on the Epson Tour (the LPGA's challenger tour) this year, and finished 49th on the money last. That made her exempt into Stage II of Q-School, and she finished third at 277. She shot 69 on Friday.

There was a tie for fourth at 278. Kaitlin Milligan, who concluded her college career at Oklahoma in 2021, got there by shooting the low score of the day, a 65. Also at 278 was South Korean Yu Jin Sung, who started and finished the week with 69s and had two 70s in between. 

The format for Stage II calls for the top 40 finishers and ties to advance to the Q-Series, and the Magic Number this week was 286. Twelve players were tied fhere for 30th place. As it turned out, however, only 32 players will advance, because there were nine amateurs at 286 or better.

Among the qualifiers was Kim Kaufman, the 32-year-old former Texas Tech star from Clark, S.D. She won on the Epson Tour's predecessor, the Symetra Tour, in 2013 and  again in 2014, and was a regular on the LPGA Tour from 2014 through 2019, earning  more than $1 million in the process.  But she came down with mononucleosis in 2017, and while she was recovering, she fell down a flight of stairs and injured her wrist. Since 2020, she has spent most of her time on the Epson Tour, and she finished 69th on the Epson money list this year, with $22,213. That made her exempt into Stage II of Q-School. (Stage I was played in California in August.)

Kaufman opened with a 69 and followed it with a 72 and another 69, before shooting 73 at Bobcat on Friday. (Both the Bobcat and Panther courses at Plantation were used for Stage II.) That was good for a tie for 15th -- and a spot in the Q-Series. 

Also playing in the Q-Series this year will be Kate Smith, the former five-time Minnesota state high school champion from Detroit Lakes and co-MGA Women's Player of the Year in 2020. Smith, like Kaufman, played on the Epson Tour this year. The top 10 players on the Epson money list at the end of the year graduate to the LPGA Tour. Those who end up 11th through 25th are exempt through Stage I and II of Q-School and go directly into the Q-Series. Smith is in that category, after makng $66,457 in 21 events and finishing 19th on the Epson money list.  
  

LPGA Q-School

Stage II

At Plantation Golf & Country Club

Bobcat Course (par 72)

Panther Course (par 72)

Venice, Fla.

Final results (top 40 finishers advance to Q-Series, 11/30-12/5 at Robert Jones Trail Magnolia Grove GC in Mobile, Ala.)

1. Ingrid Lindblad (a), Sweden             67-66-70-67--270 (will not advance, because she's retaining her amateur status)

2. Alexandra Forsterling, Germany.     69-73-63-69--274

3. Pinyada Kuvanun, Thailand            70-67-71-69--277

T4. Kaitlin Milligan, Norman, Okla.       68-73-72-65--278

T4. Yu Jin Sung, South Korea              69-70-70-69--278

T15. Kim Kaufman, Clark, S.D.          69-72-69-73--283

What it took -- 286 (12-way tie for 30th)



Stage I

Aug. 28-31

At Mission Hills -- Dinah Shore Course (par 72)

@ Arnold Palmer Course (par 72)

@ at Indian Wells -- Classic Course (par 72)

Final results (top 99 advance to Stage II, Oct. 17-20 at Plantation G&CC in Venice, Fla.)

T1. Suzuka Yamaguchi             68-69-66-70--273

T1. Savannah Grewal (a)          67-68-66-72--273

T3. Jensen Castle (a)                66-71-69-69--275
 
T3. Fiona Xu (a)                         69-68-68-70--275

5. Erica Shepherd                      69-69-70-68--276

What it took -- 289 (11-way tie for 89th)

54-hole cut -- 219

Betsy Kelly                               80-78-72--230