The final day of play at the 2023 LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying Tournament Stage II has officially come to a close. Of the 188 players that teed it up on Tuesday, 41 players will have the opportunity to head to LPGA Q-Series in Mobile, Ala. this November.
The no-cut format made it a marathon for the field, with each player never truly being out of contention. Of the 41 that earned a spot in LPGA Q-Series, 11 players opened Stage II with an over-par round and battled their way back inside the top 40 and ties cutoff for LPGA Q-Series.
Ingrid Lindblad led the way for the last three rounds at Stage II after posting a 5-under 67 in the final round to end her week as medallist at 18-under, but she will not be heading to LPGA Q-Series later this year.
Amateurs are not permitted to compete at LPGA Q-Series, and Lindblad is a graduate student at Louisiana State University with plans to continue her collegiate career for one more year. The World Amateur Golf Ranking No. 1 is in no rush to turn professional and will enjoy her last year at LSU after an impressive showing at Stage II.
“It’s my first real qualifying playing this week, so I talked a little bit to our coach for the Swedish team, and he was like, don’t treat it as qualifying. Just treat it as a tournament,” said Lindblad.
“At the beginning of the year, I’m like I am probably just going to go through the whole Q-Series and like peace out, but I was talking to my coaches, and I really like it at LSU. Like our coaches are awesome. This year, we have a really good team, so I just want to give it a chance to get another SEC and maybe a national championship.”
LET winner Alexandra Försterling, who won the 2023 VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open, finished in second place on the leaderboard after rounds of 69-73-63-69. It was an excellent third round, especially for the German who carded a bogey-free nine-under 63 in Florida.
Speaking after her round, Försterling said: “It was a lot of fun. My putter was really on. I putted great. I mean, I holed everything it feels like. Once I was on the green it was in the hole. It just feels amazing. But, yeah, I mean, my goal is to just get through this stage and then go on to the next one. But it’s definitely a little bit of a confidence boost to know that I can compete on a really high level here, and then hopefully do the same on the next stage.”
Thailand’s Pinyada Kuvanun finished in third place at Stage II with American Kaitlin Milligan and Korea’s Yu Jin Sung in a tie for fourth place. LET rookie Emma Spitz of Austria ended the week in a tie for sixth place after rounds of 70-69-69-72 to be alongside Canadian amateur Savannah Grewal.
Other LET members to make it through to the Final Stage, which will be played at the end of November, are America’s Gurleen Kaur – who finished T8 – and Morocco’s Ines Laklakech – who was T30.
