LPGA Q Series Wrap Up
The LPGA Q Series is over for another year and thirty one players are joining or re-joining the tour next season.
LPGA Q SERIES WRAPS UP
There are 31 qualifiers joining or re-joining the LPGA following the Final Stage of Q Series which wrapped up in Alabama this week. Thirteen are from Europe and eleven are from either South Korea, Thailand, or China. Seven are from North America.
Some veterans return to the main tour. Ryan O’Tole and Perrine Decalcour, Maude-Aimee Leblanc Jodie Ewart Shadoff have over 300 LPGA starts between them. And then there is 2019 AIG Women’s Open champion Hinako Shibuno from Japan.
The Medallist is former world Amateur no 1, 20 year old German Helen Briem. The young German stands out for her height at 6’3” and has one win on the LET.
It will be interesting to watch 2024 Curtis Cup team member Mimi Rhodes progression on the LPGA. Rhodes left it until the final hole to get the job done. Sitting outside the number playing 18 she sank a 12 footer for birdie to finish T24 and grab one of the last spots.
Rhodes Curtis Cup team mate Lotte Woad has certainly made a rapid rise in the world of golf since those heady days at Sunningdale. She now sits at no. 11 on the Rolex World rankings. Rhodes has had a similar yet different ascendency. In 2025 she has three wins on the LET and was second on the Oom and won the Rookie of the Year award. It seems only a natural progression to see her move to the LPGA.
Commentary about the diversity of the LPGA actually being a bad thing will continue North American players getting through in the minority. That commentary may be correct but it is a pretty sad indictment that the only way to succeed commercially is if the good golf comes from players with a particular demographic and good golf generally doesn’t make the commercial cut.
Unfortunately no Ozzies made it through this year but Jennifer Elliot should get plenty of starts on the Epsom Tour. Her finish at T90 makes her about 62nd in Category C priority list and 130th in the pecking order to get a start most weeks. Hira Naveed also didn’t qualify however her finish at 107 on this years LPGA OOM will see her get starts on LPGA next season from Category 16. She will have to play well early in the season to try and move up the priority list in the re-shuffle.