After the final day of LPGA Q-Series, 50 players left Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Magnolia Grove with an LPGA Tour card in hand. Robyn Choi worked her way to the top of the leaderboard to claim medalist honors after six rounds in Mobile, Ala.
Choi started her day two shots out of the lead behind So Mi Lee. The Aussie started her day on No. 1, staying consistent with three pars on her first three holes. She picked up a birdie on her first par 5 of the day before hitting another streak of pars from Nos. 5 to 7. From holes 8 to 10, Choi made three birdies in a row to reach 29-under par, the score that would ultimately help her finish in the first-place position. On the rest of the back nine, she made two bogeys on the par-5 13th and the par-4 15th and bounced back with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17. She carded a final-round 68, turning in her sixth round in a row in the 60s and being the only player to do so at the 2023 LPGA Q-Series. The 25-year-old will be returning to the LPGA Tour for the first time since 2019.
Japanese player Mao Saigo and Korean player Lee finished in a tie for second after six rounds. A six-time champion on the JLPGA, Saigo carded a final-round 70, her only round in the 70s this week. She had two birdies on holes 2 and 6 before making a bogey on the par-3 8th hole to make the turn at one under. Her back nine started with another bogey on No. 10 before she hit a string of pars. Saigo made two birdies on two of her last three holes to move back into red numbers for the day. Lee was just one of two players to shoot over par in their last round and maintain their spot within the top 10. She had a bogey early in her round on hole 2, but balanced it out with a birdie on the 4th to make the turn at even par. Her only bump in the road on the back nine came at the par-4 15th hole when she made a bogey before finishing with three pars to shoot one-over 73. Both Saigo and Lee will be 2024 LPGA Tour Rookies next season.
A total of six players finishing in the top 10 will be LPGA Tour Rookies heading into the 2024 season, including Canadian Savannah Grewal who started her journey to LPGA status through Stage I of the LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying Tournament.
Along with Choi, there are 49 additional players that have earned LPGA status through LPGA Q-Series this week including 20 new names that will join the 2024 LPGA Tour Rookie class. With the line for top 45 and ties at eight-under par, players finishing in positions 1-20 and ties earned LPGA Tour status in Category 14, and players finishing in positions 21-45 and ties earned LPGA Tour status in Category 15.
)
)
)
)
