Michigan State's Plata among eight ams advancing to LPGA Tour Q Series final stage

November 20, 2022 | by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com

Valery Plata of Michigan State

The eight amateurs now have a decision to make: stay am or turn pro?

Eight amateurs are among the 50 players who have advanced to LPGA Q Series after Stage II wrapped up today at the Plantation Golf and Country Club's Bobcat and Panther courses in Venice, Fla.

Now for the big question - will they go?

A diversion in Q-School rules from previous years allows amateurs to compete in the first and second stages, however, the players who qualify from the final stage must turn professional to compete in the Q Series in December.

Amateurs who qualified this weekend for the final Q Series include collegians Jenny Bae (Georgia), Nataliya Guseva (Miami), Minji Kang (Truett McConnell), Cynthia Lu (Oregon), Ashley Lau (Michigan), Heather Lin (Oregon), Valery Plata (Michigan State) and Natthakritta Vongtaveelap, who finished second at the recent Women's Asia Pacific Amateur.

Vongtaveelap (-1; t-7th) and Plata (+1; t-11th) were the low amateurs in the field while Bae, a senior at Georgia, birdied two of her final three holes to finish one shot inside the cutline at 5-over.

Other notable names advancing to the Q-Series include former Stanford standouts Aline Krauter (T-4) and Mariah Stackhouse (T-11), two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champ Kristen Gillman (T-25), recent Florida State grad Beatrice Wallin (T-25) and Isabella Fierro (T-33), who began her collegiate career at Oklahoma State before transferring to Ole Miss last spring but decided to turn pro before ever teeing it up for the Rebels.

Natasha Andrea Oon, who earned All-America honors last year as a senior at San Jose State, double-bogeyed her last hole to miss advancing by a shot.

The first half of Q-Series begins on Nov. 28 at Magnolia Grove Golf Course in Mobile, Ala. The top 70 finishers and ties from Mobile will advance to Highland Oaks Golf Course in Dothan, Ala. for the final 72 holes of qualifying.

If the amateurs decline to participate in the Q Series and decide to return to school, they will still receive their Epson Tour status. They have two days to decide.

About the LPGA Q-Series Qualifying Stage

Michigan State's Plata among eight ams advancing to LPGA Tour Q Series final stage

Second stage of LPGA Tour qualifying consists of 4 stroke play rounds, with a minimum of 30 players advancing to the final stage. Each year, many top amateurs try to earn their Tour cards, with successful qualifiers having to decide whether to remain...

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