Because an eight-round tournament isn’t difficult enough, Q-Series happens to collide with the last two weeks of the semester for Florida State senior Beatrice Wallin. Thankfully, the humanities major reports that her professors have been supportive.
Wallin is one of eight amateurs in the field of 110 this week, and she’s currently the highest in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at No. 5.
“It’s legit,” said Wallin of the vibe so far at Q-Series. “It’s very different to what I’m used to, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Wallin was able to skip Stage I of qualifying thanks to being awarded a spot in the field at Stage II as a top-5 player in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings at the time of the entry deadline. Both Linn Grant of Arizona State and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of South Carolina advanced into Stage II this way but have turned professional. Roussin-Bouchard medaled at second stage.
The first week of Q-Series takes place Dec. 2-5 on the RTJ’s Magnolia Grove (Crossings and Falls Courses) in Mobile, Alabama. There will be a cut to low 70 and ties.
Scores will carry over from the first week to the second. The top 45 players and ties will receive LPGA status for the 2022 season. Those who do not receive LPGA status will have Symetra Tour status for next year.
College players who enter the field as amateurs can defer LPGA membership and accept at any point until July 1, 2022.
Both Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi chose to defer after earning their LPGA cards. Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur the next spring and Fassi won the NCAA Championship.
Wallin said she isn’t yet sure what she’ll do.
“I’ve been telling everyone that I’ve been in college for 3 ½ years, I might as well just finish it off,” she said. “You know, it can be tempting to turn professional because that’s what you’ve been practicing for your whole life.
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
Among the seven college players in the field are sisters Yu Chiang Hou (who goes by Vivian) and Yu-Sang Hou. The Taiwanese pair play for Arizona and are both ranked in the top 30 in the world.
Yu-Chiang Hou, from Chinese Taipei, smiles after defeating Cara Heisterkamp 4 & 3 in the quarterfinal match at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Westchester Country Club in Harrison on Friday, August 6, 2021.
Rounding out the college players in the field are U.S. Curtis Cup players Gina Kim (Duke) and Brooke Matthews (Arkansas) as well as Polly Mack (Alabama) and Karen Fredgaard (Houston).
In addition, Hyo Joo Jang, 18, of South Korea, is a 2022 high school graduate who attends a golf academy in Florida.
A three-time winner at Florida State, Wallin ranks second in career scoring for the Seminoles at 71.94. It was her brother Richard who got Wallin and her parents into the game after a neighbor first invited him to play. Richard, who works back home in Sweden, is on the bag this week.
“There’s a lot of Swedes playing,” said Wallin, who went to dinner at Bonefish with four of her compatriots on Tuesday night.
“Just talking about normal stuff, trying to have some fun off the golf course.”
Given the grind that’s ahead, she’ll need it.
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