With no LPGA Qualifying School in 2020, the depth of this year’s Q-Series is particularly strong. Consider that there are six players in the top 75 of the Rolex Rankings in the field, including No. 14 Ayaka Furue, No. 18 Atthaya Thitikul, No. 38 Hinako Shibuno, No. 53 Hye-Jin Choi, No. 67 Na Rin An and No. 71 Emily Kristine Pedersen (pictured above).
The field of 110 players will play eight rounds over the course of two weeks at two courses on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. The first week (Dec. 2-5) will take place at Magnolia Grove (Crossing and Falls courses) in Mobile, Alabama, followed by a hybrid course at Highland Oaks Golf Course in Dothan (Highland and Marshwood courses) on Dec. 9-12.
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.
Scores will carry over from the first week to the second. There will be a cut after the first week to 70 and ties. College players in the field who enter as amateurs can defer LPGA membership and accept at any point until July 1, 2022.
Players who finished in the top 45 at Q-Series in 2019 were seeded Nos. 129 to 174 on the initial LPGA Priority List. Most full-field events range from 120 to 140 players.
Here’s a look at some of the key players.
Hinako Shibuno of Japan celebrates with the trophy at the AIG Women’s British Open at Woburn Golf Club on August 4, 2019 in England. Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
The popular 2019 AIG Women’s British Open champion initially turned down LPGA membership and continued to compete on the Japan LPGA, her home tour. Because the window to accept membership closed, Shibuno will have to qualify for the tour by taking a more traditional route than winning a major.
Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand at the second round of Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 23, 2021, in France. Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Thai sensation became only the fourth player to win both the Race to Costa del Sol and Rookie of the Year titles in the same season, joining Dame Laura Davies, Carlota Ciganda and Esther Henseleit. The 18-year-old finished outside the top six on only three occasions all season on the LET. Twice finished runner-up on the LPGA this season. Became the youngest golfer to win a pro tournament at 14 years, 4 months and 19 days when she won the Ladies European Thailand Championship in 2017.
Ayaka Furue of Japan poses with the trophy after winning the Descente Ladies Tokai Classic at the Shin Minami Aichi Country Club Mihama Course on Sept. 20, 2020, in Japan. Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images
Currently No. 14 in the world, Furue has won three of her last seven starts on the Japan LPGA. Finished fourth at the Amundi Evian this year and tied for 20th at the AIG Women’s British Open. Has seven career titles on the JLPGA dating back to 2019.
Emily Kristine Pedersen looks on on the 11th hole during the second round of the Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 23, 2021, in France. Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Two-time Solheim Cup player for Europe won four times on the LET in 2020. Tied for fifth at the Tokyo Olympics representing Denmark. Named LET Rookie of the Year in 2015.
Linn Grant of Sweden plays a shot on the tenth hole during the third round of the 75th U.S. Women’s Open Championship at Champions Golf Club on December 12, 2020, in Houston, Texas. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Former Arizona State player has found herself in contention on the weekend at two U.S. Women’s Opens (2018 and 2020). Won on the Ladies European Tour Access Series in October at the Terre Blanche Ladies Open. As a sophomore at ASU, won four consecutive events to start the fall season and had six top-2 finishes in eight starts on the year. Winner of the 2017 Ladies British Open Amateur Stroke Play.
Brooke Matthews of the United States at the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Augusta National Golf Club on April 3, 2021, in Augusta, Georgia. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
The long-bombing Brooke Matthews, a fifth-year senior, won the first two events of the fall at Arkansas, shooting 63-64-64 at the Cougar Classic in South Carolina. Her 25-under 191 total crushed the NCAA’s previous 54-hole scoring record of 19 under. She then enjoyed back-to-back events on home tracks, making the cut in Rogers at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and then winning the Blessings Intercollegiate on Arkansas’ home course. Currently No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.
Haley Moore of the United States at the Marathon LPGA Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club on August 7, 2020 in Sylvania, Ohio. Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Two years after earning her card, Arizona grad Haley Moore is back at Q-Series after finishing 137th in CME points. During her rookie campaign, Moore started her own foundation to help stop bullying. Her best finish of the 2021 season came at the Cambia Portland Classic where she tied for 20th. She had a string of 10 missed cuts from April through July.
Hye-Jin Choi of South Korea at the 2019 BMW Ladies Championship at LPGA International Busan at on October 24, 2019, in South Korea. Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images
Ranked 53rd in the world, Hye-Jin Choi burst onto the worldwide scene as an amateur in 2017 when she dueled with Sung Hyun Park at the U.S. Women’s Open, ultimately finishing second. Choi, 22, has 11 wins on the KPLGA.
Gina Kim of the United States at the 76th U.S. Women’s Open at The Olympic Club on June 4, 2021, in San Francisco. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Duke senior advanced through the first two stages of Q-School, medaling in the first stage, and remains an amateur. Two titles at Duke include the 2021 ACC Championship. Helped lead Duke to the 2019 NCAA title and tied for 12th at the USWO later that summer, earning low amateur honors.
Meghan MacLaren of England plays her shot off the 11th tee during The Rose Ladies Series at The Shire London on July 30, 2020, in England. Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images
Prolific blogger has an important, and growing voice, in the game. Englishwoman played college golf at Florida International University where she won eight times. The two-time winner on the LET claimed her first Symetra Tour title in 2021, where she played a full schedule.
Na Rin An of South Korea blasts out of a bunker at the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea on October 21, 2021. Photo by Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images
South Korean player currently ranks 67th in the world. A two-time winner on the KLPGA, An has 11 top-10 finishes on her home tour this season. Tied for third at the BMW Ladies Championship on the LPGA last October.
Anne van Dam of the Netherlands at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Inverness Club on July 31, 2020, in Toledo, Ohio. Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Plummeted more than 100 spots in the rankings over the past year. Ranks first on the LPGA in driving distance but has struggled mightily on the greens, coming in at 149th in both average putts per round as well as putts per green in regulation. Best finish of the season was a share of eighth at the Cambia Portland Classic. Joined the LPGA in 2019.
Bianca Pagdanganan of Philippines at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club on June 24, 2021, in Johns Creek, Georgia. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
It was a tale of two rookie seasons for one of the longest players in golf. After finishing 60th on the money list in 2020, Pagdanganan didn’t make her first start on the LPGA in 2021 until the ANA Inspiration in September. Finished 125th this year in CME points, thus taking her back to Q-Series one year after playing well enough to qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship.
Andrea Lee of the United States at the Cognizant Founders Cup on October 8, 2021, at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey. Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via AP Images
Former top-ranked amateur had a similar story to Pagdanganan. After finishing 48th on the money list in 2020 thanks to four top-20 finishes, Lee took a deep dive in her second rookie season. (What players accomplished in 2020 did not roll over into 2021.) The nine-time winner at Stanford missed 10 cuts in the span of 13 events.
Virginia Elena Carta (courtesy photo)
School happens to be where this Duke grad excels, and she’s already a member of one of the oldest golfing societies in the world, having survived and thrived in an academic gauntlet to become part of The Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society, known simply as The Society. The 2019 NCAA champ delayed her professional career to pursue a “Mphil” in Environmental Policy (which is equivalent to a Masters in the U.S.) at Cambridge. While there, she became the fourth woman to ever compete in the University Golf Match (aka the Varsity Match) between Oxford and Cambridge, which dates back to 1878 and is the oldest amateur golf event in the world.
Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of France at The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 24, 2021, in France. Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Won her second start as a professional on the LET, carding a second-round 60 en route to the title at the Skafto Open. Frenchwoman reached No. 1 in the world as an amateur in January 2020 and hasn’t finished outside the top seven since she turned pro, finishing T-3 and T-7 in her last two LET starts and T-4 on the Symetra Tour in her pro debut. Former South Carolina standout medaled at the second stage of LPGA Qualifying.
Florida State golfer Beatrice Wallin. Photo by FSU Athletics/Ross Obley
Currently No. 5 in the WAGR, Florida State senior has three career titles for the Seminoles and ranks second in career scoring at 71.94. Tied for 19th at Stage II of LPGA Qualifying to advance. Finished fifth at the Skafto Open on the LET.
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