Leona Maguire moves up to sixth at LPGA Q-School Stage II
Leona Maguire
World Amateur No 1 Leona Maguire added a three-under 69 to her opening 70 to move up to tied sixth at halfway in the LPGA and Symetra Tour Qualifying Tournament Stage in Florida.
The 22-year-old Duke University star only nees to complete 72 holes to earn Symetra Tour status and has no intention of teeing it up at Stage III to battle for one of 20 cards, even if she finishes inside the top 80 after Sunday’s final round.
LPGA rules would require her to turn professional immediately and she prefers to complete her college studies as planned and turn professional after graduation in May.
At five-under-par, she is just four strokes behind Hungary’s Csicsi Rozsa, who shot a four-under 68 on the Bobcat Course at Plantation Golf & Country Club in Venice to lead by two shots from American Youngin Chun and the Czech Republic’s Klara Spilkova on nine-under-par.
Maguire also played the Bobcat Course and after a bogey at the fifth, she birdied the ninth, 10th, 12th and 14th to post her 69.
"Obviously, in an ideal scenario, you'd love to get a LPGA Tour card now and have it ready to go in May, but that's not an option," she said earlier this week.
"So the plan is to come here, get Symetra Tour status and then when I do turn pro in May, I will have my Symetra status and whatever invites I pick up rather than having to wait for August or September, depending on how the LPGA restructures the Q-School next year.
"More than likely to is not going to be the same as it is this year and there will be no more LPGA Tour cards.
"But by having Symetra Tour status, hopefully, I will be able to get an LPGA Tour card quicker that way."
