Everything About the LPGA Tour 'Q Series'

Five Days of 5 Rounds 90 Holes Stroke Play
Top 25 Earn Category 14 Seeds
Conditional Seeds for 25th and Below and Epson Tour Entries
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The "Gate of Hell" has opened. The final stage of the Qualifying (Q) Series for the U.S. Women's Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour has begun. On the 5th (local time), the last showdown started at the Magnolia Grove Golf Course of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Mobile, Alabama. It is a five-day race. The 10th is a reserve day. The Q Series is the last chance for players who did not achieve the expected results this year to enter the regular tour. If they fail to post a good scorecard, they will move to the LPGA Epson (2nd tier) Tour.

This is the Magnolia Grove Golf Course at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Mobile, Alabama, USA, where the final stage of the LPGA Tour Q-Series is taking place. Photo by LPGA Tour

The final stage of the Q Series is the last step of Q School, which determines entry into the LPGA Tour and Epson Tour. Players ranked 101st to 150th in the LPGA Tour CME Globe Race, 11th to 35th in the Epson Tour, the top 10 in the Ladies European Tour (LET), those who passed the Q School preliminaries, and top-ranked players in the world rankings participate. After the Q Series ends, the top 25 earn eligibility to compete on the LPGA Tour.

The LPGA Tour has changed the Q Series format. From last year's 6 rounds (108 holes), it was reduced to 5 rounds (90 holes) this year. The "cut off" is decided after 4 rounds (72 holes). From 2018 to 2022, the Q Series was a grueling 8 rounds (144 holes), held over two weeks at two golf courses with 4 rounds each. Before 2018, it was conducted over 5 rounds and 90 holes.

Korea has achieved excellent results in the Q Series historically. Seven players, including Park Seri, Kim In-kyung, Choi Hye-jung, Song Ah-ri, Lee Jeong-eun 6, Anna Lin, and Yoo Hae-ran, have passed as top qualifiers. This year, formidable players have appeared again. Yoon Ina, who swept the money title, MVP, and lowest scoring average on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, has entered. With driving power comparable to the world's top players, high trajectory and high-spin iron and wedge shots, and solid putting skills, finishing within the top 25 is expected to be not difficult.

Yoo Ni-na, who won the triple crown on this year's KLPGA Tour, is challenging for the top spot in the final round of the LPGA Tour Q-Series. Photo by KLPGA

Yoon Ina finished her domestic schedule with the WEMIX Championship, an event held in Busan over two days starting on the 16th of last month. She treated an ankle injury that troubled her this season. On the 28th of last month, she crossed over to the U.S. and hired the caddie who carried Minjee Lee (Australia), who has 10 wins on the LPGA Tour, to understand the course and conduct customized training. This is Yoon Ina's first time competing in an official event on the U.S. stage. Lee Jeong-eun 5, Kang Hye-ji, Joo Soo-bin, and Park Geum-gang, who fell outside the top 100 in CME Globe points on the LPGA Tour, have also thrown down the gauntlet. Lee Se-hee, who was active on the KLPGA Tour, passed the preliminaries and advanced to this Q Series final stage.

The strongest competitors for Korean players are Miyu Yamashita (Japan), ranked 14th in the world. She has won an impressive 13 times on the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA) Tour and swept the money title and MVP in 2022 and 2023. Yamashita participated in all five major tournaments this year with the intention of entering the LPGA Tour. Her best result was runner-up at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Sophia Popov (Germany), the 2020 British Women's Open champion, and Asahara Munoz (Spain), the 2012 Match Play winner, also lost their seeds and appeared in the Q Series.