The Forecaddie has yet to meet a player who relishes the LPGA Q-School experience. Tears are shed equally for earned cards, dashed dreams and the terrifying thought of having to do it all over again.
“When you go to Q-School, you only want to have to go once,” said Florida State women’s coach Amy Bond. “You never want to have to go back.”
This was Bond’s honest advice for sophomore Frida Kinhult, given in return for an honest assessment from Kinhult on where she stood in pursuit of a professional career. Kinhult, who left the LPGA Q-Series with Symetra Tour status, checked in often with Bond. It allowed the coach to look realistically at how the spring season could play out for No. 27 Florida State, sans Kinhult.
A year ago, the Swede was part of a freshman infusion that carried Florida State to two of its biggest team titles in recent memory.
In 18 years coaching, Bond has never had a player turn pro before graduating. Florida’s Emily Glaser has learned that it happens.
“There’s a little less emotion involved with it,” said Glaser, whose most recent loss was Sierra Brooks to the Symetra Tour. “That’s how you become resilient and handle it. We want the best for our players.”
To The Man Out Front, the deferment success stories of Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi – so far the only two college players to exercise the LPGA’s new rule – should have been more influential. Beginning in 2018, players who entered Q-School as amateurs could remain amateur until July 1 of the following year and not forfeit the status they earned. For an amateur who wants to finish the college season with her team, deferment effectively cuts her potential starts in half.
Both Kupcho and Fassi finished last college season with fanfare and still earned enough money to keep their LPGA cards. Initially that was Brooks’ plan, until she fell short of full status and faced a year-long cash grab on the Symetra Tour.
It leaves Glaser wondering if there isn’t still a better option, and she hopes for continued dialogue between the LPGA and college-golf community.
Stanford seniors Andrea Lee and Albane Valenzuela – both with LPGA cards in hand – were the last two players to announce decisions to turn pro weeks after Q-School. It makes Stanford, ranked No. 5, the only team to lose two women.
In the end, nothing eases the blow of a player turning pro quite like depth. The most intriguing spring story line is how easily No. 4-ranked USC can carry on without junior Jennifer Chang, who will start her LPGA rookie season immediately.
Life goes on for a team that returned five All-Americans. In fact, with Chang’s spot up for grabs, another player might feel freed up to play better golf.
“I like the roster we have still,” said USC coach Justin Silverstein. “I liked it more when the 11th-ranked player in the world was there.”
