Ranked 14th in world, Miyu Yamashita runs away from field at LPGA final qualifying

Japan’s Miyu Yamashita left nothing to chance at this week’s final qualifying for LPGA Q-Series.

Yamashita, the highest-ranked player in the qualifying field at No. 14 in the Rolex Rankings, sprinted to the finish line with closing rounds of 63-64, finishing the 90-hole event at 27 under, six shots better than runner-up and fellow countrywoman Chisato Iwai.

Canada’s Maude-Aimee Leblanc, Japan’s Saki Baba (the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion) and American Amanda Doherty earned the last of 26 LPGA cards at 6 under, making the cut by a shot over a large group at 5 under that included England’s Bronte Law and Germany’s Alexandra Forsterling, who started the fifth and final round at T-17 before closing in 2-over 74.

The final round at Magnolia Grove’s Crossings Course in Mobile, Alabama, began on Monday morning before inclement weather, including heavy rains, pushed the finish to Tuesday.

Yamashita will enter her rookie season on the LPGA next year already a 13-time winner on the Japan LPGA. The 23-year-old Yamashita, who stands just at just 4 feet, 11 inches tall, was also an Olympia for the first time earlier this year; she tied for fourth, just missing out on the medal stand.

Other notables who earned their LPGA cards included France’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, a former All-American at South Carolina; LPGA veteran Azahara Munoz; Kate Smith-Stroh, a Nebraska alum who also works as a graphic designer; and recent amateur stars Julia Lopez Ramirez and Adela Cernousek, who turned pro midseason out of Mississippi State and Texas A&M, respectively. Cernousek is the reigning NCAA individual champion.

Cernousek’s former college teammates, Blanca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and Hailee Cooper, were among those to miss out on an LPGA card, as were notables such as two-time Annika Award winner Maria Fassi; reigning British Amateur champion Melanie Green; Ole Miss alum and Golf Channel on-course reporter Julia Johnson; and major winner Sophia Popov, who returned to the LPGA this year after some time off following the birth of her first child.

Zoe Campos, who turned pro out of UCLA last month, was among those who missed the 72-hole cut, though those players will have full Epson Tour status for next year.