Becca Huffer of Denver and former University of Colorado golfer Jenny Coleman matched even-par 72s and share 38th place after Wednesday’s opening round of the 90-hole LPGA Tour Q-school finals in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The top 20 finishers — out of the 156-player field — after Sunday’s final round will earn full LPGA Tour cards for 2017, while the next 25 players and ties will have conditional status. After four rounds, the field will be cut to the top 70 players and ties.
Huffer, the 2013 CoBank Colorado Women’s Open champion, played her last four holes in 2 under par on Wednesday, while Coleman likewise birdied her final hole. Huffer finished the day with three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey. Coleman had two birdies and two bogeys.
The two trail co-leaders Katelyn Dambaugh and Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras by five strokes.
One players who had a spot in the Q-school finals but elected not to compete was Jessica Wallace, a former CU teammate of Coleman’s. Wallace finished 19th on the 2016 Symetra Tour money list, but has chosen to no longer compete professionally. The native of Canada hopes to become a certified public accountant.
“It’s something that has been in the back of my mind for a couple of years,” Wallace told British Columbia Golf. “I have always been someone who has had a backup plan in my head even through I had my primary goal. I have always been thinking what would I like to do outside of golf.”
Here are the scores of all the players with strong Colorado ties competing at the LPGA Q-school finals, which is the final stage of a three-stage qualifying process:
38. Becca Huffer of Denver 72
38. Former CU golfer Jenny Coleman 72
141. Former DU golfer Eleanor Givens 78
For all the scores from the finals, CLICK HERE.
Hallberg Rebounds With 70 at Champions Q-School Finals: Meanwhile, the PGA Tour Champions Q-school finals are also being held this week, and reached the midway point on Wednesday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
A year after Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe won the Q-school finals en route to finishing 23rd on the 2016 Charles Schwab Cup money list, Gary Hallberg is the only Colorado resident competing in the final stage of Q-school.
After struggling to a first-round 81, the three-time PGA Tour winner shot a 2-under-par 70 on Wednesday, leaving him in 60th place at 7-over-par 151. Hallberg has had conditional status on the PGA Tour Champions circuit in recent years. A winner of one Champions event — in 2010 — Hallberg finished 66th on the 2016 money list with $214,003.
The top five finishers following Friday’s final round will earn fully-exempt status on the 2017 Champions circuit.
For all the results from Q-school, CLICK HERE.
