Dec. 5, 2012
Former Vanderbilt two-time All-American Marina Alex has qualified for the LPGA Tour as a Priority List Category 17 qualifier after finishing in a tie for 27th at the 2012 Q-School in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Wayne, N.J., native had a five-round total of one-under par, 359 (70-73-76-67 -73=359) at the tournament.
Alex, who was a first-team All-American in 2010 and 2012, earned provisional status with her finish. Those who ended Q-School in positions 1-20 earned their full card, while those who finished 21-45 earned their way on to the tour as Category 17 qualifiers.
“Q-School was good, but it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said Alex. It was stressful. In college or as an amateur, you qualify for one event, but in this case, I was qualifying for my entire year – where you play the year out. Every round is important. I played a lot more conservative, more on edge. I took on a lot less risk. You gladly take par, get the birdies where you can get them, but you try not to make big numbers.”
With the 27th place finish, Alex is seventh on the priority list – basically if the full 144-player field is not full, she is the seventh alternate. With that in mind, Alex is unsure whether she will try to compete early on the LPGA Tour or compete on the LPGA’s Symetra Tour, where she is guaranteed a spot to play.
“I haven’t decided yet what to do,” said Alex. “There have been many players who have earned their LPGA card by easing into an LPGA schedule in a position like mine and there have been players who earned full status at Q-School and never made it past their first year. Everything happens for a reason, so we’ll see what happens. But, I’m excited.”
