Clutch Rounds and Close Calls

Heavy rains shortened the final stage of LPGA Q-Series to 72 holes this week at RTJ Magnolia Grove in Mobile, Ala. The top 25 and ties would earn cards from a field of 115 players, and when Round 4 wrapped, 31 players secured LPGA Tour status for the 2026 season.

Success Stories

Helen Briem

The 6-foot-3 German ran away with medalist honors at 13-under. The 20-year-old’s powerful driver and steady play propelled her to the top of the leaderboard. Briem posted four top-3 finishes on the Ladies European Tour this season and finished ninth on the Order of Merit. Remember the name — her game looks built for the top of leaderboards.

So Bin Joo

Joo finished No. 102 in the Race to CME Globe this season, narrowly missing out on keeping her card. The 21-year-old’s only top-10 came in September, and two late missed cuts dropped her outside the top 100. But she handled business at Q-Series, proving she belongs on the LPGA.

Ryan O’Toole

At 38, O’Toole battled her way back to full status with a T3 finish. She began the final round right on the number and fired a seven-under 65 — the second-best score of the day. The 2021 Scottish Open champion and 2011 Solheim Cup team member returns to the LPGA Tour in 2026. After making 16 starts and half her cuts last season with a best of T20, this might be the spark for a late-career revival.

Mohan Du

The 22-year-old from China opened with a 66 and never wavered. Du beat a mostly male field on the NEXT Golf Tour powered by Trackman last season, earning $30,000 and a $5,000 ANNIKA bonus. She’s been a consistent force on the mini-tours and had a second place on Epson Tour last season— now she gets her chance on the LPGA.

Perrine Delacour

The 31-year-old from France owns five career top-10s on the LPGA and has twice represented her country in the Olympics, competing in both 2020 and 2024. This season, however, she struggled and finished 116th in the CME points standings. At Final Stage of Q-Series, Delacour found her form again, breaking par in every round and comfortably earning back her LPGA status. She has spoken openly in the past about her battles with depression — here’s hoping this latest success comes with some peace and confidence heading into 2026.

Polly Mack

The 26-year-old German began the final round T44 and needed something special. She produced exactly that: an eight-under 64, the best score of the day, vaulting her to a 10th-place finish and full status. Mack had two top-10s on the Epson Tour last season but struggled in limited LPGA starts. She’ll have plenty more chances now.

Chiara Tamburlini

The Swiss star took the Ladies European Tour by storm in her 2024 rookie season, winning three times and sweeping both the Order of Merit title and Rookie of the Year honors. After finishing T15 at Final Stage, the University of Mississippi grad will now get the chance to showcase her impressive game more regularly on this side of the Atlantic.

Lauren Walsh

Walsh started the day three shots outside the number and delivered a flawless, bogey-free five-under to finish T17 — one shot inside the line. The former Wake Forest star and Curtis Cup player finished 10th on the LET Order of Merit to earn her spot at Final Stage and kept the momentum rolling. She birdied two of her last three holes to secure her card. Clutch.

Emma McMyler

The Xavier standout and three-time Big East Player of the Year began the final round two shots outside the number and delivered the best finish of the week. Sitting even par with six holes to play, McMyler had slipped down the board — until her putter caught fire. She birdied five of her last six holes to climb inside the line and earn her LPGA card by a single shot. That celebration had to be sweet.

Maude-Aimée Leblanc

Leblanc played 10 LPGA events last season, highlighted by a T20 at her national open. The long-hitting 36-year-old has bounced on and off the LPGA for more than a decade and epitomizes the grind. The Purdue grad owns four career top-10s and now has another shot to build on her resume in 2026.

Ana Belac

The Duke star and Olympian spoke on Any Given Monday about the mental challenge of Q-School. Growing up in Slovenia’s cold, wet climate didn’t make this soggy week any easier, but she embraced it. Belac sat T2 after two rounds, slipped with a tough third round, and entered the final day T19. A composed one-under secured her card — right on the number.

Hinako Shibuno

Seeing a major champion back at Q-Series was striking. The 2019 AIG Women’s Open winner finished runner-up at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open and added a T7 at this year’s championship, yet still needed Q-Series to save her status. She made it through exactly on the number. A major sigh of relief.

Erica Shepherd

The 2017 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion birdied two of her final six holes to clinch an LPGA card. The 24-year-old lefty from Duke earned her first professional win on the Epson Tour in September. There aren’t many southpaws in the women’s game — Shepherd hopes to stand out next season.

Jodi Ewart Shadoff

One of the most accomplished players in the field, the seasoned English pro is an LPGA winner and three-time Solheim Cup member. She needed every bit of that experience at Q-Series, grinding out a one-under final round to earn her 2026 LPGA status on the number.

Notable Misses and Heartache

Gianna Clemente

The 17-year-old prodigy — who made her LPGA debut at 14 — needed birdie on her final hole to earn a card. She made double. A devastating finish.

Jessica Porvasnik

The former Ohio State standout finished T4 late in the LPGA season in Hawaii and ended the year No. 109 on the OOM. A back-nine 33 nearly saved her season at RTJ’s Crossing Course, but she missed by one.

Kate Smith-Stroh

Smith-Stroh made 8 of 17 cuts in her rookie LPGA season and delivered under pressure at last year’s Q-Series. This year she once again played herself near the number, but needed one more birdie and fell a shot short. She heads back to the Epson Tour.

Gigi Stoll

Last year Stoll opened with 74 and was 12 back before rallying into contention. This year she dug a deeper hole early: an opening 79 that looked fatal. Her weekend 65-67 was heroic, but she still finished four short.

Amari Avery

Avery entered Q-Series with momentum after finishing 16th in the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card and logging four T4 finishes. Expectations were sky-high. But a rough second round and a late double in the final round left her four shots off the number.

Megan Osland

The 32-year-old Canadian finished 2nd on the Women’s All-Pro Tour points list this summer, and started the final round inside the number at Final Stage. But an early double and three more bogeys added up to a five-over 77 — and a five-shot miss. Q-School is unforgiving.

Jeongeun Lee6

The 2019 U.S. Women’s Open champion endured a difficult year and an even tougher finish: a closing 76 with three bogeys in her final four holes. She missed regaining her card by five.

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