There's More than Lewis and Wie to LPGA Q-School Finals

Monday December 1, 2008

Stacy Lewis and Michelle Wie will likely get most of the ink at this week's LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, which begins Wednesday and concludes Sunday at LPGA International in Florida.

And either Lewis or Wie might run away with medalist honors. Both are capable. But there are plenty of other good candidates to win the Q-School finale, and there are certainly more good golfers in the 140-player field than there will be fully exempt 2009 playing cards available.

Did you know that there is a major championship winner in the field? And a golfer ranked in the world Top 50?

Patricia Meunier-Lebouc, winner of the 2003 Kraft Nabisco Championship, is back at Q-School after finishing 155th on the money list in 2008.

And representing the LPGA of Japan are Shiho Oyama, No. 42 in the most-recent world rankings, and Miki Saiki, No. 56 in the most-recent world rankings.

Another great candidate for medalist honors is 19-year-old Amy Yang, who had conditional status on the LPGA in 2008 but played most of the year on the Ladies European Tour, where she won twice.

Other LET players taking a shot at the LPGA this week include Martina Eberl (two wins, seven Top 10s in 2008); Anja Monke (winner of the French Open); and Melissa Reid, who didn't win in her rookie year as a pro but did post three runner-up finishes.

Some other players to watch:

Past LPGA members: Mollie Fankhauser, Jackie Gallagher-Smith, Sophie Giquel, Liz Janangelo, Sarah Kemp, Paige Mackenzie, Charlotte Mayorkas, Anna Rawson, Ashleigh Simon (Note: Some of these players retain LPGA status, but are playing to try to improve their position.)
Big Break alums: Dana Bates, Jeanne Cho-Hunicke, Ashley Prange, Elizabeth Stuart, Kristina Tucker, Andrea Vanderlende, Briana Vega, Kim Welch
Amateurs: Mika Miyazato, Paola Moreno, Anna Nordqvist

Miyazato is Japan's top amateur; Moreno and Nordqvist are top NCAA stars. There's also Alison Walshe, who recently turned pro after a stellar collegiate career. Among these, Nordqvist, a 6-foot Swede who is a junior at Arizona State, is probably the one to keep an eye on. She is the 2008 Ladies British Amateur winner, a collegiate All-American in both her previous seasons with ASU, and won her most recent college tournament.

You can follow the daily scores on LPGA.com beginning Wednesday.