LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament and Q-Series

Series of Qualifying Tournaments Creates New LPGA Members

Ai Miyazato after winning LPGA Q-School in 2005
Ai Miyazato after winning LPGA Q-School in 2005. Scott Halleran/Getty Images

The LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, also known as Q-School, is a series of qualifying tournaments that has been held annually since 1973, and that is the primary way for golfers to earn membership on the LPGA Tour.

From 1973-82, two different tournaments were held, with two different graduating classes; three tournaments were played in 1983. Until 2017, there were two preliminary tournaments, known as the Stage I and Stage II qualifiers, that lead up to the "final qualifying tournament" or "Q-School finals" (Stage III).

Beginning in 2018, however, the Final Stage (Stage III) was replaced by the "Q-Series," a pair of four-round tournaments played in consecutive weeks. The Q-Series now determines which golfers get LPGA Tour membership for the following season, and it also awards membership on the Symetra Tour.

Golfers who "graduate" from LPGA Q-School become members of the tour for the following season. (For example, those who "graduated" from 2017 Q-School earned LPGA Tour membership for the 2018 season.)

2019 LPGA Qualifying Tournament Schedule

  • Stage I: Aug. 19-25, 2019 at Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif. A minimum of the Top 60 finishers, including ties, will advance to Stage II.
  • Stage II: Oct. 12-17, 2019 at Plantation Golf and Country Club, Venice, Fla. Approximately the top 15 to 25 finishers will advance into the Q-Series.
  • Q-Series: Oct. 21-Nov. 2, 2019 at Pinehurst Resort in Village of Pinehurst, N.C. At least the Top 45 finishers receive LPGA membership for the 2019 season.

Official website

LPGA Tour Q-Series Field Criteria and Format

The two-week Q-Series culminates the LPGA Q-School format. In 2018, the first four-round, 72-hole tournament of Q-Series takes place Oct. 24-26 on the No. 6 Course at Pinehurst Resort. The second four-round, 72-hole tournament takes place Oct. 31-Nov. 3 on the No. 7 Course at Pinehurst Resort.

Who gets to play in the Q-Series events? LPGA Tour members who in 2018 finished 101st through 150th on the LPGA money list (through the Evian Championship) lead the entrants. Symetra Tour members in 2018 ranked 11-30 (including ties) on the money list are included; plus any non-LPGA members ranked in the Top 75 in the world rankings as of the Stage II entry deadline; college golfers ranked 1-5 in the GolfWeek/Sagarin Women’s Individual Collegiate Rankings as of the entry deadline for Stage II; and the qualifiers who advanced from Stage II.

The two tournaments of the Q-Series are cumulative scoring; a golfer who finishes the first 72 holes at 4-under begins the second, 72-hole event at 4-under.

A minimum of the top-45 finishers (including ties) will receive LPGA membership for 2019. All others who complete the full, two-week, 144-hole Q-Series will have some level of Symetra Tour status for 2019.

How Much It Costs to Enter LPGA Q-School

To play in the Stage I qualifying tournament costs $2,500. The entry fee for the Stage II qualifier is $4,000 for golfers exempt into Stage II, or $3,000 for those who advanced out of Stage I.

For Q-Series the cost is zero for golfers who started at Stage I, and $1,500 for those who started at Stage II. For LPGA and Symetra Tour members exempt into the Q-Series, the entry fee is $3,000. For all others, the entry fee is $5,500.

LPGA Tour Q-Series/Q-School Winners

Here is the list of medalists from past LPGA Tour Qualifying Schools:

Q-Series
2018 - Jeongeun Lee

Q-School
2017 - Nasa Hataoka
2016 - Jaye Marie Green
2015 - Simin Feng
2014 - Minjee Lee, Alison Lee
2013 - Jaye Marie Green
2012 - Rebecca Lee-Bentham, Moriya Jutanugarn
2011 - Junthima Gulyanamitta
2010 - Aree Song
2009 - Amanda Blumenherst
2008 - Stacy Lewis
2007 - Jane Park
2006 - Hye Jung Choi, In-Kyung Kim
2005 - Ai Miyazato
2004 - Paula Creamer
2003 - Iben Tinning, Isabelle Beisiegel, Catherine Cartwright
2002 - Marilyn Lovander
2001 - Suzanne Strudwick
2000 - Sue Ginter (Ginter-Brooker)
1999 - Kellee Booth
1998 - Shanie Waugh
1997 - Se Ri Pak, Cristie Kerr
1996 - Vickie Odegard
1995 - Luciana Bernvenuti
1994 - Denis Philbrick
1993 - Leigh Ann Mills
1992 - Nicky LeRoux
1991 - Susie Redman (Parry), Kiernan Prechtl
1990 - Katie Peterson
1989 - Hiromi Kobayashi
1988 - Caroline Pierce (McMillan)
1987 - Trish Johnson
1986 - Deborah Skinner
1985 - Sherri Steinhauer, Mary Murphy, Tammy Fredrickson
1984 - Caroline Gowan, Kris Monaghan
1983 October - Kathy Williams, Carolyn Hill, Marta Figueras-Dotti
1983 August - Juli Inkster, Kathy Baker (Guadagnino)
1983 January - Anne-Marie Palli
1982 July - Judy Ellis (Sams)
1982 January - Colleen Walker
1981 July - Nancy Maunder
1981 January - Yuko Moriguchi
1980 July - Patty Sheehan
1980 January - Carolyn Hill
1979 July - Cindy Hill
1979 February - Beth Daniel
1978 July - Julie Pyne
1978 January - Lauren Howe
1977 July - Vicki Fergon
1977 February - Eva Chang
1976 July - LeNore Beserra
1976 January - Ai-Yu Tu
1975 June - Bonnie Lauer
1975 January - Michelle Walker
1974 July - Christi Pastore
1974 January - Pat Bradley
1973 June - Mary Bea Porter (Porter-King)
1973 January - Roberta Speer