Lauren Walsh agonisingly misses out on a spot on the Epson Tour for the 2024 season after narrowly failing to make the cut at the LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying Tournament in California.
A final round of 74 would prove not to be enough to make it to the final day of play to be held at the Dinah Shore course at Rancho Mirage, missing the cut by one shot on three-over-par through 54 holes.
The exact cut of 125 players was met with 15 players tied for 111th on two-over-par, while Canadian amateur Savannah Grewal leads the tournament heading into the final day of action in the Golden State.
Walsh began her tournament with an up-and-down round of 72 at the Mission Hills Arnold Palmer course but finished strongly to recover on both the front and back nine to make the clubhouse at level par.
Two dropped shots on the second and fourth were made up with birdies on the third and seventh and left her even par heading into the back nine of her opening round. A bogey-double bogey streak on the 12th and 13th gave Walsh a lot of ground to make up but back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th followed by another birdie on the 18th salvaged par as she heading into round 2.
Walsh’s second round was much more uneventful but yielded a slightly higher score of 73 at the Classic course at Indian Wells. A bogey on the seventh was the only hole on her front nine that was on either side of level par, and a birdie on the opening hole of the back nine levelled her score for the fourth time in the tournament.
However, a dropped shot on the par-three 13th left the Irishwoman on a score of one-over-par heading into the final day of play before the cut and with some work to do to secure a place in the top 125 golfers.
The Castlewarden star got off to a fast start at the Dinah Shore course at Mission Hills with a birdie on the third, bringing her score back to level par for the fifth time over three days of play. On the seventh disaster struck when she double bogeyed for the second time at the event.
A birdie on the ninth was followed with another dropped shot on the opening hole of the back nine. The 15th looked to be the crucial hole for Walsh’s hopes of an Epson Tour position, with the final bogey of her round sending her onto three-over-par for the competition.
The final three holes yielded pars but would not be enough to carry her over that +2 threshold, meaning Walsh finished her three days in California cruelly tied for 126th.
The final day of play gets underway today at the Dinah Shore course, with the top 95 finishers plus ties progressing to Stage II of qualification.
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