A costly bogey on the final hole of her fourth round has Olivia Mehaffey on the outside looking in with one round to play at Ladies European Tour Q-School in La Manga, Spain.
The 24-year-old struggled on Sunday, signing for a four-over 75 on the North Course at La Manga to fall to two-over for the week and outside the top-20 that will receive full category 11 membership for next season.
Now 26th, Mehaffey is only one shot off the mark required, but she will have to turn around a drop in form that saw her back up under-par rounds on days one and two with rounds of one-over and four-over on days three and four.
The former Arizona State star does have limited status on the Symetra Tour to fall back on courtesy of her LPGA Tour Q-School finish, however she will be keen to acquire full playing rights on the LET as well to provide her with regular starts throughout 2022.
In order to do so, she will need a big final round in Spain after her disappointing fourth round. As well as the closing bogey, her par-five work left a lot to be desired as she bogeyed three of the four longest holes on the North Course, contributing to her fall down the leaderboard.
Having started the day in the top-10 and within touching distance of leader Meghan MacLaren, it took Mehaffey until the 14th to card her first birdie, and by that stage she had already dropped four shots in carding bogeys on the fourth, sixth, ninth and 12th.
Birdies on 14 and then 16, either side of her third par-five bogey at the 15th, at least had her trending back in the right direction, but another dropped shot on the 18th has her facing an uphill battle with just 18 holes to play.
Meanwhile, Royal Belfast’s Victoria Craig bowed out after the 72-hole cut, missing out on the top-65 and ties that went through to play the final day by 12 shots after playing her four rounds in 20-over.
The 24-year-old former West of Ireland champion needed a sensational round just to qualify for day five, let alone put herself in contention to reach the top-20, and she concluded her Q-School challenge with a one-over 72 on the North Course.
Craig doesn’t go away empty handed as she will have category 18 membership on the LET next season, which entitles her to limited starts, but she will likely play the majority of her golf on the LET Access Series again.
At the top, MacLaren still leads at eight-under after a two-under 69 on the North, with Sweden’s Lisa Pettersson – who won last week’s First Stage – one shot further back at seven-under. French duo Agathe Liasne and Manon Gidali share third with America’s Gabriella Then at six-under.
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