Hurricane Milton may have forced a week’s delay to LPGA Q-Series Qualifying Tournament – the penultimate stage on the road to full LPGA Tour status – but Sara Byrne made little of it and stormed to the head of affairs on day one.
The Douglas native playing out of Dromoland Castle got off to a slow start on the Bobcat Course at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Florida with bogey at the 10th – her first – but made birdies on 15 and 16 to reach the turn in one-under.
Very much at home in the Sunshine State having attended the University of Miami for four years, she added another four birdies on the front side to card a five-under 67 that propelled her to the top of the leaderboard.
She’d eventually be overtaken by Italian Roberta Liti, but with the top 35 and ties advancing to Final Qualifying in early December, it’s an excellent start for Byrne and she’ll be more than satisfied.
Lauren Walsh started shortly after Byrne, but on Plantation’s other course, the equally difficult Panther Course. Similar to her fellow Countrywoman, Walsh bogeyed her opening hole and traded two more birdies and two more bogeys to reach the midpoint of the round at +1.
Turning her attention to the front nine, she kept her card clean on the way home, making birdies at four and nine to reach the clubhouse at -1 and she’d end the day tied for 24th and is currently on course to advance, albeit in the early stages.
The two Irish women will swap courses for Wednesday’s second round, and with no cut in operation, they are guaranteed 72 holes but know that any big numbers could prove costly and with a field of 194 competing, will be expecting several big charges up the leaderboard from players outside the cutoff point.
By virtue of competing at Second Stage, both are guaranteed Epsom Tour Category I or Category K status for 2025, but making it through to Final Qualifying would guarantee Epsom Tour Category C status and a shot at joining Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow on the LPGA circuit.
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