STEPHANIE MEADOW AND Leona Maguire both did enough to earn LPGA Tour cards on Sunday.
Competing in the Symetra Tour Championship, Maguire went into the event inside the top 10 of the money list, where she was required to finish in order to pick up a tour card.
The Cavan native’s final round of 71 saw her finish on -6 and joint 33rd (the full results can be viewed here).
It meant Maguire finished seventh overall in the the Volvik Race for the Card standings, securing an LPGA Tour card in the process.
Meanwhile, participating in the Volunteers of America Classic, Meadow needed a top-10 finish to secure her place in the top 100 in the money list to earn her card.
An impressive performance on the final day saw Meadow produce a final round of 67, finishing with two birdies in Texas. It meant a joint-sixth-place finish, in the process edging onto the money list in 99th.
Passion 🔥
— LPGA (@LPGA) October 6, 2019
Fighting to make Top 100 on the money list, @StephMeadow20 finishes birdie-birdie in Texas.
Watch the conclusion of the @VOAClassic now on @GolfChannel! pic.twitter.com/VfVUqY7ltQ
Elsewhere at the event, Texan Cheyenne Knight captured her first US LPGA Tour title in her native Lone Star State, firing a 66 for a two-shot win in the Volunteers of America Classic.
The 22-year-old rookie rolled in three birdies on the back nine at the Old American Golf Club course to finish with a 18-under 266 total.
“It’s so incredible. I can’t put it into words,” Knight said.
Leona is headed to the @LPGA next season!
— Team KPMG (@KPMGGolf) October 6, 2019
By finishing 7th on the @ROAD2LPGA money list, she has secured her tour card. Congratulations, @leona_maguire! #TeamKPMG pic.twitter.com/cTS3zdUAR1
Brittany Altomare and Jaye Marie Green tied for second at 16-under, giving the US the top three spots in the event at The Colony, Texas.
Knight came into the tournament needing a top five finish to crack the top 100 on the LPGA money list and ended up taking home her biggest career prize, $195,000.
She is also the fourth American winner in 2019, joining Cydney Clanton, Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson.
Until Sunday’s victory, there wasn’t much for Knight to write home about in her rookie season. She missed the cut in half of her 18 starts on the Tour and was looking a relegation to the qualifying series.
Leading final-round scores on Sunday in the LPGA Volunteers of America Classic at par-71 Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas (USA unless noted):
266 – Cheyenne Knight 66-67-67-66
268 – Brittany Altomare 67-66-68-67, Jaye Marie Green 67-68-64-69
273 – Georgia Hall (ENG) 68-68-71-66, Jane Park 69-67-69-68
274 – Stephanie Meadow (NIR) 63-71-73-67, Katherine Perry 67-68-66-73
275 – Gerina Piller 69-71-67-68, Park In-bee (KOR) 67-70-70-68, Lee6 Jeong-eun (KOR) 67-70-68-70, Kim Sei-young (KOR) 68-69-67-71
276 – Kim Hyo-yoo (KOR) 70-68-69-69, Caroline Hedwall (SWE) 69-67-69-71
277 – Pornanong Phatlum (THA) 68-70-69-70, Alena Sharp (CAN) 68-65-72-72
Additional reporting by AFP
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