Danielle McVeigh is one of seven amateurs at the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Final Qualifying Tournament which tees off on Wednesday at LPGA International with the event to be held on both the Champions and Legends courses in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Having made the Ladies European Tour [LET] Pre-qualifying last week in La Manga, the Kilkeel native mixes with 120 players hoping to either earn membership - or improve their current member status in some cases - for the 2011 LPGA Tour.
A number of LET players are also in the field, including Christel Boeljon of the Netherlands, Becky Brewerton of Wales, South African Ashleigh Simon and Alison Walshe from Galway.
The tournament is a five-round qualifier with a tournament cut to the low 70 players and ties after 72 holes. Those players making the cut will compete in the final round on the Champions Course.
Sectional qualifiers will be joined at the final stage of "Q-school" by current LPGA Tour members attempting to improve their status for 2011, along with players finishing Numbers 6-10, and the next top 10 players on the 2010 LPGA Futures Tour money list (who do not already have LPGA status).
Headlining this year's list of hopefuls will be: 2010 U.S. Curtis Cup member Jessica Korda of Bradenton, Florida the teen who was the runner-up in the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship and winner of the 2010 South Atlantic Amateur ("Sally"); Kimberly Kim of Hawaii, who was runner-up at the 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and U.S. Girls' Junior Championship; and former Oklahoma State University All-American Caroline Hedwall of Sweden, who was the 2010 individual winner of the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship. Each player advanced into the final event through sectional qualifying.
"For Q-school, I feel like it's going to be about the ones who are the most patient," said Korda, a high school senior in Bradenton, Florida, who turns 18 in February. "I don't really feel pressure because I still have a half year of high school left."
Medalists of the two sectional qualifiers hope to continue their march through the final stage. They are former Pepperdine University collegian Eileen Vargas of Ibague, Colombia, who won the California sectional in September at Mission Hills Country Club, and former University of Arkansas collegian Lucy Nunn of Lawton, Oklahoma, who won the Florida sectional in September at Plantation Golf & Country Club.
Both Vargas and Nunn are current members of the LPGA Futures Tour and are two of the 71 Futures Tour members in the field.
"The California sectional was the last tournament I played, so I came here early to get used to the courses again," said Vargas, who played in a tune-up event last week at LPGA International.
This year's field is comprised of players from 20 countries and 26 U.S. states. Behind the U.S., South Korea brings the most players to the event, with 11 contestants, followed by Canada with 10 players and five players from Thailand. Of players in the event from the United States, California has the most contestants with 13 players, followed by eight players from Florida and five from Texas.
A total of seven amateurs are in the tournament field. If those players earn LPGA membership for 2011 and wish to join the tour, they must declare themselves as professionals.
The top 20 players at the conclusion of the event will earn Priority in Category 11. Players finishing in the 21st-30th spots will earn Priority in Category 16, followed by 31st-40th, who will receive Priority in Category 20. All category positions will be determined by a play-off.
