LPGA qualifying
AFP, RANCHO MIRAGE, California
Michelle Wie advanced to the final round of qualifying for the LPGA Tour after shooting 71 in the fourth round at Mission Hills Country Club on Friday.
Wie placed in a tie for fourth place, eight strokes back of winner Ahn Sun-ju of South Korea, who finished with a 16-under 272 total in the Palm Springs-area sectional qualifying event.
Japan’s Shiho Oyama and the US’ Stacy Lewis joined Wie at eight-under 280.
Wie advances to the final round of qualifying in December, where she will try to earn her LPGA playing privileges.
Wie, who turned pro in 2005, is unique in the sport because for the past few years she has not been a member of any professional tour.
The 32 players from the California event will advance to the LPGA final qualifying tournament from Dec. 3 to Dec. 7 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
They will be joined by the top 30 finishers from a second sectional tournament, to be played from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 in Venice, Florida.
The final qualifying field will also include current LPGA Tour members attempting to improve their priority standing and the 10 players finishing 6th through 15th on the 2008 Duramed Futures Tour season-ending money list.
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