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During both her amateur and professional careers, few venues have suited Michelle Wie better than Mission Hills Country Club. She once again conjured solid form at the Rancho Mirage property, this time with her job on the line. Wie shot a steady 1-under 71 in Friday’s final round of sectional qualifying for the LPGA Tour, finishing tied for fourth at 8-under par and locking up a spot in the final stage of LPGA Q-School. After stumbling with a 74 on the Dinah Shore course Thursday, the 18-year-old ensured that would be her only over-par round of the week on a track where she’s posted three top-10 finishes at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA’s first major of the season. “I felt like I played pretty solidly,” Wie told the Associated Press Friday after not speaking to reports after any of the first three rounds. “Had a couple mistakes here and there, but I did what I had to do.” Sun-Ju Ahn of South Korea posted a 4-under 68 Friday, helping her to a wire-to-wire medalist finish at 16-under. Anna Nordqvist finished second at 14-under par. Thirty-two players in all ended at 5-over or better and advanced to the finals, which will be held Dec. 3-7 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. Players from a second sectional, which begins Sept. 30 at Plantation Golf & Country Club in Venice, Fla., will help round out the final-stage field. Top Southern California finishers at Mission Hills were Los Angeles’ Megan Heckeroth, who finished 18th at 1-over par, and Thousand Palms’ Dana Bates, who concluded a stroke behind and in a tie for 23rd. Bates was a contestant on the Golf Channel’s “Big Break: Ka’anapali” earlier this year – so even though the teaching pro at La Quinta Country Club failed to win an exemption into this year’s Navistar LPGA Classic via that show, she still has an opportunity to gain full-time status on the LPGA. Two former teammates from USC who were part of the Trojans national title squad this season were among 82 players to make the 36-hole cut, which fell at 6-over par. Dewi Claire Schreefel qualified on the number, then posted a pair of 1-under 71s in her last two rounds to jump inside the top 30 at 4-over par. Paola Moreno was not as fortunate, going 7-over par in her final two frames to finish tied for 58th. Recent Pepperdine graduate Leanne Bowditch and Rancho Mirage’s Caryn Wilson failed to sustain the momentum they established early in the event, and both finished tied for 33rd and missed qualifying by a stroke. Bowditch, who opened with a 69, followed that up with three-straight 75s, while Wilson spoiled her 36-hole total of 5-under par with an 11-over mark in the last 36 holes, including an 81 in the third round. San Diego’s Jamie Park (T63) and Gina Umeck of Redland (T69) also did not advance. Click here for complete results. For other late-breaking golf news from around Southern California, check back daily to Southland Golf. |
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