Regina de Guzman hit a clutch birdie on No. 15 to save a 72 and finish tied at 14th to earn a full LPGA status but Dottie Ardina fumbled at the finish and missed the 20-player cut by one with a 74 in the LPGA Qualifying Tournament Final Stage in Florida Sunday.
De Guzman, tied with Ardina at 16th after four rounds, stayed within the cutoff score with a slew of pars, moved to 13th with a birdie on No. 7 but tumbled down with a double-bogey mishap on No. 13. But the 24-year-old amateur bounced back with the crucial birdie on the par-3 15th, her 72 and a five-day total of 355 netting her one of the coveted cards for next year’s staging of the world’s premier ladies tour.
“I had fun. I’m very lucky and grateful to be able to do this,” said De Guzman, a San Jose State U senior who primed up for the event by winning a tournament two weeks ago, also in Florida.
Ardina also looked headed to finally earning the elusive card after bucking two bogeys at the front with a birdie and an eagle on the par-5 eighth for a one-under card. But she stumbled with a bogey on No. 12 and dropped two more shots on Nos. 15 and 16 and hobbled with a 74.