There are four players this week at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España who are playing for more than just victory at the Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf. They also have a very enticing second goal ahead. It involves qualifying to play the Final Stage of the LPGA Tour Qualifying School, which will start next week in Alabama. Afterwards, it will be up to them to decide whether they want to participate in this American golf selection and fight for that card, but the first thing they need is, at least, to give themselves that opportunity.
To get into the Final Stage of the Qualifying School, also called the Q Series, one must finish among the top ten in the Ladies European Tour order of merit, a goal that only four Spanish players have within reach this week in Málaga: María Hernández, Marta Martín, Luna Sobrón, and Ana Peláez. Each of them has their own calculations.
The one in the best position is María Hernández. The Navarrese, in fact, starts the Open de España within those top ten, so her goal is to maintain that position. She is ninth and has the advantage that the tenth-ranked player, Alexandra Forsterling, is not playing this week, giving her more leeway. Specifically, her cushion is up to the twelfth, Liz Young. The Englishwoman would need to finish at least tenth and tied with one player, and María Hernández would need to finish last to surpass her. In other words, María hasn’t secured it yet, but she is well on her way. A top 10 finish for the Spanish player would force her two closest rivals to finish at least in the top 5 of the tournament.
The rest of the Spanish players’ mathematical options are more complicated, but at least they exist. Marta Martín, who currently occupies the 16th position in the order of merit, would need to finish in the top 3 to have a chance of ending the year among the top ten. Meanwhile, Luna Sobrón and Ana Peláez know what they need. Only with a victory would they have the chance to play the Final Stage of the LPGA Tour Qualifying School. In this regard, it’s worth noting that Luna is in great form, and Ana has just won the Spanish Professional Championship in Marbella.
Beyond that exciting battle, there isn’t much more at stake this week, at least for the Spanish golfers. The top 70 in the ranking retain their full card for the Ladies European Tour, and in this regard, those mentioned earlier, along with Fátima Fernández Cano and Nuria Iturrioz, have it secured. The rest no longer have options because they are in the tournament as guests, and therefore, their points do not count towards the order of merit. There is also no battle for winning the order of merit, already mathematically secured by the Swiss Chiara Tamburlini. In this regard, her absence in Málaga is missed. It is understood that, with nothing at stake, she has preferred to rest to prepare for the LPGA Tour Qualifying School, but her participation in the last tournament of the season would have been a nice gesture.
