Piccio blows LPGA bid with 76

MANILA, Philippines - Mia Piccio struggled early and kissed her LPGA Tour bid goodbye with a four-over 76, ending up in joint 52nd at the close of the grueling five-day LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament at the LPGA International, Daytona Beach, Florida Sunday.

Piccio, who sparked hopes of a big finish after rallying with a two-under 70 to gain a share of 44th after four rounds Saturday, never recovered from a poor start of three bogeys in a four-hole stretch from No. 3 and hobbled with that birdie-less 76.

She wound up with a five-day total of 363 and missed not only the LPGA Tour card next year but also the conditional status after finishing way down in 52nd. Only the top 20 gained full-time status while the 25 earned conditional status for next season.

It was a sorry foldup for Piccio, who had tried to rally at the back after but just couldn’t make the putts, dropping one more stroke on No. 15 for a 39-37 round.

Earlier, compatriot Dottie Ardina failed to even make the last 70 cut that vied for the top 20 berths in the final day of the elims with the Filipino duo settling for the Symetra Tour.

Amateur Alison Lee and Minjee shared the low medal honors at 340 with the former matching par 72 and the latter posting a 71. Thai Ariya Jutanugard and Spain’s Maria Hernandez finished tied for third at 351 after a 71 and 75, respectively, while Tiger Woods’ niece Cheyenne Woods also made it to the big league by placing joint 11th at 355 after a solid 70.