Avaricio, Arejola advance to LPGA Tour Stage II

MANILA, Philippines – Chanelle Avaricio and amateur Tomita Arejola delivered big in the final day of the LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying School Stage I Thursday (Friday, Manila time), carding 69 and 68, respectively, as they safely made it to the next phase of the exacting elims while enhancing their bids for the coveted Tour cards.

Avaricio birdied the par-3 No. 5, gained a stroke on the par-4 15th and dominated the closing par-5 hole to fashion out a bogey-free 35-34 round for a 72-hole total of 284, improving from her previous spot at tied 68th to joint 38th with four others at the Mission Hills' Dinah Shore course in Rancho Mirage, California.

Arejola, meanwhile, capped her remarkable surge from below the projected cut-off line to end up at tied 43rd with a 285 after a 68 that featured four birdies in the first 11 holes.

The Campbell University stalwart actually dropped a shot on No. 16 but matched Avaricio’s closing birdie to preserve a 33-35 round that earned her a 56-spot jump from joint 99th after three rounds.

The Top 95 and ties from a starting field of 305 thus moved to the next phase set Oct. 17-20 at the Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida, another 72-hole stroke play tournament with the number of those who will advance to the final stage, the Q-Series, to be determined before the start of the Stage II competition.

Players who complete 72 holes in Stage II but do not advance to the Q-Series will earn 2024 Epson Tour status.

But Avaricio and Arejola are both looking beyond Epson Tour, vowing to build on their strong final round showing in Stage I by doubling up in training and practice during the break.

The Q-Series, where Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina are expected to join, will be held on Nov. 30 to Dec. 5 at the Magnolia Grove golf course in Mobile, Alabama.

Meanwhile, Japanese Suzuka Yamaguchi and Canadian amateur Savannah Grewal shared low medal honors by matching 273s with the former firing a 70 and the latter settling for a 72.

American Jensen Castle, the former US Women’s Amateur winner, and amateur Fiona Xu of New Zealand tied for third at 275 after a 69 and 70, respectively, while Erika Shepherd, also of the US, took solo fifth at 276 after a 68.