Wagner in a good place after strong first week in LPGA's Q-Series in Alabama

    It’s been five-and-a-half years since Samantha Wagner holed a 60-foot birdie putt on the 18^th hole at Hidden Creek Golf Club in Egg Harbor Township, N.J. to claim medalist honors in a U.S. Open qualifier.

   Wagner, an Easton native who moved to Florida as an 11-year-old, was coming off her junior year at Florida, having helped the Gators earn a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.

   The decision was made that Wagner would leave her college career behind and make her appearance in the U.S. Women’s Open at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. her professional debut.

   I’m sure Wagner was well aware the road ahead was filled with hurdles and potholes. Pretty sure she has spent most of the last five seasons learning the ropes of professional golf on the Epson Tour, which was the Symetra Tour until this year.

   Wagner finished 31^st on the Epson Tour money list in 2022 with $45,551 in earnings in 20 starts.

   It has all led Wagner to the halfway point of the 2022 LPGA Q-Series, the eight-round marathon that, at the end, awards LPGA Tour cards to 45 players, the first 20 of those places earning more guaranteed starting spots than to those after those first 20.

   Wagner put together a very professional 4-under-par 68 over the par-72 Crossings Course at Magnolia Grove Golf Course in Mobile, Ala. in Sunday’s final round of the first 72 holes of Q-Series and headed to Dothan, Ala. and Highland Oaks Golf Course for the final four rounds of Q-Series among a group of five players tied for sixth place at 12-under 274.

   Wagner’s been at this long enough to know that absolutely nothing is guaranteed, but a year ago she failed to advance on the Robert Trent Jones Trail to Highland Oaks for the final four rounds of Q-Series, so this is progress.

   Wagner played four rounds at Magnolia Grove the way a professional plays golf. She probably thought she had a grasp of that concept in the summer of 2017 when this journey began. Now, she understands it completely.

   Wagner’s final round at the Crossings Course was her third bogey-free round of the weekend. She patiently made pars on the first 12 holes, then made birdies at the 13^th, 14^th, 16^th and 18^th holes.

   Wagner opened Q-Series with back-to-back birdies at the ninth and 10^th holes and had 16 pars on her scorecard in a 2-under 69 at the Falls Course, which seemed to play a little tougher than the Crossings did.

   A second round of 5-under 67 at the Crossings Course was also bogey free as Wagner made birdies at the fourth, 10^th and 15^th holes and an eagle at the par-5 16^th. Wagner offset two bogeys in the third round at the Falls Course with three birdies, still getting it in red figures at 1-under 70.

   The leader heading to Highland Oaks for the final 72 holes of Q-Series, which gets under way Thursday, is Lauren Hartlage, who was a five-year standout at Louisville from Elizabethtown, Ky.

   Hartlage capped four rounds in the 60s at Magnolia Grove with a 4-under 68 Sunday at the Crossings Course that gave her a 14-under 272 total for the weekend.

   Hartlage emerged from Q-Series with an LPGA Tour card a year ago, but had to return to Qualifying School after finishing 130^th on the LPGA money list with $71,944 in earnings in her rookie season.

   Hartlage opened with a sparkling 6-under 66 at the Crossings Course and added back-to-back 2-under 69s at the Falls Course before her closing 68 back at the Crossings Course.

   Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes closed the weekend with a scintillating 8-under 64 at the Crossings Course to head a group of four players tied for second place at the halfway mark of Q-Series at 13-under 273. Galmes offset a lone bogey with nine birdies, six of them on a 6-under 30 on the incoming nine at the Crossings Course.

   Germany’s Polly Mack, who completed an outstanding college career at Alabama in the spring, was also in the group at 13-under.

   Mack played in 11 events on the Epson Tour once her college season ended, finishing 32^nd on the developmental tour’s money list. Mack made a big move in the third round at Magnolia Grove when she signed for a sizzling 6-under 65 at the Falls Course. She closed out her week with a 3-under 69 at the Crossings Course.

   Belgium’s Manon De Roey, who played college golf at New Mexico, was never far from the top of the leaderboard after opening the week with a sparkling 7-under 64 at the Falls Course. De Roey cooled off a little with a 3-under 69 in the second round at the Crossings Course, added a 1-under 70 at the Falls Course in the third round and closed with a 2-under 70 at the Crossings Course to join the foursome tied for second place at 273.

   Rounding out the quartet tied for second place at 13-under was Riley Rennell, a Tennessee native who is trying to graduate out of the Epson Tour. Rennell got off to a great start at Magnolia Grove, opening with a 5-under 66 at the Falls Course and adding a 6-under 67 at the Crossings Course in the second round.

   Rennell posted a 2-under 69 at the Falls Course in the third round before closing with a 1-under 71 at the Crossings Course. Rennell was 41^st on the Epson Tour money list with $36,499 in earnings in 16 starts in 2022.

   One of the more interesting names at Q-Series is that of Florida teen Alexa Pano. It only seems like Pano has been around forever because she was one of the youngsters featured in “The Short Game,” the documentary produced by Hollywood power couple Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel a decade ago that focused on the game’s youngest players competing in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.

   Pano first showed up on my radar when she earned her first American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) victory as a 12-year-old in the PDQ / Philadelphia Runner Junior, which, at the time, was the Philadelphia area atop on the AJGA circuit at Saucon Valley Country Club’s Weyhill Course.

   Although Pano claims she considered college golf when she was 13- and 14-years old, in the last couple of years, she was always leaning toward turning pro. A solid showing in Q-Series a year ago gave her status on the Epson Tour for 2022, although Pano wanted one more shot to make the 36-hole cut in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship. Pano accomplished that goal and got in a competitive round at one of the cathedrals of golf where she had competed in the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals.

   Pano, who turned 18 in August, nearly qualified for the LPGA Tour via the Epson’s Tour Ascensus Race for the Card. The top 10 finishers in the season-long Ascensus Race for the Card automatically earn an LPGA Tour card for the following season. Pano finished 13^th in the Ascensus Race for the Card in 18 starts.

   Pano was not at her best in Week 1 of Q-Series, but she just got inside the cut to the low 70 and ties, finishing in the group tied for 66^th place with a 2-under 284 to advance to Highland Oaks on the number.

   After matching par with a 71 at the Falls Course in the opening round, Pano carded a 2-under 70 in the second round at the Crossings Course and a 1-under 71 in third round at the Falls Course before closing with a 1-over 73 at the Crossings Course.

   Even if Pano does not quite get out of Q-Series with an LPGA Tour card, it will be just be a matter of time before the kid is playing in the major leagues of women’s professional golf.

   There were a couple of interesting names among the large group at 1-under 285 that failed to advance to the second week of Q-Series by one frustrating shot.

   One was that of two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and former Alabama standout Kristen Gillman. She appeared to be well on her way to professional success when Gillman made 22 cuts in 26 starts and nearly a half-million dollars as a rookie in 2019.

   But Gillman lost her way in 2022. Gillman struggled in the first two rounds at Magnolia Grove, opening with a 2-over 73 at the Falls Course and adding a 3-over 75 in the second round at the Crossings Course. Gillman rallied with a 3-under 69 at the Crossings Course in the third round and a 3-under 68 at the Falls Course in Sunday’s fourth round, but came up just short of advancing to Week 2.

   Gillman will likely regroup and head for the Epson Tour and the road back to the big leagues.

   Rachel Rohanna, the 2007 PIAA champion as a junior at Waynesburg and a college standout at Ohio State, has bounced between the LPGA Tour and the Epson Tour for a long time and has carved out a pretty decent career as a professional.

   A fourth round of 2-under 70 at the Crossings Course Sunday left Rohanna in the group at 1-under, just outside the cut line to advance to Week 2.

   A Google search reveals that Rohanna took over as the head coach at Division III Waynesburg in 2021. I doubt that spells an end to her playing days as she has proven time and time again that she can compete on the Epson Tour.