Lopez Ramirez, Cernousek headed for rookie seasons on the LPGA Tour after strong showings in Final Qualifying Stage

 

   Two of college golf’s top players, Mississippi State’s Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain and Texas A&M’s Adela Cernousek of France, will be wasting no time transitioning from the college game to the LPGA Tour.

   Both played out the fall campaign of their senior seasons this fall, but with a chance to earn an LPGA Tour card with a top-25 finish in this week’s Final Qualifying Stage at the Robert Trent Jones Trail Magnolia Grove courses in Mobile, Ala., Lopez Ramirez and Cernousek jumped at the opportunity.

   Lopez Ramriez, a two-time Southeastern Conference champion with the Bulldogs, finished among the group tied for 10^th place when the weather-interrupted fifth and final round was finally completed Tuesday, climbing up the leaderboard with a sizzling 8-under-par 64 at Magnolia Grove’s Crossings Course. That left her with a 12-under 346 total for the 90-hole test.

   Cernousek, winner of the NCAA’s individual crown last spring at the La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, Calif., closed with a steady 2-under 70 to finish in the group tied for 13^th place with an 11-under 347 total.

   The two 21-year-olds turned their respective programs into perennial contenders in the always tough SEC.

   Two years ago, they met in the SEC Championship final with Lopez Ramirez edging Cernousek, 2 and 1, although the SEC crown went to Cernousek and the Aggies, who pulled out a hard-fought 3-2 victory.

   Texas A&M made the deepest postseason run of any SEC team that spring, reaching the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. before falling to eventual national champion Wake Forest.

   Last spring, Lopez Ramirez repeated as the SEC’s individual champion and this time she led the Bulldogs to the first SEC crown in the program’s history, Mississippi State beating Texas A&M, 3-2, in a rematch from 2023 in the final at The Pelican Club in Belleair, Fla.

   Cernousek would go on to beat one of the deepest fields in women’s amateur golf by three shots in the individual chase with her victory at La Costa and led the Aggies into the match-play bracket for a second straight spring. Lopez Ramirez wasn’t too shabby either at La Costa, finishing in eighth place in the individual standings with a 2-under 286 total.

   Texas A&M would fall to UCLA in the match-play quarterfinals.

   There are a lot of roads that can lead to the LPGA Tour, some more challenging than others.

   It had to be little bit of a culture shock for a kid from France to land in College Station, Texas and for a girl from Spain to show up in Starkville, Miss.

   When Cernousek went 14-under at the Bobcat and Panther Courses at the Plantation Golf & Country Club in Venice, Fla. in late October to earn co-medalist honors in the LPGA’s Qualifying Stage, she had a decision to make, but it wasn’t that hard a decision.

   Once upon a time, the LPGA would allow a college player to participate in the Final Qualifying Stage and potentially remain an amateur, depending on how things went. Now, though, you have to commit to turning pro if you want to play in the Final Qualifying Stage.

   Just by making it to the Final Qualifying Stage, you are guaranteed status on the Epson Tour, the LPGA’s developmental circuit.

   In a heartfelt message to the Aggie faithful on the Texas A&M website in conjunction with her decision to tee it up in the Final Qualifying Stage, it was obvious that Cernousek’s decision to go to Texas A&M was the right one.

   Yes, she had obviously grown as a golfer, but she had learned a lot about herself and picked up a bunch of lifelong friends along the way. I suspect the feeling for Lopez Ramirez is the same about Mississippi State.

   There were shaky starts at Magnolia Grove for both players, Lopez Ramirez opening with a 2-over 74 and Cernousek with a 3-over 75 at the Crossings Course.

   Lopez Ramirez settled down with a 1-under 70 in Friday’s second round at the Falls Course, which seemed to play a little tougher of the two courses, and a really solid bogey-free 2-under 69 at the Falls Course in Saturday’s third round.

   Lopez Ramirez kept her momentum going with a 3-under 69 at the Crossings Course in Sunday’s fourth round before going off with eight birdies and nary a bogey for a 64 over a final round that stretched over two days to emphatically punch her ticket to the LPGA Tour.

   Cernousek matched par in Friday’s second round at the Falls Course with a 71, then heated up with a 6-under 65 in the third round at the Falls Course and a 6-under 66 in Sunday’s fourth round at the Crossings Course. A steady 70 in the Monday-Tuesday windup was more than good enough to send Cernousek to her ultimate goal, an LPGA Tour card.

   They face a tough road ahead in the big leagues of women’s golf. But Cenousek will know her fans in College Station and Lopez Ramirez will be assured her followers in Starkville will be rooting hard for their adopted daughters.

   It was a big week in Mobile for the Japanese contingent.

   Miyu Yamashita, a 23-year-old, was the runaway winner of the Final Qualifying Stage and the $15,000 top prize, finishing up with a sizzling 8-under 64 for a 27-under 331 total. Yamashita had lit up the Crossings Course layout with a 9-under 63 in Sunday’s fourth round, so that’s 17-under for the final two rounds.

   Yamashita gave fair warning that she could compete at the next level when she finished in a tie for second place, three shots behind Amy Yang, in June’s KPMG Women’s PGA Professional Championship, a major on the LPGA Tour, at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash.

   Chisato Iwai and Akie Iwai, 22-year-old Japanese twins, accounted for two more spots among the top seven on the final leaderboard in the Final Qualifying Stage.

   Chisato Iwai had grabbed a one-shot lead over Yamashita going into the final round on the strength of a spectacular 10-under 62 at the Crossings Course in Sunday’s fourth round. Chisato Iwai cooled off a little in the final round with a 1-under 71, but still held second place, six shots behind Yamashita with a 21-under 337 total.

   Akie Iwai nearly matched her twin sister’s heroics in the fourth round as Akie Iwai recorded a 9-under 63 Sunday to make a major move up the leaderboard. Akie Iwai closed with a solid 2-under 70 to finish in a tie for fifth place with former Arizona standout Gigi Stoll, of Beaverton, Ore., and Yu Liu of China who played her college golf at Duke, each landing on 16-under 342.

   Saki Babi, the Japanese kid who stole the show in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur, taking the title at Chambers Bay in Washington Place, Wash. at just 17, earned her LPGA Tour card on the number at Magnolia Grove.

   A clutch final round of 2-under 70 for Babi, still only 19, left her in the group tied for 24^th place with a 6-under 352 total.

   Pauline Roussin-Bouchard gave French golf fans another reason to celebrate as the 24-year-old French women, a collegiate standout in the SEC at South Carolina, finished two shots behind Chisato Iwai in third place with a 19-under 339 total.

   Roussin-Bouchard, who spent 34 weeks atop the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) while she was starring with the Gamecocks, finished up with a 1-under 71.

   Roussin-Bouchard has spent much of the last two seasons on the Ladies European Tour (LET), winning twice, although she also had playing privileges on the LPGA Tour this year. She told the LPGA website that she still plans to play a decent amount on her home tour, but that she was glad to have the flexibility to tee it up on the LPGA Tour when it works for her schedule.

   Manon De Roey, a 32-year-old Belgian, closed with a 2-under 70 to finish alone in fourth place, two shots behind Roussin-Bouchard with a 17-under 342 total.

   The 27-year-old Stoll, one of the heroes of Arizona’s run to a national championship in 2018, had the best finish for an American player as she closed with a 1-under 71 to join Akie Iwai and Liu in the tie for fifth place at 16-under.

   Stoll had earned an LPGA Tour card in last year’s Q-Series, which the Final Qualifying Stage was called then, but struggled. It will be a more seasoned Stoll who will again play in the big leagues of women’s golf in 2025.

   The 29-year-old Liu finished up with a 1-over 73 to join the trio tied for fifth place at 16-under. Liu had opened with a spectacular 10-under 62 at the Crossings Course Thursday and didn’t waste her golden opportunity to earn an LPGA Tour card.

   Thankfully, I didn’t jinx former UCLA standout and two-time U.S. Curtis Cup team member Mariel Galdiano with my post following Sunday’s fourth round.

   After grinding it out the last few years on the Epson Tour, the 26-year-old Galdiano carded her third straight 70, one a 1-under round at the Falls Course and the last two 2-under efforts at the Crossings Course, to punch her ticket to the LPGA Tour as she finished in the group tied for 13^th place along with Cernousek at 11-under 347.