Strauss earns LPGA Tour card for 2016

Bertine Strauss earned her LPGA Tour card for the 2016 season, at the Final Stage Qualifier at the Hill and Jones Courses.

Johannesburg - South African Bertine Strauss earned her LPGA Tour card for the 2016 season, at the gruelling Final Stage Qualifier at the Hill and Jones Courses of the LPGA International in Daytona Beach over five rounds ending on Sunday.

Strauss finished in a tie for 15th with rounds of 69 73 72 70 and 71 to secure her playing privileges on the premier ladies golf tour. With only the top 20 players earning full exemption status, Strauss managed to move inside the qualifying mark with her five-round five-under par total of 355.

Strauss began the final day in a tie for 22nd, and an opening nine of level par 36 left her on the edge of the top 20. But birdies at 10 and 11 helped her cause before a bogey at 12 set her back once again. But the 23-year-old bounced back with yet another birdie at 13 to get to two-under for her round.

Despite a bogey on her final hole, Strauss had done enough to earn her card with a shot to spare.

Fellow South African Stacey Bregman did not make the four-round cut.

Strauss won the First Stage Qualifier in August and tied for 28th with Sunshine Ladies Tour champion Bregman at the Second Stage Qualifier in October.

Bregman and Strauss lined up in a field of 159 players that were cut down to the low 70 players and ties after the first 72 holes, and only the top 20 finishers received cards after a gruelling 90-hole test.

Strauss will now proudly fly the South African flag on the 2016 LPGA Tour alongside Lee-Anne Pace, Ashleigh Simon and Paula Reto.

African News Agency