BC's Mary Parsons & Yeji Kwon Earn Q-school Promotions
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Mary Parsons didn’t want it to be deja vu all over again. Thankfully, it wasn’t. Her season on the Annika Women’s All Pro Tour had a much sweeter ending than the one the former B.C. Junior Girls champion experienced last year.
The Delta native finished third at the season-ending Heritage Classic in Wichita, Kan., this past weekend and moved up two spots to finish fourth on the tour’s Callaway Race to Qualifying Program.
The top five receive a pass into the second stage of LPGA Tour Q school and also get their Q school entries paid. “Last year, I was in the same position, sixth place heading into the final event, and I missed the cut, so I kind of did myself in that way and had to go to Stage 1,” Parsons said in a telephone interview. “This feels great.”
Parsons could not have drawn up a much better finish to her season. She won the AWAPT’s previous event, the Kathy Whitworth Championship, in late July. She followed up that win with a third-place finish in the season finale.
“By bypassing Stage 1, I have secured conditional Epson Tour status for next year and I try to secure better status at Stage 2. And if you make it to Stage 3 you are playing for LPGA status.”
Parsons completed the Wichita event at 12-under par. Her only disappointment was not being able to win her second straight event. She closed with a two-under 70 and finished five shots behind winner Hailee Cooper of Montgomery, Tex., who closed with a nine-under 63.
“It would have been nice to secure a win, but at the end of the day this is what I really wanted for next year,” said Parsons, who earned $6,000. “It puts me in a better position for next year. There will alway be more trophies later on.”
Fellow British Columbian Yeji Kwon of Port Coquitlam also cracked the top five on the Callaway list, but had to endure some nervous moments the final two days after missing the cut. She had entered the week third on the list and fell two spots to finish fifth.
“We were both cheering for each other today,” Parsons said. “Obviously, she didn’t make the cut, but she and her parents were the first to congratulate me. It is nice to see another person from B.C. make it.”