A 14-year-old from Ohio has become just the second player in LPGA history to Monday-qualify for three straight LPGA events.
Gianna Clemente is playing the Kroger Queen City Championship this week in Kenwood, Cincinnati, having won entry in the Monday qualifier, just as she did at both the CP Women’s Open and the Dana Open over the previous two weeks. There has only been one run like that previously, and when Hee-Won Han won her three straight qualifiers in 2001, she was 23.
Gianna made her third straight LPGA event with a dominant qualifying performance, firing a 7-under par 65, three better than anyone else. With two spots into the main event, she actually made it by five shots.
“I think it kind of sunk in this morning,” she told LPGA.com. “Last night was kind of crazy because we were trying to get back to the hotel and stuff. We got back really late, and I didn’t have time to think about it. I woke up this morning and was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to another LPGA event today.’ It was kind of crazy this morning thinking about the last three weeks and the qualifiers.
“CP was cool because we had four spots (available in the qualifier, instead of the standard two). I didn’t have to shoot super low. At the Dana, I played well, too. Obviously, (Kroger Queen City) was my best. It was cool to be in all three, much less to qualify into all three. It’s a little less overwhelming now. It’s a little less stressful, especially with my dad here to help. It has become less overwhelming as the weeks have gone on.”
Patrick Clemente, a former college golfer at Youngstown State, sent a raft of emails to tournament organisers asking them to grant his daughter exemptions into their Monday qualifiers. While not as coveted as the two tickets sponsors hold to invite players into the main draw, even getting a qualifying spot as an unknown is some achievement.
As the youngest ever winner of one of the most prestigious junior competitions, the AJGA Ping Invitational, and having since made the finals of the US Girls Junior, Gianna has been given chances, and…
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