Meet the diverse group of players at Q-School at Mission Hills

For those wondering, it’s too hot for the scarf. Kim Welch, a 39-year-old pro who has competed only a handful of times in the past few years, is known for her trademark head scarf. The 2008 “Big Break” winner came back to Stage 1 of LPGA Q-School this year in the California desert because her heart told her head she wasn’t done.

Meanwhile, for Bailey Shoemaker, a 17-year-old who competed last week in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, everything is new this week. The rising high school senior and University of Southern California commit wanted to give Q-School a test drive. Shoemaker said she has no plans to turn professional this year.

“I just wanted to test myself a little bit this week,” said Shoemaker of her first time to Mission Hills. “I feel like the more rounds I have the better chance I’ll have in the future.”

A field of 311 hopefuls will tee it up this week for the chance to compete for an LPGA card later this year. Stage I is held over three different courses: Mission Hills Country Club (Dinah Shore and Palmer Courses) and Shadow Ridge.

Players who complete 54 holes without a score of 88 or higher will earn 2023 Epson Tour status. Any player who shoots 88 or higher in any of the first three rounds will be withdrawn from the event and not be eligible to receive any tour status for 2023.

The top 100 and ties will advance through to Stage II in October. There are a total of three stages.

The youngest player in the field is 16-year-old Holly Victoria Halim of Indonesia, and the oldest is 41-year-old Constanza Jofre of Argentina.

Welch, who won 11 times at Washington State, can’t even remember her first trip to Q-School.

“Were some of these kids not even alive?” she asked with a laugh. “It’s actually a really legit question that I don’t want to know the answer to.”

Welch has 23 career starts on the LPGA and won on the Epson Tour more than a decade ago. She spent most of 2020 volunteering at Los Angeles food bank during the pandemic and later started a small charcuterie business. She even worked as Kenny G’s moving coordinator during her break from competitive golf. She and her fiancé have known the famed musician for years.

Before Covid, when Welch was competing full-time on the Epson Tour, she felt pretty good about her game as she climbed the money list in 2017. But with four events left in the season, Welch found out that her father, Pete, had Stage 4 prostate cancer and he died within two months.

She had…