German duo Polly Mack and Alexandra Forsterling ended the Final Qualifier of LET Q-School as joint-winners, securing full 2023 Ladies European Tour membership along with 22 other players.
LET Q-School is the gruelling qualifying process in women’s golf to secure a place on the full Ladies European Tour for the following season.
In total, 24 players from 17 countries secured full 2023 Ladies European Tour category 12 membership after five rounds of Final Qualifying at La Manga Club in Spain, giving themselves the chance to be the future stars of women’s golf.
Mack and Forsterling follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner Gabriella Then, who won the Final Qualifier by four shots, newly-crowned Race to Costa del Sol champion Linn Grant, who also secured her Tour card last year, as did LET winners from this season Meghan MacLaren, Ines Laklalech and Anne-Charlotte Mora. Other previous winners of Q-School include Amy Boulden (2020) and Anna Nordqvist (2008).
“I can’t wait to get started”
23-year-old Forsterling produced a final round of level par on the South Course at La Manga with three birdies and three bogeys to secure LET playing rights for 2023.
“It means a lot to get my LET card. I’m extremely excited for next season and I can’t wait for all of the tournaments. I can’t wait to get started,” she said.
A final round of 2-under saw Mack draw alongside her compatriot, after she rolled in four birdies and two bogeys. It closed out a great year for the 23-year-old who secured both her LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour cards for 2023 in December.
She said: “I am German and it’s nice to have both and have the options and more opportunities. I’m really looking forward to 2023, I think it’s going to be exciting.”
French amateur Nastasia Nadaud rounded off her week with a 71 (-2) on the final day to finish in third place, Slovenia’s Ana Belac ended the tournament in fourth, with Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab rounding out the top 5.
Here’s the full list of the 24 players who secured Category 12 membership for 2023 while 28 other players clinched Category 16 membership.
Polly Mack (GER)
Alexandra Försterling (GER)
Nastasia Nadaud (FRA) (A)
Ana Belac (SLO)
Trichat Cheenglab (THA)
Albane Valenzuela (SUI)
Emma Spitz (AUT)
Gabriela Ruffels (AUS)
Kirsten Rudgeley (AUS)
Annabel Dimmock (ENG)
Sophie Hausmann (GER)
Emma Nilsson (SWE)
Tereza Melecka (CZE)
Tiffany Arafi (SUI) (A)
Maiken Bing Paulsen (NOR)
Amalie Leth-Nissen (DEN) (A)
Paz Marfa Sans (ESP)
Linnea Johansson (SWE)
Aline Krauter (GER)
Madelene Stavnar (NOR)
Lea Anne Bramwell (WAL)
Louise Duncan (SCO)
Yuri Onishi (JPN)
Alessandra Fanali (ITA)
New format
For the 2022 edition of Q-School, there was a new qualifying format with a Pre-Qualifier in Asia at the Ridge and Valley course at Classic Golf and Country Club in India with four rounds played between October 11-14. The North and South courses at La Manga Club in Spain then hosted a four-round Pre-Qualifier from 10-13 December, which was then followed by a five-round Final Qualifier on 17-21 December.
A field of 146 players representing 31 different countries competed in the Final Qualifier. 90 holes of stroke-play competition was played with the cut made after 72 holes with the top 60 and ties progressing. For the first four rounds, competitors alternated between the North and South courses, with the fifth round played on the South Course.
A €10,000 purse was distributed between the top 5 at La Manga, but qualifying to play on the LET in 2023 was the real prize.
Record-breaking LET 2023 prize fund
The LET will continue to expand women’s golf globally in 2023 and its players will compete for at least €35 million, a record-breaking total prize fund. The LET 2023 schedule will comprise 30 official events, along with the Solheim Cup in Europe, at Finca Cortesín in Malaga, Spain.
The 2023 season stars with the Magical Kenya Ladies Open, which will be played for the third time over the Baobab Course at Vipingo Ridge in Kenya in the first week of February.
La Manga
Host of the Pre-Qualifier and Final Qualifier events for the LET 2022 Q-School, La Manga Club in Murcia, Spain is home to three championship standard golf courses, each offering an exciting challenge.
The North Course is the shortest and perhaps the easiest with plenty of palm trees, lakes and ravines; the West Course is tree-lined and more challenging; while the South Course, remodelled in 2005 by Arnold Palmer, is considered one of the best courses in Spain with strategically positioned water hazards.
Along with the golf courses, the resort boasts the luxurious five-star La Manga Club Principe Felipe Hotel. In all, La Manga is one of the finest golf resorts in Europe.
