Boland earns important victory in US
BY Bruce Young | 14 Aug 2012
Tamworth golfer Julia Boland has won her first event on the LPGA’s Symetra Tour with a victory at the Four Winds Invitational in South Bend in Indiana.
The Symetra Tour is essentially a feeder tour to the LPGA Tour and is the LPGA’s equivalent to the Web.Com Tour for the men
The 26 year old defeated Jenny Suh and 2005 US Women’s Open Champion Birdie Kim by one shot.
Boland, who played collegiate golf at Texas A&M and who is a former Australian Stroke-play and Lake Macquarie Amateur Champion, has made the cut in ten of her eleven starts on this year’s Symetra Tour schedule but her victory this week has moved her to 3rd position on the money list. Boland moved from 30th to 3rd with the victory.
Importantly, the event Boland has won carried the most prize-money on the schedule and the US$22,500 she has won will go a long way to ensuring she earns one of the ten 2013 LPGA Tour cards available via the Symetra Tour. There are now just five events to play on this year’s schedule and so the chances of Boland playing the LPGA Tour in 2013 are very strong.
Boland’s previous best finish this year had been when 13th in an event in Iowa but she has finished inside the top 30 in every other event where she has made the cut. Interestingly the only cut she has missed came at last week’s event so she has produced a significant an crucial tunaround at just the right time.
Boland narrowly missed gaining status for the LPGA Tour at last year’s Qualifying School but it may be that a year on the Symetra Tour will play a key role in building confidence for when she is finally exposed to the bigger stage.
West Australian Kristie Smith finished in a tie for 6th and is precariously poised in 11th position on the money list.
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