Aug. 28, 2016

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Former South Carolina women’s golf standout Sarah Schmelzel posted a final-round 71 (-1) to finish in a tie for second at Stage I of the 2016 LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament on Sunday at Mission Hills Country Club. Schmelzel boasted a 72-hole score of 279 (-9) and advanced to Stage II of Q-School along with 91 other golfers who finished under the cut line (294, +6).

Stage II is set for Oct. 20-23 at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Fla., and the final stage takes place at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., from Nov. 30-Dec. 4. The number of players to receive LPGA Tour membership will be determined after the completion of Stage III, and more information on the remaining schedule of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament can be found Here.

Schmelzel, who has now received exemption for the Symetra Tour for 2017, grabbed the 36-hole lead on Friday after carding a 67 (-5) in each of the first two rounds. A 2-over 74 on Saturday left the Phoenix, Ariz., native tied atop the leaderboard through three rounds, and she finished just one stroke off the event’s medalist, Daniela Darquea (278, -10).

Schmelzel became the eighth golfer in school history to earn All-America honors this spring after grabbing Honorable Mention laurels from Golfweek. She notched top-20 finishes in seven of 11 tournaments in her final year and finished her time with the Gamecocks with South Carolina’s fourth-best career scoring average (74.25).