Sophomore Alison Lee walked down a fairway on the afternoon of Dec. 7.
Emotions were running high, as Lee knew she had just accomplished something great.
Lee won a tournament, but it wasn’t just any tournament – she had earned her tour card qualifying for the Ladies Professional Golf Association.
In order to qualify for a tour card, a golfer must make the top-20 cut at the LPGA qualifying tournament.
Lee didn’t just make the top-20 cut – she ended up tying for first place with a score of 10-under par.
“I was not surprised at all,” said coach Carrie Forsyth. “I knew when Lee first made the decision to qualify that she was going to make it, because I know how good she is, and I had no doubt that she was going to do it.”
Through four rounds, Lee accumulated a score of 10 under-par, with her best performance being on the third day, scoring five-under par.
Lee’s final day got off to a rough start with a bogey on the first hole, but a birdie on the third brought her back to even par, and the sophomore never wavered again, making 15 straight pars.
“Heading into the tournament, I was not as nervous as I thought I would be,” Lee said. “And while I was walking down the fairway on the last hole, I tried to hide my emotions, but when I finished the round, I couldn’t stop smiling and I broke down crying.”
Lee became only the second UCLA golfer to earn her tour card as a student.
The first was Stephanie Kono, who earned her card in 2011 for the 2012 tour season.
Despite the accomplishment of qualifying, there will be new challenges for Lee.
“It’s going to be more serious, since it’s going to be my job essentially, and there’s more at stake,” Lee said. “Now that I’m in the real world, I can’t just treat the sport as just a hobby anymore – rather, it’ll be more so for work than for fun.”
Playing in the LPGA will also mean leaving the UCLA program as an athlete.
“Being on the team, we’re all sisters, and seeing her grow in the past year and a half has truly been an honor,” said senior golfer Erynne Lee. “The team will definitely change during the spring, but honestly we can’t put too much pressure on ourselves in order to compensate for Alison’s loss, and we’ll all need to play our own game.”
The Bruins will continue their season on Feb. 8 at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge, albeit without Lee.
The former Pac-12 Player of the Year and ANNIKA Award winner, given to the nation’s top collegiate female golfer, will have to overcome the hurdles of professional sports starting at a young age.
Lee will begin her professional career in January at the Coates Golf Championship.
She will need take her game to the next level in order to become one of professional golf’s best players, but for now, earning a tour card is enough.