Samantha Wagner called Sunday at LPGA Q-Series a group effort. Her dad was on the bag, her mom was in the gallery and her brother was on FaceTime as she came down the 144th hole.
“I tried not to cry all day,” said a relieved Wagner.
At age 26, the former University of Florida player has at long last wrapped her hands around an LPGA card. What a difference a year makes.
Wagner’s efforts at last year’s Q-Series came to an early end after she called a penalty on herself and missed the first cut by just a single stroke.
Samantha Wagner of the United States and her mom embrace after the final round of the 2022 LPGA Q-Series – Dothan at Highland Oaks Golf Course on December 11, 2022 in Dothan, Alabama. (Photo by Hannah Ruhoff/Getty Images)
“It was the sixth hole of the first round,” Wagner recalled to EpsonTour.com earlier this year. “I think I was 1 under at that point. I hit a good shot into the par five and I walked up, and I had my hands full. I had my yardage book and a tee to fix my ball mark and my caddie was waiting for me to throw him the ball. And I just picked it up. I literally had gotten 6 inches off the ground with it, and I was like, ‘Ah, shoot.’ I put it back down, marked it, no one had seen it. I knew right away it was wrong.”
After she finished out the hole, Wagner walked over to playing partner Maddie McCrary and told her what happened. No one else had seen the violation. They called over a rules official to confirm the penalty.
“After that it kind of got away from me the rest of the week,” said Wagner, “and I missed the first cut by a shot, and you could nitpick 10 different holes out of that. But one thing I just had never counted on was like losing my mind for five seconds.”
Wagner, whose rookie year on the Epson Tour was 2018, finished 31st on the money list this season. She closed the season with five top-35 finishes, including a pair of top 10s to play her way into this year’s Q-Series.
“There is definitely a lot of emotions going back into last week,” said Wagner after play wrapped up on Sunday at Magnolia Grove in Mobile, Alabama.
“I think last week I literally would walk on every green with the ball marker in my hand. I was like, we’re not doing that again.”
Samantha Wagner of the United States and her caddy chat on the green during the sixth round of the 2022 LPGA Q-Series – Dothan at Highland Oaks Golf Course on December 9, 2022 in Dothan, Alabama. (Photo by Hannah Ruhoff/Getty Images)
Last year, Wagner felt like she rushed a lot of things and got too excited. This year, she came into the eight-round grind with a more level approach. She finished the fortnight in a share of sixth, one of 20 players in the field to earn category 14 status on the priority list. A total of 46 players earned LPGA cards, with those outside the top 20 falling in category 15.
Players in category 14 will be ranked higher on the priority status list that fills tournament fields. Players are listed in the order of their finish at Q-Series.
“I’m so excited,” said Wagner. “It’s just been a long journey. That’s what everyone here is working for. For me, I know I can compete there and I’m really excited to have the chance now.”