And much of the reason is Maude-Aimee LeBlanc, who is leading the event going into the final round.
Here's the deal: Of the Top10 cards, 6 are pretty well locked up. And given how the other players are playing, it looks like #7 Jackie Stoelting is pretty solid as well since I don't think she can fall past #10 as long as she succeeds in posting a score. (My calculations say any finish below 3rd place won't award enough money to pass her unless #8 Dye manages to take 4th-7th but no higher. Stoelting could conceivably fall to #11 then.)
#8 Kendall Dye could be in trouble. My calculations say she could also fall 4 spots if she stumbles and the Top4 finishers fall in just the right way. The problem is that she only has 2 spots to play with, while Stoelting has 3.
But #9 and #10 could be passed by anybody down to at least #21 on the money list, depending on whether the challengers win or get solo 2nd-5th and depending on who gets which position. Here is the table posted at symetratour.com after the 3rd round. (Note that #18-21 didn't make the cut and that #12 Lee Lopez is pretty much out of the running, which helps the Top10 a bit.)
Player | Current Money | 2nd Rd. Finish | Projected Money* | Projected Ranking |
#7 Jackie Stoelting | $48,580 | T27 (-2) | $1,484 | 7 ($50,064) |
#8 Kendall Dye | $46,032 | T14 (-4) | $2,484 | 8 ($48,516) |
#9 Mallory Blackwelder | $39,487 | T21 (-3) | $1,827 | 10 ($41,314) |
#10 Veronica Felibert | $39,479 | T27 (-2) | $1,484 | 12 ($40,963) |
#11 Sara-Maude Juneau | $36,538 | T7 (-5) | $4,448 | 11 ($40,986) |
#12 Lee Lopez | $36,115 | T64 (+4) | $481 | 14 ($36,596) |
#13 Lindy Duncan | $36,063 | T7 (-5) | $4,448 | 13 ($40,511) |
#14 Brittany Altomare | $33,864 | T27 (-2) | $1,484 | 16 ($35,348) |
#15 Demi Runas | $33,223 | T21 (-3) | $1,827 | 18 ($35,050) |
#16 Emily Talley | $32,747 | T14 (-4) | $2,484 | 17 ($35,231) |
#17 Nicole Vandermade | $31,896 | T7 (-5) | $4,448 | 15 ($36,344) |
#21 Maude-Aimee LeBlanc | $25,229 | 1 (-11) | $22,500 | 9 ($47,729) |
#34 Casey Grice | $19,521 | 3 (-8) | $10,255 | 19 ($29,776) |
The thing to note here is the Current Money column, which shows where players stand coming into this event. Note that #9 Mallory Blackwelder and #10 Veronica Felibert are separated by a mere $8, while #11 Sara-Maude Juneau and (of course) #21 Maude-Aimee LeBlanc are both playing better than them.
As things stand right now -- again, assuming that Blackwelder, Felibert, and Juneau can solo in their current positions, and that LeBlanc wins -- LeBlanc leaps past both Blackwelder AND Felibert, pushing Felibert out of a card. In fact, Juneau leaps Felibert as well!
And that's all because Blackwelder is just one single stroke ahead of Felibert.
But here's the trick: Except for LeBlanc (and Grice, who can't get a card even if she wins), everybody else in this table is in a tie. That means that the money totals are all hypothetical and could change drastically. One stroke more or less -- especially for Blackwelder and Felibert -- could mean the difference between a card and Q-School.
Even if players don't get a card, a good finish here could jump them straight to the final round of the LPGA Q-School. But getting a fully-exempt card today would make the next few months much more restful.
I doubt there will be much resting today.
FINAL #VolvikRace Top-10: 10. Mallory Blackwelder 9. Demi Frances Runas 8. Kendall Dye 4. Sadena Parks 3. Jackie Stoelting 1. @Steen_golf
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