Q-School is one of the toughest examinations in golf when hundreds of professional and amateur golfers begin a journey to try and earn a tour card for the following season. It’s a gruelling process, yet 20-year-old Nataliya Guseva from Russia breezed through to win not one, but two tour cards for 2024.
Following 6 rounds at LPGA final qualifying at the Magnolia Grove Golf Course in Alabama, which awarded the top 45 players with LPGA status, Guseva shot rounds of 68, 70, 71, 68, 70 and 71 for a total 12-under-par and 23rd spot on the leaderboard.
Just two weeks later, the 2023 Epson tour title winner, carried the momentum of her consistent form and impressive play to Marrakesh to win the LET’s Lalla Aicha Qualifying School and a cheque for €5,000.
Glory for Guseva 🎉Nataliya Guseva finishes no.1 at Final Stage - Lalla Aicha Q-School 🇲🇦#RaiseOurGame | #LETQSchool pic.twitter.com/H8EF7X1r44December 20, 2023
Posting five sub-par rounds of 67, 67, 67, 70 and 69 for a total 23-under par, Guseva led from round three and won the title four shots clear of South Africa’s Cara Gorlei. The top 22 players have now secured Category 12 membership, while a further 30 have clinched Category 16 membership.
Following her victory, Guseva said: “It’s amazing! It’s crazy that I came here already with my LPGA Tour card and then just coming here and winning LET Q-School, it’s something I have always dreamed of.”
While the rewards aren’t as high on the LET as the LPGA, it is now more lucrative than it has been in a number of years and with greater playing opportunities.
In 2024 players will compete for more than €34 million in total prize money at 31 events across 20 countries worldwide, kicking off once again with the Magical Kenya Ladies Open in February.
