LPGA Q-Series/Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Update

Normally when I post my Upper Midwest Connection of the Week, I usually don't have to adjust the events considered for the honour. After all, the week starting Monday and ending the following Sunday dovetails nicely with most big-time golf events and even minor ones. Even when a Monday finish is required, or at least agreed, to complete all four rounds (unless the event is shortened by a round or two for logistical reasons, as is often the case on developmental tours that normally go 72 holes) in the event of rain and/or wind delays, my designation of one Umcee as the weekly honoree is rarely impeded by waiting until Tuesday or Wednesday by default.

Q-school can be another animal. Non-senior big-time golf includes at least two such series with six rounds in each final. Each of these finals, in turn, has a 72-hole cut. I'm talking about the Q-schools for the DP World Tour and the LPGA. The first, though, takes place from the second Friday in November through the following Wednesday. With four of the rounds in the later week of the two that contains Q-school, held at Infinitum in Spain, it's easy for me to award Upper Midwest Connection of the Week to any Umcee participant who makes the cut. This year's LPGA Q-Series, by contrast, was supposed to run Thursday through Tuesday, so I could've awarded the honours for the just-concluded cycle Wednesday under normal circumstances.

Mother Nature had other ideas. Magnolia Grove in Semmes, Alabama was subjected to three inches of rain Saturday. As a result, the last four rounds of Q-Series were or will be held this week, which means that participants who happen to be Umcees can't get Upper Midwest Connection of the Week for last week. Instead, any Umcees who make the cut may be honoured next week for this week.

In this case, two Umcees--Kate Smith and Kim Kaufman--entered the festivities. Kaufman seemed to get it going after two rounds, one on each of Magnolia Grove's courses, the Crossings and the Falls. Unfortunately, she stumbled Sunday in round 3, erasing her edge on even par, and went par for the course today to miss the cut by three strokes. It'll be another year on the Epson Tour for Kaufman in 2024. Smith, though, showed up the same day Kaufman fell apart, posting a -6/66 at the Crossings. She struggled for momentum today at the Falls, but her -7/279 through four rounds puts her in the last two rounds and T33, which would upgrade her to Category 15 status on the LPGA Tour. This makes Smith eligible for Upper Midwest Connection of the Week for the week ending 10 December 2023 along with former University of Minnesota star Erik van Rooyen, who contests the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his native South Africa on the DP World and Sunshine tours.

Hope this clarifies considerations for my weekly designation!

Edward the Scop