Hira Naveed’s impressive rookie year on the LPGA Tour has put her in with a chance of reaching the tour championship along with a bunch of other Australians.
The 26-year-old from Perth finished tied-17th in the Toto Japan Classic at the weekend, jumping four places to No. 70 on the points rankings.
The top 60 play off for $US11 million in the CME Group Tour Championship in Florida in November, with Naveed, who is 130 points behind the 60th player on the points list, teeing it up this week in Hawaii at the Lotte Championship with high hopes of grabbing a share of the 500 points on offer.
There are two tournaments remaining before the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, from 21 November, in Hawaii this week and back in Florida from 14 November.
The Australasian players certain to be teeing it up in Florida are Lydia Ko (ranked 3rd), Hannah Green (6), Gabriela Ruffels (25) and Grace Kim (47). A slightly out-of-sorts Minjee Lee (54) and Steph Kyriacou (57) are likely to hold on to their places as well, although not certain, with Lee not on the start list for Hawaii this week.
Naveed was born in New Zealand but grew up in Perth, working through the junior programs and winning a Victorian Junior Masters and The Dunes medal as an amateur, before picking up a scholarship at Pepperdine University in the United States and spending four years in the college system.
She graduated to the LPGA Tour via the Epson Tour and earlier this year finished runner-up to Nelly Korda in the Ford Championship at just her second start as a full member of the LPGA Tour. She has earned more than $US340,000 in her first year.
Meanwhile Queenslander Maverick Antcliff is inside the top 15 on the Asian Tour order of merit after he finished tied-13th in the Indonesian Masters over the weekend.
Western Australian Haydn Barron is through to the third and final stage of DP World Tour School in Spain this week after he won the second stage at Fontanals Golf Club over the weekend.
PHOTO: Hira Naveed has won more than $US340,000 in her rookie season on the LPGA Tour. Image: Getty
Results
Asian Tour
BNI Indonesian Masters
Royale Jakarta Golf Club, Indonesia
1 Richard T Lee 62-67-66-70 – 265 $US 360,000
T6 Ben Campbell (NZ) 67-70-68-67 – 272 $61,800
T13 Danny Lee (NZ) 70-67-69-68 – 274 $27,133
T13 Maverick Antcliff 67-68-70-69 – 274 $27,133
19 Kazuma Kobori (NZ) 67-70-69-69 – 275 $23,100
T25 Nick Voke (NZ) 73-66-69-69 – 277 $18,200
T30 Wade Ormsby 71-69-70-68 – 278 $16,300
T37 Scott Hend 71-68-71-70 – 280 $13,000
T44 Jordan Zunic 68-71-71-72 – 282 $10,085
T44 Jack Thompson 69-70-72-71 – 282 $10,085
T51 Douglas Klein 71-70-71-71 – 283 $7800
T60 Sam Brazel 68-69-74-74 – 285 $6200
T63 Jed Morgan 69-72-71-74 – 286 $5400
T63 Justin Warren 67-73-74-72 – 286 $5400
MC Travis Smyth 72-70—142
MC Deyen Lawson 68-74—142
MC Kevin Yuan 71-72—143
MC Andrew Dodt 68-76—144
MC Aaron Wilkin 76-73—149
MC Marcus Fraser 77-75—152
MC Zach Murray 77-75—152
LPGA Tour
TOTO Japan Classic
Seta Golf Course, Otsu-shi, Shiga, Japan
1 Rio Takeda 69-65-67 – 201 $US 300,000
T17 Hira Naveed 70-66-72 – 208 $23,945
T34 Grace Kim 69-72-70 – 211 $12,292
T64 Minjee Lee 67-75-74 – 216 $4347
T64 Gabriela Ruffels 73-67-76 – 216 $4347
Ladies European Tour
Aramco Team Series Presented by PIF
Riyadh Golf Club, Saudi Arabia
1 Charley Hull 65-67-66—198 $US69,190.50
T29 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 69-72-72—213 $4,289.81
MC Kirsten Rudgeley 73-73—146
Challenge Tour
Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A
Club de Golf Alcanada, Port d’Alcúdia, Mallorca, Spain
1 Kristoffer Reitan 65-64-64-68 – 265 €85,000
27 Hayden Hopewell 69-68-72-72 – 271 €4650
KPGA Tour
Dong-A Membership Exchange Group Open
1 Dongmin Lee 63-70-65-67 – 265
T15 Sungjin Yeo (NZ) 69-67-71-68 – 275
T57 Wonjoon Lee 69-69-75-73 – 286
MC Kevin Chun 74-70 – 144
DP World Tour
Q School – Second Stage
Fontanals Golf Club, Girona, Spain
1 Hayden Barron 65-67-64-70 – 266 €2125
Golf Las Pinaillas, Albacete, Spain
1 David Booraboonsub 67-67-60-68 – 262 €2125
T16 Danny List 69-68-68-69 – 274 (qualifies)
25 Andrew Kelly 69-74-67-65 – 275
Isla Canela Links, Huelva, Spain
1 Clement Sordet 68-65-66-62 – 261 €2125
T17 Todd Sinnott 66-66-71-71 – 274 (qualifies)
T43 Jimmy Zheng (NZ) 76-69-69-66 – 280
T51 Josh Greer 74-70-69-69 – 282
T72 Matias Sanchez 72-68-72-78 – 290
Desert Springs Golf Club, Almería, Spain
Play suspended in round 3