Jandel, 25, earned her tour card in December when she finished tied for 32nd in the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament in Daytona Beach, Fla. The top 45 finishers at “Q School” earned status on the LPGA Tour for 2014.
While she has her card and status, she’s not guaranteed anything. She said her number — where she ranks on the LPGA entrant list — is 175. Most full-field events are 156 players, meaning she doesn’t have automatic entry into tournaments. At least not yet.
“Later in the year when girls decide not to play or adjust their schedules, that’s when I’ll be guaranteed to get into the field,” Jandel said. “It’s going to be a busy year.”
In the meantime, she said she’ll play in as many Monday qualifiers as possible and continue to play events on the Symetra Tour, the LPGA’s developmental tour. Jandel has played full time on that tour the last two years, finishing 75th on the money list in 2013 and 43rd in 2012. She played part-time on the Symetra Tour in 2010 and 2011.
“Once the season gets going, there’s a lot of overlap (between the LPGA and Symetra tours),” Jandel said. “I’ve got a great opportunity with the LPGA. If I have the opportunity to play in any of the Monday qualifiers I’m going to go with that. If not, it’ll be Symetra.”
She’s hoping her performance down the stretch at “Q School” carries over. After a rocky 73-75 start in the five-round event, Jandel was 6 under over the final three rounds, including a 1-under-par 71 in the pressure-packed final round.
“That’s where my game has come a long way — coming down the stretch,” she said. “I’ve put myself in contention a lot of times but then shoot 74 or 75 and have nothing to show for it. Now I have something to show for it. Learning how to deal with my emotions down the stretch on the last day helped me more than anything.”
Jandel’s father, Tom, caddied for her at “Q School.” She’s hoping the family connection works again this week. Her brother, Sam, is on the bag in the Bahamas.
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