Vikki Laing has accepted her error of judgment and is determined to move on in progressing her career.

Laing suffered a real hammer blow when she was disqualified for signing for a wrong score card after the third round of the LPGA Tour qualifying school in Florida.


The Musselburgh 27-year-old had posted a 76 on day three and was tied for 56th place on one over par – but she had signed for a six instead of a seven at the par five 16th hole.

It was her marker who had written down the score, but the mistake was only discovered after both players had left the scorer’s hut.

It left the officials with no alternative other than to disqualify Laing from the 140-strong field. 

"Accepting it is the lesson and the challenge, but sometimes there is a larger plan than we are privy to," Laing said.

Laing held non-exempt status for the LPGA Tour in 2004 and 2005, but only had a sprinkling of starts each season. During her short spell on Tour, she also fell foul of the rules in 2005 when she was penalised a couple of shots for accidentally moving her ball on a green at the State Farm Classic in Illinois. 

Laing had a glittering amateur, winning a record four Scottish Girls’ Championships and playing for Great Britain and Ireland in the 2002 Curtis Cup before going on to gain a sociology degree during her time as a sports scholarship student at the University of California

But her professional career has been a constant struggle, although she did enjoy a bright spot with a victory in the 2007 Gettysburg International on the US Futures Tour. 

The latest setback means she will now be confined to the Futures Tour for at least another year.  She has no plans to enter the Ladies’ European Tour qualifying school in Spain next month.

But while Laing missed out, there were no problems for teenage superstar Michelle Wie. 

Wie easily claimed her place on the 2009 LPGA circuit, taking the seventh of the 20 cards after a final day 74 for a ten under par total.  

Stacy Lewis, who showed her class when she won all her matches in helping the US team beat Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup at the Old Course at St Andrews in June, took the Tour’s medal honours. 

She shot a final round 69 for 18 under par and finished three shots ahead of South Korea’s Amy Yang, a three-time winner on the Ladies’ European Tour. 

England’s Melissa Reid, the second British player in the field, missed out, finishing seven shots too many on two over par after a closing 73. She didn’t even make the top 40 for a non-exempt card. 

The four successful Europeans were Sophie Giquel (France), the Swedish pair of Lisa Strom and Louise Stahle, and Germany’s Anja Monke.

--

image courtesy of Dave Cannon images