Alison Lee, Minjee Lee share medalist honors at LPGA Q School

Daytona Beach, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Alison Lee managed an even-par 72 on Sunday and that was enough to give her a share of medalist honors at the LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.

She was joined at 10-under-par 350 by Minjee Lee, who closed with a 73. Alison Lee, who entered the event as an amateur, but turned professional after earning her tour card, has made the cut in three of her five previous LPGA Tour starts. Minjee Lee made the cut at three of the four majors she played in this season.

"I have a lot of mixed emotions. When I made my par putt and realized I got my LPGA Tour card, I was just filled with joy and when I got off and thought about what it meant to be professional, I thought about my team and my school and my coaches and it made me sad," admitted Alison Lee. "I get to start a new chapter in my life and hopefully it will be great and I'm really looking forward to the future."

After play rotated between the Arthur Hills Course and the Rees Jones Course at LPGA International the first four rounds, the final round was contested on the Jones Course.

Ariya Jutanugarn posted a 1-under 71 on Sunday and she gained a share of third place at minus-9. She ended alongside Maria Hernandez (75). Jutanugarn was one of 11 players to break par in the final round.

Ryann O'Toole, who played on the 2011 U.S. Solheim Cup team, shot 2-under 70. She ended alone in fifth place at 8-under 352.

Ha Na Jang, who owned a 3-stroke lead entering the final round, struggled to an 8-over 80 and she tumbled into a tie for sixth at minus-7. She finished alongside Simin Feng (75) and Sei Young Kim (73).

The top-20 finishers earned category 12 status on the LPGA Tour priority list. The rest of that group included Nannette Hill, Kelly Shon, Sakura Yokomine, Cheyenne Woods, Sophia Popov, SooBin Kim, Perrine Delacour, Therese Koelbaek and Ju Young Park. SooBin Kim also started the event as an amateur and turned professional after earning her tour card.

Garrett Phillips, amateur Julie Yang, Stephanie Meadow, Laetitia Beck, Karlin Beck, Jacqui Concolino and Casey Grice tied for 18th place and played a 3-hole playoff to determine the last three players to finish in the top-20.

Concolino ended those three holes at plus-1 and was ousted from the extra session. Phillips and Laetitia Beck birdied the fourth extra hole to earn two of the last three spots. Yang was knocked out of the playoff on the sixth extra hole before play was suspended Sunday night due to darkness.

Karlin Beck, Meadow and Grice wrapped up the extra session on Monday morning.

After all three players parred the seventh, eighth and ninth playoff holes, Grice made bogey on the 10th extra hole to drop from the playoff. Karlin Beck chipped in for birdie on the 11th playoff hole to claim the final spot in category 12.

Concolino, Yang, Grice and Meadow along with the 21 players that finished between 3-under 357 and 1-over 361 will have category 17 status for 2015.

Alison Lee stumbled to a bogey at the first and bounced back with a birdie on the par-3 third. She closed with 15 consecutive pars to share medalist honors.

Minjee Lee started with seven straight pars. She traded a birdie for a bogey from the eighth. Around the turn, Lee birdied the 13th, but later bogeyed the 16th and 17th to slip back to minus-10.

"Now that I'm officially part of the LPGA Tour I feel really good. I am relieved that I am finished and I am excited to play next year on the tour," said Minjee Lee, who turned professional prior to her tie for 16th at the Evian Championship. "I am definitely relieved after this week and I never want to do Q-School again."

NOTES: Cheyenne Woods is Tiger Woods' niece ... Charley Hull was the lone player in the 60s in the final round as she closed with a 4-under 68 to improve into category 17 as she jumped from a tie for 68th into a share of 28th ... Seven players ranked in the top 100 in the world were in the field and five of those seven (Minjee Lee, Jutanugarn, Jang, Sei Young Kim and Sakura Yokomine) finished in the top 11 and earned category 12 status for 2015.