University of Tennessee Athletics
FORMER LADY VOLS SCHNEEBERGER, YANG TRY FOR LPGA AGAIN
September 06, 2002 | Women's Golf
Sept. 6, 2002
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
Former Lady Vols Tina Schneeberger and Young-A Yang travel to Indio, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 10, to compete in the four-day LPGA Second Sectional Qualifier at The Landmark Golf Club.
In the First Sectional Qualifier at Venice, Calif., between Aug. 27-30, Schneeberger came up just three shots short of qualifying with a 12-over 300 (75-73-73-79), while Yang missed the cut after the second round with a 152 (77-75).
"Both Tina and Young-A are playing well right now." Lady Vol Head Coach Judi Pavon said. "Tina had a great chance at the first sectional and really learned a lot from her experience in Florida. Young-A was very disappointed, but I think she put too much pressure on herself, and she also learned from that. With 30 good players out of the field this week, they both have a great chance to earn their way into the finals in October, and to ultimately earn their tour cards."
The LPGA Qualifying School is the training ground for future LPGA Tour stars, as aspiring professional golfers battle in the two sectional qualifiers for spots at the Final LPGA Qualifying Tournament held in Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 8-11, at the Legends Course. The top 35-40 competitors at the final tourney are then given entrance to the LPGA Tour.
"I played well at the first qualifier and it was a great learning experience," Schneeberger said. "Now that I know that I can handle the second qualifier physically, I just need to keep myself in the present mentally."
Schneeberger finished her career as one of UT's most decorated golfers. Over her four years playing for the Big Orange, she recorded 17 rounds of par or better (seven this past year), finished among the top 10 13 times (five in 2001-02), recorded the first-ever hole-in-one at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championships (2000), captured her first collegiate title (2001 Green Wave Women's Classic) and carded the second-lowest total in school history with a 212 at the 2002 Arizona Wildcat. In addition, she tied for fifth at the 2002 SEC Championships with a 1-under 215.
Yang finished her career by tying for ninth at the 2002 NCAA East Regional in Baton Rouge, La. The top-10 placing was the 27th of her time at UT, extending her school record. In addition to that mark, the Tae-Gu City, South Korea, native also holds eight others: lowest round (65), lowest 54-hole total (137), lowest 72-hole total (288), lowest career average (74.31), most top-10 finishes in a season (nine), most rounds of par or better in a season (13), rounds of par or better in a career (36) and lowest single-season average (73.06). Last year at the Betsy Rawls Invitational, she earned her first collegiate title as she recorded a 218. Yang was also a four-year member of the Southeastern Conference's first team.
The Lady Vol golf squad opens its season Friday, Sept. 13, in Lexington, Ky., at the University of Kentucky Golf Course, playing in the Lady Kat Invitational.
