Laing in scorching form at frosty Daytona Beach

Published on Thursday 4 December 2008 09:05

A DELAY for frost didn't stop Musselburgh's Vikki Laing from making a great start sub-par start to the LPGA Tour's final qualifying school in Florida.

Playing over the testing Legends course at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, the lone Scot in the 140-strong field shot a first-round 71 and was in joint 18th place. After the 90-hole test, the top 20 will gain full exempt status for the 2009 Tour.

Shiho Oyama returned the lowest score of the day with an eight under par 64, but she was playing over the less-taxing Champions course and led by two from fellow-Japanese player, Mika Miyazato, who is playing as an amateur. The Tour school's leading light, 19-year-old Michelle Wie, who has already had six top five finishes in majors, birdied the last to shoot 69 and was the lowest score on the Legends course. She was tied for sixth place on three under par.

Laing held non-exempt status on the LPGA Tour in 2004 and 2005, but has played on the secondary US Futures for the last three years. She became the first Scot to win a Futures tournament at the Gettysburg International.

Having already survived the pre-qualifying school in Florida in September, she hopes to join North Berwick's Catriona Matthew, Glasgow's Janice Moodie and Turnberry's Mhairi McKay as the fourth Scot on the 2009 LPGA circuit.