Stephanie Meadow sets out again in pursuit of elusive LPGA card

Stephanie Meadow takes another swing at an LPGA card this week, hoping a recent turn of good results both here and overseas will get her to the destination that has proven elusive in her first two attempts since turning pro.

The Hilton Head Island resident and 2016 Olympian will be among Wednesday’s third group off the tee at LPGA International’s Hills course in Daytona Beach, Fla. She’s part of a field of 156 golfers pursuing 20 cards to be given out Sunday afternoon.

Also in the field are England’s Mel Reid, twice a European Solheim Cup standout; former U.S. Women’s Amateur champ Emma Talley; and a trio of former LPGA tournament winners seeking to regain full status. And Karlin Beck, whose 75-foot chip-in two years ago denied Meadow the final card of the 2014 graduating class.

Meadow didn’t come as close last year, missing the four-round cut to close out a trying year that followed losing her father, Robert, to Stage IV pancreatic cancer.

The Northern Ireland native continued to struggle early this year, but her last-minute addition to the Olympic lineup in Rio de Janeiro seemed to breath life into her season.

Bouncing between the occasional LPGA start and the developmental Symetra Tour, Meadow missed seven of her first 10 cuts until receiving the Olympic news. She suffered just one more missed cut after that, eventually tying for 31st in the Olympic tournament.

She came back from Rio to share the first-day lead at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, notching her only LPGA top-10 of the year, and has kept the momentum going on other circuits.

Meadow owns four top-20 finishes in her past five starts between the Symetra Tour and Ladies European Tour, most recently a tie for 19th at the Women’s Indian Open earlier this month. One week earlier, she was 14th at Abu Dhabi.

This story was originally published November 29, 2016 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Stephanie Meadow sets out again in pursuit of elusive LPGA card."