19th Hole
LPGA blasted over ‘outright offensive’ provisions at Q-School event despite scorching heat

On Thursday, over 300 players started their arduous run through the first stage of the 2022 LPGA and Epson Tour Q-school.
It’s an incredible number, and whilst spread across three courses – Dinah Shore and Palmer at Mission Hills, and Shadow Ridge at Palm Desert – rounds are sure to take longer than usual, and be boiling hot!
The hopefuls will initially look to complete 54 holes without a score of 88 or higher, all gaining an Epson card, with the top 100 gaining access to Stage II in October.
The enormous field contains seven Epson Tour players that will now have played for six weeks in a row, many admitting that the balance between rest and competition is vital, yet taking no time off to prepare for the desert heat. As Ryan French might say, “That’s grinding.”
The pressure to succeed here is as high as it is for any event, with the reward of a full main tour card in the dreams of many. Therefore, as a player, you would expect the best of treatment from the organizers.
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols revealed on Twitter on Wednesday that they may not be the case!
Beth Ann let her followers know that at Mission Hills this week the temperature is well over 100 degrees, and whilst the players can use carts to get around, there is very little water available on the course.
Stage I of LPGA Q-School is this week at Mission Hills, where it's currently 104 degrees. There are 300+ players in the field.
The good news: Players get to take carts.
The bad news: Hearing there's no water on the course. No snacks.
It's BYOC! Bring your own cooler. Oh my.
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) August 17, 2022
Originally saying there was ‘no water…no snacks’, she agreed with one respondent that there was some water on the opening holes of each half at both of the Mission Hills courses, although commented:
“If I’m paying $2,500 for a tournament, I don’t think it’s too much to ask for water on the course in coolers like a standard event. Especially when it’s outrageously hot.”
Tweeters were very much in support of the exasperated Nichols, an outspoken and fervent supporter of the women’s game, with one pointing out the affluent area in which the event is set: “Wow that is kind of sad that those that run the event and collect all the entry fee $$ can’t provide drinks. Especially in Rancho Mirage.”
One thought was that Mission Hills may have been responding to the way it lost the Chevron Championship after a 51-year run, backed-up by another stating, “Why doesn’t the LPGA get it? Mission Hills doesn’t want you there!”
The LPGA amended its rules after many years of allowing amateur players to play all stages of Q-school, this year insisting that those that advance to the final, grueling, eight-round stage turn professional.
They will clearly need stamina from the very get-go and Beth’s followers were quick to back her up.
That is unacceptable and embarrassing. Actually it’s outright offensive. $2500 and trying to play in a tournament that can make your career…but, bring your own refreshments. Asinine.
— Diablo Sandwich (@sandwich_diablo) August 18, 2022
Of course, the weather is as hard to read as the outcome of any golf tournament and, yes; the courses have held the event for many years beforehand, but it is hard to believe that the organizers could not have made conditions at least a tad more comfortable.
Thankfully, on day two things were put right.
LPGA Q-School water update: Players had water on the carts today. And a few coolers were added to the course.
Good to hear.
Also, Anais Meyssonnier shot ? 63 ? to take the first-round lead.
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) August 19, 2022
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19th Hole
‘Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight’ – LPGA pro offers candid take following rough AIG Women’s Open finish

An opening round of 77 left LPGA pro Jenny Shin with a mountain to climb at last week’s AIG Women’s Open.
However, fighting back with rounds of 69 and 67, Shin found herself six shots off the lead and just outside the top 10 heading into Sunday as she went in search of her first major victory.
Shin, who won the US Girls’ Junior at just 13, couldn’t back those rounds up on Sunday, though, and after playing her opening nine holes of the final round in level par, she then bogeyed three holes coming home to slip down the leaderboard and eventually finish T23.
Taking to X following the final round, Shin offered a frustrated and honest take on how she was feeling, posting: “Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight. What a crappy way to finish.”
Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight. What a crappy way to finish
— Jenny Shin (@JennyShin_LPGA) August 3, 2025
Shin has made 11 cuts in 13 starts on the LPGA Tour this season, but has been plagued by frustrating Sunday finishes throughout the year. Shin ranks 102nd on tour this year out of 155 for Round 4 scoring in 2025.
Miyu Yamashita won the 2025 AIG Women’s Open with a composed final round of 70 to win her first major of her career by two strokes.
19th Hole
How a late golf ball change helped Cameron Young win for first time on PGA Tour

Cameron Young won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday for his first victory on the PGA Tour.
Young dominated all weekend at TPC Sedgefield, running away from the pack to win by six strokes and put himself in contention for a Ryder Cup pick in September.
Ahead of the event, the 28-year-old switched to a Pro V1x prototype golf ball for the first time, following recent testing sessions with the Titleist Golf Ball R&D team.
Interestingly, Young played a practice round accompanied by Fordie Pitts, Titleist’s Director of Tour Research & Validation, at TPC Schedule early last week with both his usual Pro V1 Left Dot ball and the new Pro V1x prototype.
Per Titleist, by the second hole Young was exclusively hitting shots with the Pro V1x prototype.
“We weren’t sure if he was going to test it this week, but as he was warming up, he asked to hit a couple on the range,” Pitts said. “He was then curious to see some shots out on the course. Performance-wise, he was hitting tight draws everywhere. His misses were staying more in play. He hit some, what he would call ‘11 o’clock shots,’ where again he’s taking a little something off it. He had great control there.”
According to Titleist, the main validation came on Tuesday on the seventh hole of his practice round. The par 3 that played between 184 and 225 yards during the tournament called for a 5-iron from Young, or so he thought. Believing there was “no way” he could get a 6-iron to the flag with his Left Dot, Young struck a 5-iron with the Pro V1x prototype and was stunned to see the ball land right by the hole.
“He then hits this 6-iron [with the Pro V1x prototype] absolutely dead at the flag, and it lands right next to the pin, ending up just past it,” Pitts said. “And his response was, ‘remarkable.’ He couldn’t believe that he got that club there.”
Following nine holes on Tuesday and a further nine on Wednesday, Young asked the Titleist team to put the ProV1x balls in his locker. The rest, as they say, is history.
19th Hole
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’

Rickie Fowler fired an opening round of one-under par on Thursday at the Wyndham Championship, as the Californian looks to make a FedEx Cup playoff push.
Fowler is currently 61st in the standings, so will need a strong couple of weeks to extend his season until the BMW Championship, where only the top 50 in the standings will tee it up.
Heading into the final stretch of the season, Fowler has made an equipment switch of note, changing into new iron shafts, as well as making a switch to his driver shaft.
The 36-year-old revealed this week that he has switched from his usual KBS Tour C-Taper 125-gram steel shafts to the graphite Aerotech SteelFiber 125cw shafts in his Cobra King Tour irons, a change he first put into play at last month’s Travelers Championship.
Speaking on the change to reporters this week, Fowler made note that the graphite shafts offer “something that’s a little easier on the body.”
“I mean, went to the week of Travelers, so been in for, I guess that’s a little over a month now. Something that’s a little easier on the body and seemed to get very similar numbers to where I was at. Yeah, it’s gone well so far.”
Fowler has also made a driver shaft change, switching out his Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX for a UST Mamiya Lin-Q Proto V1 6 TX driver shaft in his Cobra DS-Adapt X, which he first implemented a couple of weeks ago at the John Deere Classic.
However, according to Fowler himself, the testing and potential changes are not done yet.
“Probably do some more testing in some different weight configurations with them once I get some time. Yeah, I feel like we’re always trying to search, one, to get better but are there ways to make things easier, whether that’s physically, mentally, whatever it may be. So yeah, I thought they were good enough to obviously put into play and looking forward to doing some more testing.”
Fowler gets his second round at TPC Sedgefield underway at 7.23 a.m ET on Friday.