Lucy Li played a stellar golf tournament at the NW Arkansas Championship, making four eagles on the final day. Although Jasmine Suwannapura defeated her in a tense playoff, on the whole, it was a proud moment for the 21-year-old who surged in the last round from T25 and overtook Lexi Thompson and several seasoned pros. But does this talented youngster even have an LPGA Card?

Yes, Lucy Li, does have an LPGA Card and is playing in the LPGA Tour. She is an ace from the developmental tour of the LPGA, the Epson Tour, and has achieved distinguished honors. She first earned her card at the young age of 19 in 2022. That year, she finished in the top 10 of the Epson Tour and gained enough points to play on the 2023 LPGA Tour. But all did not go as planned for the young Californian.

In her rookie year, she made seven cuts in her first eight starts. However, during the mid-season, she failed to perform to her usual high standards and failed to make it to the weekend many times. As a result, she lost her card and got relegated to the LPGA Q-Series. But then, with a more level head and stronger mindset, having played at the highest level, she performed her best and earned her playing card through the Q-Series.

The runners-up finish at the NW Arkansas Championship is her best finish in the LPGA to date. She finished T4 at the LPGA Drive On Championship and has impressed mightily since her amateur days. She has 3 top ten finishes this season and could have won her first LPGA Tour event in Arkansas, especially after she made three eagles and seven birdies.

At the NW Arkansas Championship, she leapfrogged Lexi Thompson on the leaderboard after the first round, but she has beaten Thompson in another special way before. And she did when she was only 11 years old.

The record once set by Lexi Thompson, broken by Lucy Li

Lexi Thompson is a golfing child prodigy. She turned pro at the age of 16 and has several major achievements to her name. At 12, she became the youngest player to qualify for the US Women’s Open, setting a new record.

Lucy Li broke that record in 2014 when she competed in the US Women’s Open when she was 11. It turns out Li is also a golfing prodigy. She qualified for the US Women’s Amateur Public Links Qualifier in 2013 and became the second youngest player in its history. She then advanced to the match play in June 2013 and is the youngest player to do so.

Moreover, she is scheduled to play in the Buick LPGA Shanghai. She is safely inside the top 60 to compete in the rest of the events this year until the final event, the CME Group Tour Championship in November. The golfer will take a lot of confidence from this event from now on in what has been an up and down season for the rising star.