Frida Kinhult picked a good time for her first professional victory.
The 21-year-old Swede, who turned pro midway through her sophomore season at Florida State, won the Symetra Tour Championship on Friday in Davidson, North Carolina. The rookie’s win not only bumped her to No. 4 on the developmental circuit’s money list, therefore giving her an LPGA card for next season, but also earned her a spot in next month’s U.S. Women’s Open.
Kinhult, whose older brother, Marcus, plays on the European Tour, shot 2-under 70 in the final round at River Run Country Club to finish at 10 under, four shots clear of runner-up Demi Runas. Former Florida standout Sierra Brooks was solo third at 4 under.
As for the final money list, Duke product Ana Belac, who turned pro this summer, finished No. 1 at $49,081, just ahead of Spain’s Fatima Fernandez Cano ($48,069), who was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. Kim Kaufman, Kinhult and Janie Jackson rounded out the top five. All will play out of Category 19 next season on the LPGA, down from Category 9 in previous years, and compete in the year’s final women’s major Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston.
Bailey Tardy and Peiyun Chien each dropped out of the top five this week. Teenage phenom Lucy Li finished eighth in season earnings.