The first 12 events of Amy Lee's 2024 season were not just below the standards she has for herself, but she felt it did not reflect how well she was actually playing. In the first 12 events of the season, Lee only made four cuts and had zero finishes inside the top 30. The reality was starting to sink in for the 27-year-old sitting outside the top 125 in the Race for the Card heading into the cutoff date for Pre-Qualifying.

The Twin Bridges Championship and Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic were the last two events on the schedule before 2024 Pre-Qualifying started, and with Lee at No. 128, it was her last two chances to avoid the tournament in Southern California and guarantee her a spot in Qualifying after the Epson Tour season ended. The pressure was starting to set in for the Baylor University grad, and when it did, her game started to come together in a way it never had before.

"Early in the year, I knew I was so far back," explained Lee. "I knew I had to play well, and I did feel pressure for sure, but I just trusted myself. I've been playing a lot better than the results have shown, and I can do this."

Not only did she make it inside the top 125 after the Twin Bridges Championship, but she also got her first top 10 finish of the season with a T8 result, pushing her well inside the 125 and close to the top 80, which would secure her full Epson Tour status for 2025. The following week at the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic, Lee would match her best result of her career, finishing runner-up for the first time since 2019. The runner-up finish moved her to No. 36 in the standings, one spot off earning an exemption for Final Qualifying in the 2024 LPGA Q-Series.

In two weeks, Lee's season completely flipped on its head and the expectations for her season have shifted as well. She added another top-10 finish last week at the Guardian Championship, putting her inside the top 35 at No. 30 with three events left in the season.

"In Albany, I was just trying to maintain status and then just get into these events," said Lee. "Now I'm inside the top 35. So, goal number one is to get into the final stage of Q-Series. Then if I can get another good couple of events, the top 15 is in sight."

In a two-week stretch, Lee went from worrying about where she could be playing next year to being in contention to earn her LPGA Tour card for 2025. She will tee off at 12:34 p.m. local time as she tries to make her way further up the leaderboard and continue her impressive run of events.

Amy Lee in Contention for an LPGA Tour Card After a Tough Start to Her 2024 Season

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