Boise’s Madeleine Sheils had to wait nearly half the season to find a regular spot on the LPGA Tour in her rookie season.
Sheils, a Bishop Kelly High grad, earned her first LPGA Tour paycheck last week with a tie for 65th in the LPGA Volvik Championship. She missed the cut the previous week in the Kingsmill Championship and in April in the LOTTE Championship.
Those are the only tournaments she’s been able to enter since earning conditional status on tour in December. She tied for 21st at the LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, where the top 20 received full status on tour for 2017.
Sheils, who spent the past four seasons on the developmental Symetra Tour, is in the field this week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, which begins Friday. She also expects to play next week in Canada, June 15-18 in Michigan and June 23-25 in Arkansas. Along the way, she’ll try to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open.
“Last week was a solid step in the right direction for me,” Sheils wrote in her blog at madeleinesheils.com. “I felt in control of my game and my scoring again, and not just comfortable but confident inside the ropes. ... I often play my best when I am in the rhythm of playing events week in and week out. So, while six or seven straight is a long haul, I am happy to finally be hitting stride for the first time in 2017.”
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