By Ryan Herrington
There’s nothing like the excitement of earning your LPGA Tour card for the first time. Sophia Schubert, a former college All-American at Texas and the 2018 US Women’s Amateur champ knows that first-hand, having felt it last fall when she finished the fourth on the Epson Tour money list, securing LPGA playing privileges for 2022.

There’s also, however, nothing like a corollary feeling: the nervousness of trying to keep your card.

Like all Epson Tour graduates, Schubert’s priority ranking required a solid start to her season. But in her first 11 appearances, she missed five cuts, the 26-year-old was sitting 99th in the CME Race to the Globe standings with the top 100 keeping their cards for 2023.

That changed on Sunday, however, as Schubert continued a magical run at the Amundi Evian Championship. Starting the day four shots back of leader Brooke Henderson, Schubert overcame an early bogey and made four birdies in a 10-hole stretch to grab a share of the lead.

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“I was kind of nervous all day, a little more than yesterday, and Brittany just kept saying, ‘Hey, just take a deep breath. It’s OK. Just keep doing what you’re doing,’” Schubert said. “I think the last few holes coming in actually I just had the sense of like peace, so I just hit every shot and kept going.”

Three pars to close her round got Schubert into the clubhouse with a closing 68 and tied with Brooke Henderson at 16 under par. Schubert’s dream of making her first top-10 finish in an LPGA event a major victory came to an end when Henderson birdied the 18th hole to squeak out a one-stroke victory.

While coming up short of the title, Schubert still jumped to 38th in the CME standings with the runner-up finish, all but guaranteeing her playing privileges in 2023. And cashing in on the $586,262 runner-up payday, Schubert earned seven times as much as she had made all season ($82,796).

There were tears after, but the tears of happiness.

“I’m proud of myself, proud of everyone that’s helped me get to this point,” Schubert said. “It came just short, but I know that I’ll be back, so I’m really happy.”

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