Darquea Wins Stage One of LGPA Qualifying School

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – University of Miami senior women’s golfer Daniela Darquea continued to march toward her professional golf dreams on Sunday as she won Stage One of the LPGA Tour Qualifying School at Mission Hills Country Club.

Darquea, who earlier this spring was named the 2016 ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, carded a final round score of 70 to edge out Princess Superal and Sarah Schmelzel as they finished the tournament tied for second (279).

The Quito, Ecuador native, posted rounds of 67, 70, 71 and 70 to finish with a four-round total of 278.

Each round of qualifying school was played on a different course, which presented a different challenge for every round to test each individual’s skill set.

During the four-round qualifying, Darquea posted 15 birdies and just five bogeys.

With the win, Darquea advances to the second round of qualifying school in Venice, Fla., at Plantation Golf and Country Club.

This past season, Darquea tallied seven top-10 finishes, which included top-10 performances at the ACC and NCAA Regional Championships. She finished the season second on the Hurricanes with a 72.2 strokes-per-round average.

Following the year, Darquea earned All-America honors from Golfweek and the WGCA. She also earned All-ACC honors for the third straight season.