Nevada alumna Leah John secured her LPGA Tour card for the 2026 season with a top twenty five finish at the final qualifying stage in Mobile, Alabama. John tied for tenth at eight under 278 across four rounds at Magnolia Grove Golf Course, advancing through a field of more than one hundred players.
John opened with an eight under 64 that led the field and followed with rounds of 73, 70, and 71 to finish inside the qualifying number. Her performance included twenty birdies across seventy two holes. Helen Briem of Germany won the event at thirteen under.
Since graduating from Nevada in 2024, John has played full time on the Epson Tour. She won the Four Winds Invitational in South Bend in 2025, recorded two top ten finishes, and placed twenty second in the season standings to earn automatic entry into LPGA final qualifying. She also qualified for the 2025 U S Women’s Open after finishing as medalist at the Del Paso qualifier and competed in her second LPGA event earlier this year at the CPKC Women’s Open in Calgary.
John completed a five year career at Nevada from 2019 to 2024. She won four collegiate tournaments, including three during her senior season, and earned second team All Mountain West honors. Her senior year scoring average of 72.7 ranks second in program history. She also qualified for an NCAA Regional as an individual in 2022.
John is believed to be the first Nevada women’s golfer to earn exempt LPGA status since Patty Sheehan, who held status through the 1980s and 1990s.
With her finish in Mobile, John will have LPGA membership for the full 2026 season, subject to field limits and priority rankings.
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