7:37 am today

Auckland's Fiona Xu to join Lydia Ko on LPGA Tour

7:37 am today
Fiona Xu of New Zealand in action at the National Women's Amateur in Georgia, 2023.

Fiona Xu of New Zealand in action at the National Women's Amateur in Georgia, 2023. Photo: AFP

New Zealand will have a second player on the LPGA golf tour next year.

Auckland's Fiona Xu has qualified via the Epson Tour, known as the 'Road to the LPGA'.

She will join Hall of Fame colleague Lydia Ko in 2025.

The 20-year-old finished the 2024 Epson Tour in eighth position with the top fifteen gaining their LPGA Tour cards

Xu earned her first professional win at the Copper Rock Championship in May, finishing with a record breaking 54-hole score of 194 (-22).

She earned two other top-5 finishes in 2024, while her earnings were almost $150,000.

She made 13 cuts in 17 starts

"I'm super excited. You know, it's been my goal to finish top ten and make it to LPGA next year. So I'm really happy," Xu told the LPGA.

Meanwhile world number three Lydia Ko is scheduled to return to action next week at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.

Ko has been in a rich vein of form recently winning Olympic gold, the British Open and just a couple of weeks ago the Queen City Championship in Ohio.