Morgan Pressel has decided she wants to join the LPGA sooner rather than later.
The Boca Raton teen, runner-up at the U.S. Women's Open two weeks ago, disclosed Wednesday that she has petitioned LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw for a waiver to the tour's age limit of 18.
Pressel turned 17 in May. She still has one year of high school left at St. Andrew's.
"I'd actually been thinking about it for a while," Pressel told the Miami Herald from the LPGA's Jamie Farr Classic in Toledo, Ohio, where she is playing on a sponsor exemption.
"It's just a great opportunity in front of me, to go out and make a difference on tour. Playing as well as I've been, I just felt I was ready."
In four LPGA appearances this year as an amateur, Pressel has finished no lower than 23rd. Had she accepted prize money, her winnings of $332,847 would rank 19th.
Pressel said she met with Votaw last month, and sent in her request shortly after that.
The only player to get a waiver from the LPGA's age limit has been Aree Song, who petitioned two years ago at age 17. Song had signed a letter of intent with Florida, then decided that summer to go the pro route.
QUIGLEY TO TAKE A BREAK: Dana Quigley said there's a 50-50 chance his record playing streak will end after this week's Senior Players Championship. He will be in the field for the 264th consecutive event - 278th straight when eligible - extending a streak that started in 1997.
An ailing hip has put Quigley's remarkable run in jeopardy because the next stop on the 50-and-over tour is the British Open, and he's not sure he can endure the seven-hour flight and a four-hour drive to the course.
EUROPEAN TOUR: One of Australia's biggest golf tournaments has lost its date on the 2006 PGA European Tour, meaning the Heineken Classic won't be held next February at Royal Melbourne. Tournament promoter Tony Roosenburg said the Australian tournament will be replaced on the 2006 European Tour by the Dubai Desert Classic.
