Lodi’s Ferrero aiming to get LPGA card back
Lisa Ferrero is at a crossroads. The Lodi High graduate, who has played professional golf since graduating from University of Texas in 2005, is moving back to Lodi to take up teaching the game.
First, though, the events of the next week will determine how much time she will be able to devote to teaching.
Ferrero is in Daytona, Fla. this week for the LPGA Qualifying School, where somewhere around 160 golfers are vying for 20 full-time LPGA exemptions.
“There’s a lot of people here,” Ferrero said on the eve of the five-day tournament. “Either former LPGA players that lost their card, or a lot of college kids trying to turn pro, and a lot of European players.”
Ferrero fits into the first category, having held an LPGA card since 2011. She lost it two years ago, and returned to the LPGA through the Symmetra Tour, the second level of the LPGA. This year, she played part-time, whatever tournaments she could qualify for.
“My status wasn’t fully exempt. That’s why I’m at qualifying school right now,” Ferrero said. “I have a certain number, and if it goes down the list to my number, I get in, and if you don’t get in, they reserve two spots for qualifiers, and you can go in on Monday and try to qualify.”
Ferrero played 11 LPGA tournaments this year, making the cut in four of them. Her best finish came in June at the Cambia Portland Classic, where she shot 1 under par across four days to finish tied for 41st. It’s a stressful career. “It’s not easy. People think it’s easy because it’s golf,” Ferrero said. “But they don’t realize when they’re playing, there’s nothing on the line. When they’re shooting those 4-footers they say they’re going to make, it’s a lot harder when you have so much riding on it.” And there will be a lot riding on this week. “You never know in a week like this. It’s five rounds of golf as opposed to a full season,” she said. “If you have one bad day, you may be able to make it up, you may not, depending how bad a day it is. I’ve done it before, so I’ll just try to go back to that. You just never know.”
When Ferrero turned pro in 2005, it took a couple of years to really get rolling. Her rookie year on the LPGA Tour was 2007, and she had her LPGA card in 2011.
Then life took a turn, and she missed the entire 2014 season battling breast cancer. Now in remission, she’s been cancer-free for more than two years.
“Even though I took a year off, I don’t think it hurt my game,” Ferrero said. “I still had full status, it was more of a surprise of what it was. You just do whatever you can.”
It took a while to come back, but Ferrero came back strong, coming back through the Symmetra Tour to make the LPGA. She played in 17 tournaments in 2015, making the cut in six of them, and again her best tournament was the Cambia Portland Classic, where she shot 8-under to tie for 18th.
Now she’s going for the tour again on the Bermuda grass of LPGA International in Daytona. Even if she gets her tour card, Ferrero will be teaching. She may have to squeeze lessons between tournaments or into the offseason, but she’ll be there.
“I like helping other people with the game, especially younger players. I’ve been there, and I think I can help them,” Ferrero said. “I’m trying to see what kind of transition to take, whether it’s teaching or if I want to go the college coaching route. There’s a lot of talent in Lodi, and it would be nice to get into the junior scene there, and help them achieve whatever their goals are.”
To contact Ferrero about teaching, she can be reached at lisamferrero@hotmail.com or by phone at (209) 329-2512.