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Two-time Hawaii state school champion Mariel Galdiano and Hunter Pate, who captured the 2013 Nevada State Women’s Championship at age 13, have been granted the two amateur exemptions into Sunday’s LPGA Lotte qualifier.
The qualifier begins at 8 a.m. at Ko Olina Golf Club. The LPGA event runs Wednesday to Saturday, with Honolulu’s Michelle Wie defending her title.
Others who have signed up early for the qualifier (deadline is Friday) include Hawaii pros Kristina Merkle, Mari Chun and Kimberly Kim and six-time LPGA champ Pat Hurst.
Galdiano, a Punahou junior, has played in two U.S. Women’s Opens. Last summer she won the 64th Jennie K. Wilson Invitational, breaking the scoring record by five shots. In December, she captured the 44th annual Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship with another record-breaking performance, competing against a field of elite players ranging in age from 13 to 23.
Pate, from Las Vegas, won the Girls 14-15 division of the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship National Finals at Augusta National last year. It was the first female public competition ever at the course. Pate has won more than 50 events since she turned 8 and considers Punahou graduate Parker McLachlin part of her "team."
Sunday’s top two qualifiers join a full field in Wednesday’s opening round. Seven of the world’s Top 10 will be at Ko Olina, including Wie (No. 9), third-ranked Inbee Park, fifth-ranked Shanshan Feng and sixth-ranked Suzann Pettersen — the 2013 Lotte winner. Ai Miyazato, who won the inaugural Lotte Championship in 2012, is also here.