Sarah Brown advances to final stage of LPGA Q School

Sarah Brown arrived at the third tee struggling to breathe, having made three-putt bogeys on the first two holes and figuring she stood directly on the cut line. On the tee, she faced a devilish par 3, with a hole location tucked on the left side of the green, which hugged a pond.

''And, of course, I had just hit my last two shots left,'' she said. ''I'm looking at this shot and thinking, perfect.''

But Brown composed herself, birdied the hole and went on to advance through LPGA sectional qualifying in Venice, Fla. The 17-year-old from Phillipsburg shot a 2-under 70 in Friday's final round to earn a spot in the LPGA's Final Qualifying Tournament in December. There, she will play for a spot on the LPGA Tour for the 2010 season.

Brown, the highest-ranked American amateur to qualify, advanced 17 places from Thursday's third round to finish tied for eighth. The top 30 players in the field earned a spot in the field for the final stage.

''It was extremely, extremely nerve-wracking,'' said Brown, currently fifth in the Polo Junior Golf Rankings. ''It was hard to breathe out there, because I was so nervous. I just kept trying to take deep breaths to calm myself down, but sometimes I just couldn't breathe.''

At the par-3 third hole, Brown began calming herself. She hit her tee shot to within 12 feet and made the birdie putt, the first of five on the day. Once hoping simply to make the top 30, Brown ended up 2-over for the tournament, five shots behind medalist Stephanie Connelly.

FRIDAY'S GAMES

H.S. FIELD HOCKEY

EMMAUS 6, BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC 0

Emmaus2 4 -- 6

Bethlehem Catholic0 0 -- 0

E: GOALS: Allison Evans (4), Jessica Vaeth, Angie Debellis. ASSISTS: Sammy Wootsick, Becky Gagliardi, Vaeth. SHOTS: 20. CORNERS: 18. SAVES: Sarah Kazmierski 1. REC: 10-0-1. BC: SHOTS: 1. CORNERS: 0. SAVES: Lauren Heptner 14. REC.3-9.

WHITEHALL 8, CENTRAL CATHOLIC 1

Whitehall2 6 -- 8

Central Catholic1 0 -- 1

W: GOALS: Kayla Cunningham 5, Ashley Koren, Alana Costenbader, Rebecca Snyder. ASSISTS: Snyder, Koren, Kayla Bet. SHOTS: 18. CORNERS: 12. SAVES: Liz Millen 15. REC: 11-3. CC: GOAL: Bri Clee. ASSIST: Jackie Hollowell. SHOTS: 6. CORNERS: 1. SAVES: Katie Guarini 15. Rec.1-13.

FREEDOM 7, DIERUFF 0

Dieruff0 0 -- 0

Freedom5 2 -- 7

D: SAVES: Sheala Ortiz 18. REC: 0-10 LVC. F: GOALS: Sarah Bilheimer 3, Kelly Winegar 2, Jasmine Carter, Kerri Hathoway. ASSISTS: Jamine Carter 4, Sarah Bilheimer, Kerry Hathoway. SHOTS: 25. REC: 4-8, 4-6 LVC.