HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- IJGA student Shanshan Feng of China finished tied for ninth at 5-under par 355 (72-72-70-71-70) at the LPGA Final Qualifying School at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, earning her exempt status on the 2008 LPGA Tour. She is the first woman from China to earn status on the LPGA.

The 18-year old was one of only two amateurs to earn her LPGA exempt card for the 2008 season and was the first student-athlete from China to enroll at the International Junior Golf Academy. Since her arrival, two additional students from China have joined the IJGA.

Before she arrived here, Shanshan won the China Amateur Tournament three times as well as winning the China Youth Championship. She has been playing golf for about eight years.

Earlier this year, Shanshan became the first junior golfer from China to play in the U.S. Women’s Open. She also advanced to match play at both the U.S. Girls Junior Championship and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship and posted four wins on the International Junior Golf Tour.

Former IJGA student and LPGA rookie Song-Hee Kim of South Korea shot 360, even par for the 90-hole tournament with rounds of (74, 68, 77, 70, 71) retaining her conditional status for next season.

Shanshan becomes the fourth IJGA alum to play on the LPGA Tour. Last year, Song-Hee Kim, In-Kyung Kim and Hye Jung Choi earned their professional cards.

The Qualifying School tournament was staged at LPGA International, where 135 players played the Champions and Legends Courses twice, hoping to be among the top-70 to advance to Sunday’s final round. The final round was played on the Legends Course.

The 135-player field featured 62 international players from 22 countries outside the United States.