Kira Meixner 5th at FUTURES Tour Qualifying School

The 22-year-old graduate of Kent State University and current British Columbia Amateur champion from Richmond, BC, carded rounds of 72-69-72-70 to finish at 5-under par 283, just seven strokes behind LPGA Tour member Hannah Jun of San Diego, who won the 72-hole Duramed FUTURES Tour qualifier at Cleveland Heights Golf Course in Florida with a four-day score of 12-under-par 276.

Jun edged out amateur Pernilla Lindberg of Bollnas, Sweden, who finished one stroke back at 11-under-par 277. Amateur Victoria Kiser (69) of Orlando battled back from a five-shot deficit heading into today's final round to claim third place at 10-under-par 278, just two shots off the lead.

Meixner, who tied with Molly Birmingham (72) of Cornelius, N.C., graduated from Kent State University in May, where she was a four-year starter.

The Tour's qualifier has been in Meixner's plans for some time, but despite her success against of field of mostly young professionals, Kira intends to remain an amateur for another season while gaining further experience on the road.

"I think it showed that my iron play was really good this week," Meixner said. "I have high expectations, but I tried not to put pressure on myself. I thought I stayed calm and level all week and I'm very happy with how I finished today."

Jun called it a "so-so" day with two birdies and two bogeys in her final round, but it was enough to claim her first tournament win since the Canadian PGA Women's Championship in Mississauga, Ontario, in August. Jun and Lindberg headed into today's round tied for the lead at 12-under-par 204 through 54 holes.

"I made a lot of pars today, but I just didn't hit the ball close enough for birdies," Jun said. "I didn't really know how I was standing during the day, so it was easy to not think about it and just play my game."

Jun is now armed with momentum heading into the final stage of LPGA Qualifying School in December. She tied for 25th last year at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn non-exempt status for the 2008 season.

"I learned I was a lot more patient as a player than I thought because I didn't get off to a great start," Jun said. "I felt like things could have gone really bad, but they didn't."

Lindberg finished out of sub-par red numbers for the first time this week, missing a 5-foot birdie putt on her final hole that would have tied her with Jun at the end of 72 holes. The Duramed FUTURES Tour does not play off a tie for medalist honors in the annual Q-School.

The 94 players who made the 54-hole cut will receive exempt or non-exempt status for the 2009 Duramed FUTURES Tour season. The number of exempt players will be determined following the final stage of LPGA Qualifying School in early December.

The Duramed FUTURES Tour's 2009 season begins March 20-22, in Winter Haven, Fla., at the inaugural Florida's Natural Growers Charity Classic.

Final round scores and money Friday in the $3,000 Duramed FUTURES Tour 2009 Qualifying Tournament
at 6203-yard, par 36-36 - 72, Cleveland Heights Golf Course.
(a-denotes amateur):

TOP 10

1 Hannah Jun, (San Diego, Calif.) 69-67-68-72 - 276 (-12) $500
2 Pernilla Lindberg, (a) (Bollnas, Sweden) 69-66-69-73 - 277 (-11)
3 Victoria Kiser, (a) (Orlando, Fla.) 70-69-70-69 - 278 (-10)
4 Maria Hernandez, (a) (Pamplona, Spain) 65-76-70-71 - 282 (-6)
T5 Kira Meixner, (a) (Richmond, British Columbia) 72-69-72-70 - 283 (-5)
Molly Birmingham, (Cornelius, N.C.) 70-71-70-72 - 283 (-5) $450
T7 Alison Walshe, (Westford, Mass.) 72-75-69-68 - 284 (-4) $420
Lauren Doughtie, (a) (Suffolk, Va.) 75-69-71-69 - 284 (-4)
T9 Kristie Smith, (Perth, Australia) 74-73-68-70 - 285 (-3) $375
Marci Turner, (Tompkinsville, Ky.) 69-75-71-70 - 285 (-3) $375
Natalie Sheary, (a) (West Hartford, Conn.) 72-74-67-72 - 285 (-3)

CANADIANS

T45 Susan Nam (Edmonton, Alberta) 69-75-76-75 - 295 (+7)
T53 Eom Ji Park, (Vancouver, BC) 73-76-73-74 - 296 (+8)
T75 Katrina Leckovic, (Burnaby, British Columbia) 74-74-76-75 - 299 (+11)

--- Missed 54 Hole Cut ---
Erin Thorne, Bracebridge, Ontario 76-73-77 - 226 (+10)
Nicole Forshner, (a) Banff, Alberta 76-79-73 - 228 (+12)
Emma Calderone, Unionville, Ontario 80-76-73 - 229 (+13)
Danielle Mills, (a) Pointe-Claire, Quebec 77-76-76 - 229 (+13)
Lindsey Edmunds, London, Ontario 78-78-74 - 230 (+14)
Natalia Ghilzon, (a) Windsor, Ontario 80-77-73 - 230 (+14)
Adrienne White, Red Deer, Alberta 76-76-78 - 230 (+14)
Stacey Bieber, Winnipeg, Manitoba 80-72-78 - 230 (+14)
Maggie Steciuk, London, Ontario 78-73-82 - 233 (+17)
Tiarra Honce, Kelowna, British Columbia 78-78-77 - 233 (+17)
Jillian Wyne , Calgary, Alberta 78-75-81 - 234 (+18)
Cuyler Hedley, Cobourg, Ontario 82-78-75 - 235 (+19)
Candace Pasechnik, Calgary, Alberta 80-79-77 - 236 (+20)
Claudine Foong, Aurora, Ontario 82-75-79 - 236 (+20)
Ashley Sholer, (a) Hamilton, Ontario 79-79-79 - 237 (+21)
Jacklynn Miller, North Bay, Ontario 78-86-75 - 239 (+23)
Raman Saran, Calgary, Alberta 82-80-94 - 256 (+40)
Jennifer Cornford, Vancouver, British Columbia 86-82-90 - 258 (+42)

--- Missed 36 Hole Cut ---
Marie-Pierre Bernier, (a) St. Sebastien, Quebec 81-88 - 169 (+25)
Heather Fudge, (a) Charlottetown, Ontario 82-88 - 170 (+26)

--- Missed 18 Hole Cut ---
Inah Park, Kaleden, British Columbia 49-41 - 90 (+18)

Weather: Sunny with a high temperature around 82 degrees with light and variable winds from the northwest.

For final scores and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com