Watch the swing of 6-foot-3 Helen Briem, who just won LPGA Q-School

When it was over, Helen Briem was at a loss for words. The 20-year-old German said she came into Final Qualifying without a lot of expectations, yet finished on top of the leaderboard. The 6-foot-3 Briem carded a closing 4-under 68 over the Crossings Course at RTJ's Magnolia Grove to finish at 13 under for the tournament, one shot clear of South Korea's Soo Bin Joo.

Briem called being able to play the LPGA next year "really cool."

Perhaps the extra day of rest worked out well for the former top-ranked amateur, who came straight from Spain to Mobile, Alabama, for the final stage of LPGA Qualifying. In any case, Briem knew how to handle the uncertainty of the week, given her recent experience on the Ladies European Tour. The tour's October stop in Taiwan, won by a renewed Yani Tseng, was shortened to 36 holes.

"The first day got canceled right away or suspended," said Briem, "so we've had a similar situation in Taiwan. Therefore, I was, I mean, you can never be prepared for something like that, but I mean, if you made it once, you can make it twice. So you just gotta know what works and what doesn't work."

The 90-hole event was shortened to 72 as more weather rolled in and pushed the proceedings to Tuesday, which was further delayed by morning frost.

A total of 31 players earned LPGA cards for 2026, with Briem leading a strong contingent of potential future European Solheim Cup players. Five of the top 10 players from the LET's Order of Merit list earned their LPGA cards, including Mimi Rhodes (No. 2), Nastasia Nadaud (No. 3), Chiara Tamburlini (No. 5), Briem (No. 9) and Lauren Walsh (No. 10).

"I didn't have too much time to think about it or to think about the week or the result or anything. So to move on quickly was great," said Walshe of the turnaround from the LET's season-ending event. "I think the rainy day, the first day actually, probably worked in my favor, gave me a bit of a rest day."

Carolina Lopez-Chacarra of Spain and Italy's Carolina Melgrati also earned their cards.

Walshe, Rhodes and Lopez-Chacarra all played collegiate golf together at Wake Forest.

Stuttgart's Briem won her first Ladies European Tour event, the 2024 La Sella Open, in her first start on the LET as a professional. In 2025, Briem had six top-5 finishes on that tour, including three runner-ups. The first German to win the R&A's Girls' Amateur in 100-plus years, Briem's average swing speed of 105 mph puts her in the upper echelon of power in the women's game.