Leah John, who came to Nevada in 2019 as a late-blooming 18-year-old out of Canada, earned her LGPA Tour card for the first time Tuesday.
The 25-year-old native of Vancouver finished in a tie for 10th at the final qualifying stage of the LGPA Q-Series at Magnolia Grove Golf Course in Mobile, Ala., to earn her 2026 card. The top 25 and ties earned full-time status for next season.
John got off to a fantastic start at the four-round tournament, carding nine birdies in her first round to shoot an 8-under 64, which led the field. Still needing to navigate 54 more holes, John managed things the rest of the way, shooting 1 over in her second round; 2 under in her third round; and 1 over in her fourth round to finish at 8-under 278. She placed in a five-way tie for 10th after beginning the final round tied for second. Germany’s Helen Briem won the tournament at 13-under par.
John had 20 birdies over the 72 holes with eight bogeys and two double bogeys. A long hitter, John was a standout at Nevada over five seasons from 2019-24, winning four events, including three during her senior season. John qualified for an NCAA Regional as an individual in 2022 and earned second-team All-Mountain West honors in 2024.
Since graduating from Nevada in spring 2024, John has played on the Epson Tour, the level below the LGPA. She won this year’s Four Winds Invitational in August, which marked her first career pro victory. John finished 22nd on the Epson Tour with two top-10 finishes in 14 starts, earning $54,200. John’s 22nd-place Epson Tour finish gave her automatic entry into the final qualifying stage of the LPGA Q-Series, which included 115 golfers.
John also played in this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, her second LGPA Tour event after debuting in 2024 at the CPKC Women’s Open in Calgary. Now, she’ll take her career onto women’s golf’s biggest stage on a full-time basis in 2026. John is believed to be the first Nevada women’s golfer to earn exempt status on the LGPA since Patty Sheehan, who was a staple on the Tour in the 1980s and 1990s before paring back her schedule in the 2000s.
In an interview with NSN in May, John said she’s come a long way since committing to play for Nevada under coach Kathleen Takaishi several years ago.
“I chuckle because I just think back to when I was 18 when Coach was recruiting me and to see where I am now, it’s funny,” John said. “Work ethic I would say is a big piece. Just how to work hard, how to view setbacks, that’s a skill. How to deal with feedback, what to do with feedback. All those things Coach taught me. And even the stuff of knowing our values and our pillars. We did that all as a team and we did it as individuals, and that was huge.”
