Meet the 6-foot-3 powerhouse on the verge of clinching an LPGA card

Last year at LPGA Q-School, the petite Miyu Yamashita dominated the proceedings. Standing just under 5 feet tall, Yamashita trounced the field by six shots in Mobile, Alabama, and then proceeded to win a major championship this season en route to clinching the Louise Suggs LPGA Rookie of the Year title.

This year at RTJ’s Magnolia Grove, 6-foot-3 Helen Briem is making a statement at LPGA Final Qualifying. The 20-year-old from Germany who boasts an average swing speed of 105 mph enters the final round in a share of third.

This year’s 90-hole event was shortened to 72 holes – with no cut – due to weather. Players came back to finish Round 3 on Monday morning, and then began the fourth round later that afternoon. Play is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday, with the top 25 and ties earning LPGA cards for 2026.

The statuesque Briem is used to attention.

In 2023, the long-hitting Briem made history when she became the first German to win the R&A’s Girls’ Amateur in the event’s 104-year history by a record 12-and-10 margin. At the 2022 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship, Briem took a share of medalist honors at Le Golf National in Paris with Rose Zhang and Meja Ortengren, though no official title or medal was given for individual results.

Last year, while still an amateur, Briem tied for 11th at the Amundi German Masters and finished runner-up at the Dormy Open Helsingborg to Perrine Delacour on the LET. She then rattled off three consecutive victories on the LET Access Series, a developmental tour. After winning the European Ladies’ Team Championship in July, she became the first German to rise to No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Only she didn’t stay there very long, choosing to immediately turn professional.

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.

Currently No. 84 in the world, Briem came over to the U.S. straight from Spain following the LET’s season-ender. She posted rounds of 65-69-71 to sit at 9 under for the tournament, one stroke behind clubhouse leader Dongeun Lee of South Korea.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Meet the 6-foot-3 powerhouse on the verge of clinching an LPGA card