Sunday was a giant day for the official LPGA qualifying tour, the Epson Tour.
There have been 15 LPGA playing cards up for grabs on the Epson Tour Championship. These women teed it up at Indian Wells Golf Resort in Indian Wells, California, for the primary time. It was a 72-hole stroke play occasion with a $287,500 purse.
This 12 months additionally marked the primary time the Race for the Card was point-based. Earlier than this 12 months, the event tour used a money-based system.
Ten playing cards have been accessible at Indian Wells as 5 women clinched theirs forward of time. The women who secured their playing cards forward of time have been Lauren Stephenson, Yahui Zhang, Fatima Fernandez Cano, Jessica Porvasnik and Brooke Matthews.
Heather Lin shot 4-under 67 on Sunday to succeed in 16-under total and win by one shot over Ashley Lau.
Lin grew to become the 2024 Epson Tour Participant of the 12 months with that victory.
This victory gave her sufficient factors to go from No. 39 to No. 15 within the Race for the Card standings, which implies she was amongst those that earned her LPGA card.
Who else was inside that High 15 rating?
2024 Epson Tour Graduates
15. Heather Lin (TPE)
14. Miranda Wang (CHN)
13. Daniela Iacobelli (USA)
12. Pornanong Phatlum (THA)
11. Ana Belac (SLO)
10. Cassie Porter (AUS)
9. Madison Younger (USA)
8. Fiona Xu (NZL)
7. Jenny Bae (USA)
6. Ingrid Lindblad (SWE)
5. Brooke Matthews (USA)
4. Jessica Porvasnik (USA)
3. Fatima Fernandez Cano (ESP)
2. Yahui Zhang (CHN)
1. Lauren Stephenson (USA)
9 totally different nations have been represented among the many 15 who earned their playing cards. 5 of them have been People, together with Stephenson, who completed No. 1 within the factors.
She gained her first Epson Tour occasion earlier this 12 months on the Twin Bridges Championship. Since then, Stephenson has completed contained in the High 20 in 5 of her final six begins. Three of these have been contained in the High 10.
In her 15 begins, she was within the High 10 eight occasions and made the weekend in 14 of these occasions.
Jenny Bae gained thrice since she made her Epson Tour debut in 2023. She took the world by storm when she gained back-to-back occasions — her second and third begins on the developmental tour.
Her newest got here on the occasion earlier than the Epson Tour Championship, the 2024 Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout.
She had six High 10s in 2024 and made 16-of-18 cuts. It was one other sturdy season for the previous Georgia Bulldog, who completed second to Rose Zhang on the Augusta Nationwide Ladies’s Am in 2023.
Bae’s performances landed her at No. 7 on the factors checklist.
Brooke Matthews is one other second-year Epson Tour participant. She was an LPGA Tour rookie in 2022 however misplaced her card on the finish of the season.
The 26-year-old clinched her card after recording seven top-10 finishes. Nonetheless, her T-5 on the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout secured her return to the LPGA.
Ingrid Lindblad was a rookie on the Epson Tour this season after an unimaginable novice profession at LSU. She made solely 9 begins, however she gained the Tuscaloosa Toyota Basic, had two runner-up finishes and had 4 top-10s total.
Her T-8 on the Epson Tour Championship secured her LPGA card.
Daniela Iacobelli earned her LPGA Tour Membership for the third time, having achieved it in 2012 and 2015.
She gained her fifth profession Epson Tour victory on the Hartford HealthCare Ladies’s Championship and was a runner the week earlier than on the Dream First Financial institution Charity Basic.
These are just some of the women’ achievements from this season. Nonetheless, all 15 of those women performed phenomenally in 2024 to earn one of many few playing cards to play on the LPGA Tour in 2025.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By. For extra golf protection, comply with us @_PlayingThrough on all main social platforms. It’s also possible to comply with her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
