Following the 11th tournament of the 2021 Epson Tour season, the Race for the Card standings had a bit of shuffling with the completion of the Donald Ross Classic at French Lick Resort in French Lick, Ind.
For the first time this season, there is a change at the top, as Casey Danielson (Osceola, Wisconsin) used her win on Saturday at the Donald Ross Course to jump into the No. 1 position. She collected a winner’s check of $37,500 to reach $77,034.
“French Lick is such a big event, definitely helps to get a win since it’s such a big purse,” said Danielson, a two-time Epson Tour champion. “It gives confidence that I am doing the right things, focusing on the right things which, for me right now is my mental game. Staying present, having fun and I’m going to continue to work on that and let the putts fall as they will. Just believe in my game, in myself, where I’m headed and learn as much as possible.”
Ruixin Liu (Guangdong, People’s Republic of China), who set the pace for the first 10 weeks, fell one spot but has earned $74,442 across nine starts. Maude-Aimee Leblanc (Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada) follows at $70,424, maintaining her position with a tied for sixth performance in Orange County last week. From there, both Fatima Fernandez Cano (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) and Morgane Metraux (Lausanne, Switzerland) have played in all 11 events, cashing in $68,720 and $63,536, respectively.
Leading the second half of the Race for the Card top-10 is Lilia Vu (Fountain Valley, California). The UCLA alumna fired a bogey-free, 6-under par 65 on Saturday in French Lick to secure a tie for fourth finish. She is just $337 behind Metraux in total season earnings.
“I came into the final round with no expectations. I had a really bad putting day [on Friday],” said Vu, a 2021 Epson Tour champion at the Garden City Charity Classic. “I’m really excited. I love being out here and have a bunch of my friends, great caddie and my mom along with me. It has just been fun.”
Amanda Doherty (Atlanta, Georgia) earned a tied for fourth result in the Donald Ross Classic to climb four places into the No. 7 spot. The $12,297 pay day bumped the Florida State University alumna up to $53,680. Rounding out the top-10 individuals is a trio separated by just $1,455. Meghan MacLaren (Wellingborough, England) slots in behind Doherty with $47,185, while.
Bailey Tardy (Norcross, Georgia) is close behind at $46,382. Finally, Beth Wu (Diamond Bar, California) makes her top-10 debut after her second runner-up result of the season at French Lick Resort, jumping 14 spots to No. 10.
At the end of the season, the top-10 players in the Race for the Card standings will graduate to the LPGA Tour for the 2022 campaign.
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