With the season-ending Epson Tour Championship on deck this week, Gabriela Ruffels, Natasha Andrea Oon and Jiwon Jeon have mathematically clinched an LPGA Tour Card for 2024. But every year it seems, someone from outside the top 10 in the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card makes a run to squeeze into the top 10 at the end of the season to earn LPGA Tour status for the next season.
Last year, Hyo Joon Jang finished fourth and in a tie for 11th at each of the last two events to skyrocket from No. 19 to No. 10 on the Official Money List. While the 2022 champion Jaravee Boonchant’s win was not enough to secure one of the coveted top-10 spots last year, it was enough to earn her way into LPGA Q-Series and have a chance to earn LPGA Tour Membership for 2023.
This year, players currently ranked fourth through 30th on the Epson Tour’s Official Money List have a mathematical chance of staying inside or breaking into the top 10 after the Epson Tour Championship. But there are few players to watch that currently sit on the bubble in a few different scenarios. Some are looking to make a move this week by finishing inside the top 10 in the Race for the Card and punching their ticket to the LPGA Tour for 2024. Others are looking to finish inside the top 35 and earn a trip to LPGA Q-Series with another opportunity for Tour membership next season.
Auston Kim has been one of the more consistent players outside the top 10 this year. The Epson Tour sophomore ranks 15th on the money list and has had a breakout year with nine top-10 finishes and four additional top-25 results. The big question for Kim right now is whether she can win and make a dent in the five-spot deficit. Her best finish this season is a tie for second at the Island Resort Championship presented by Delta County Chamber.
A solo eighth finish or better for Kim this week would give the young American a chance to finish in the top 10 and earn LPGA Membership for 2024. Kim is currently ranked third on the Epson Tour in greens in regulation, sixth in average driving distance and ninth in scoring average.
Gigi Stoll is ranked 17th on the Epson Tour’s Official Money List and is looking to pick up her second win and a guaranteed spot on the LPGA Tour in 2024. The former University of Arizona Wildcat took home the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic trophy in early April, fittingly at the course she played during her collegiate career, Sewailo Golf Club. Stoll has not won since the start of the year but does have three additional top 10s and two additional top-25 results. She is currently ninth on Tour in driving accuracy (81.82%) this season.
She is approximately $7,000 outside of the current top 10, so Stoll will need, at minimum, a solo seventh-place finish or better to have a shot at a card. The 26-year-old’s best finish at the Epson Tour Championship is a tie for 15th that came in 2020.
When the 2023 LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying Tournament Stage I wrapped up in August, Tsai Ching Tseng was on the outside looking in and unsure what was next for her, knowing she would have little to no status for the upcoming Epson Tour season.
Fast forward to August 2023, when she received her first exemption into the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship. Yes, she made the cut, but unfortunately, the money Tseng earned was unofficial since she was not a member of the Epson Tour. The Chinese Taipei native received her second exemption the following week, took full advantage of the opportunity, and hoisted the trophy at the Island Resort Championship, declaring Epson Tour membership and leaping up the money list.
In nine total starts this season, the 2023 rookie has made six cuts, including the Michigan win, which has landed her at No. 35 in the Race for the Card. A solid performance this week earns the rookie a spot at LPGA Q-Series and a chance to play for a spot on the LPGA Tour in 2024.
Coming in at 39th this week sits Daniela Iacobelli. With 15 made cuts, including two top-10 performances, Iacobelli has her work cut out for her in hopes of moving inside the top 35 and earning an exemption into to LPGA Q-Series. The fiery 35-year-old has quite a history at LPGA International, winning the 2012 Epson Tour Championship to jump into the top 10 in that year’s Race for the Card and earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2013 season. She has also finished in the top 10 here on three other occasions, a solo sixth in 2014, tying for fifth in 2021 and tying for eighth in 2022.
While a win will not secure her spot in the top 10, don’t count the Florida native out yet. There is something special about Daytona Beach for Iacobelli and she no doubt has a deep desire to tee it up once again on the LPGA Tour.
Catherine O’Donnell enters the week No. 136 in the Race for the Card and will look to improve on that this week in Daytona Beach. Having made only three cuts in 16 starts, O’Donnell will need to have a solid finish this week at the Epson Tour Championship if she hopes to catapult herself inside the top 125 on the Epson Tour’s money list and retain status for the 2024 season. The 33-year-old has been competing on the Epson Tour since 2013 and has made $75,793 in career earnings.
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