With the completion of the Island Resort Championship in Harris, Mich., the Epson Tour has now reached the halfway point of the 2023 season. Nine players have kept their spots in the top 10, while one has made her way into the mix, and with eleven events left on the schedule, the Race for the Card continues to be anyone's game.
Last week while Gabriela Ruffels took advantage of the opportunity to compete on the LPGA Tour at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, Natasha Andrea Oon seized the chance to move up on the money list. Ruffels has won twice on the Epson Tour and currently sits atop the season-long Race for the Card, holding a nearly $14,000 lead over Oon.
The Malaysia native continues to close the gap between first and second, adding $18,578 to her earnings after her stellar performance in Michigan. While she has yet to win in her rookie campaign, she already has six top-10 finishes this year, three of which are runner-up results, and is well on her way to claiming Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year honors. The pair are also heading in the right direction as they look to secure one of the ten 2024 LPGA Tour cards up for grabs this season.
There was little change in the top 10 after last week, and behind Oon are 2023 Epson Tour champions Gigi Stoll, Jenny Coleman, Savannah Vilaubi, Agathe Laisne, Alena Sharp and Jiwon Jeon. Stoll, Coleman, Vilaubi, Laisne, Sharp and Jiwon earned their spots in the top 10 through their Epson Tour victories at the IOA Golf Classic presented by LPT Realty, Copper Rock Championship, Florida's Natural Charity Classic, Champions Fore Change Invitational and Inova Mission Inn Resort and Club Championship, respectively. While Liti is still vying for a win, her tie for 23rd last week along with her four top-10 finishes this season was enough to keep her locked in the seventh spot in the Race for the Card standings.
New to the Race for the Card is American Auston Kim, who has put together an impressive second season on the Epson Tour with six top-10 finishes, her latest tie for second moving her up seven spots to ninth on the money list.
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