With a record-breaking performance at the Copper Rock Championship, Fiona Xu has jumped to the top of the season-long Race for the Card as we near the midpoint of the 2024 season. The rise to No. 1 in the rankings was not a shock, even with Xu being a 2024 Epson Tour rookie. The 19-year-old has remarkably only finished outside the top-20 once this season, which was still T22 at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic. Xu has played 19 rounds this year, only recording two over-par rounds all season and none since mid-March.
The Race for the Card is a fierce battle, with Madison Young currently holding the No. 2 spot after not playing in the Copper Rock Championship. Briana Chacon is hot on her heels, trailing Young by just over 100 points and sitting comfortably in third. The competition is truly global, with two Chinese Taipei natives, Jessica Peng and Juliana Hung, occupying the fourth and fifth spots in the rankings.
As we gear up for the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship, several players have made significant strides in the standings:
- Jessica Porvasnik moved into the top-10 after her T4 finish at the Copper Rock Championship, now with 544.829 points
- Alena Sharp jumped from No. 34 to No. 15 after her third place in Hurricane, Utah and now has 410.480 points in her 2024 season
- Kaleigh Telfer made one of the largest leaps up the standings, moving up 51 spots to No. 17 after her runner-up finish at the Copper Rock Championship
This year, the Epson Tour has introduced a new point-based system, replacing the money-based system. This change will award points to those who make the cut weekly, adding a new dynamic to the competition. The ultimate goal is to finish in the top 15 in the point standings to earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2025 season.
The 2024 season will also be the first year that Epson Tour athletes will vie for 15 LPGA Tour cards awarded after the season-ending Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, Calif.
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