From March until October, Epson Tour athletes are essentially on one giant road trip. It’s checking in at a hotel or Airbnb, finding good restaurants to avoid a week of fast food, playing golf and then repeating it all the next week.

Sure, there’s an occasional week or two off here and there; however, once April hits, it’s a grind to the finish line, which in this Tour's case is the LPGA Card Ceremony.

Dana Fall is one of a handful of athletes who call an Epson Tour tournament location home, residing not far from this week’s Tour stop in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Chandler, Ariz. native gets to sleep in her own bed, cook in a familiar kitchen, drive her own car, and invite her family and friends to TPC Scottsdale’s Champions course for some extra support at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic.

In the same breath, Fall has said that it’s both weird and nice to be “off the road” this week and even gave herself an off day on Monday to pick up some chores that needed to be done at home. She’s learned from experience that longer stretches require more self-care, and with the Epson Tour currently on a four-week swing, the 32-year-old decided to listen to her body and put the sticks down for just a little bit.

“I think the more I play golf, and the longer my career goes, having an off-day is super important,” said Fall. “I used to be the one that would grind every day. And your body will thank yourself when you do give it an off day, so I kind of felt like I needed it.”

There’s a ton on the line for Fall and the other 131 athletes who are competing this week, as a share of the largest purse in Epson Tour history is up for grabs. Thanks to the support of Carlisle Companies, the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic boasts a $400,000 purse, with the winner taking home $60,000.

“I think it’s huge. I’d love to see more events do what they’ve done,” said Fall. “To have a purse at almost half a (million) is really cool for the Epson Tour. I think the winner walks away with $60,000? That’s kind of career-changing for people out here.”

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas alum was close to taking home the prize in 2024, finishing in a share of third place, four shots behind the champion and current LPGA Tour player, Ruixin Liu. And while Fall feels that her scores aren’t reflecting the solid state of her game right now, she’s also hoping that she can carry some good mojo from last year into this week and get her back near the top of leaderboards.

As if Fall didn’t have enough connection to the tournament already, she’s also an alum of one of this tournament’s beneficiaries – LPGA*USGA Girls Golf of Phoenix. In 2024, the chapter came out in droves to support the Epson Tour athletes, specifically Fall, as she came down the stretch in search of victory.

Despite not getting the job done, the LPGA Tour veteran stuck around to sign autographs and interact with the girls who have professional golf aspirations much like Fall used to. While the Epson Tour makes an impact on the chapter throughout the week, it’s evident that the girls also make an impact on the professional athletes they support as well.

“Being an alum, I always love supporting. I think it's still Cori (Matheson) that runs it,” said Fall. “I've known Cori since I was a kid, so it's really cool always to connect with her and all the new kids coming up, and Girls Golf because one day they'll be out here, and they'll be in my footsteps. That was me 20 years ago.”

The 2025 edition of the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic could see Fall have a chance to be the hometown hero once again on Sunday, as she opened the tournament with a 3-under 68 on Thursday. With three days of golf left to play, the title is still anyone’s to walk away with, but a solid first round puts the Arizona native in a good position to play weekend golf and make a push toward her second career Epson Tour title.

LPGA*USGA Girls Golf of Phoenix Alum Dana Fall Returns Home on Epson Tour

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