Moving day delivered plenty of excitement at the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort and Spa, the first event of the 2026 West Coast swing, held at the challenging Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon in Beaumont, California. Matilda Castren and Jiwon Jeon withdrew from competition narrowing the field from 132 to 130-players. At the conclusion of round two the cut included 68 athletes, setting the stage for a thrilling final round as the next champion of the year is decided on Sunday.

Tied atop the leaderboard are two up and coming performers: Nika Ito and Anna Nordfors both sitting at -10 after 36 holes.

Ito, the Japanese native, carded a shattering bogey-free 7-under, 65 in Round 2. The 20-year-old made her second cut of the 2026 Epson Tour, rolling in seven birdies, including four straight in the middle of her round, on holes nine through 12 to climb into contention.

“My driver was really good. Said Ito. “Because I hit 100% of fairways.”

Ito is eager for the final round as she prepares for her first time in a final pairing on the Epson Tour. “It's my first time in one of the final few pairings, so I am really excited,” expressed Ito.

Sharing the lead is Anna Nordfors, who took full advantage of calmer morning conditions to fire a 4-under 68. The 27-year-old stayed patient on the narrow layout, hitting precise tee shots and capitalizing with strong putting, highlighted by birdies on four and nine in her opening side.

“I tried to just restart, try to take it hole by hole, it's a new round, mentioned Nordfors. “So obviously I played well yesterday, but I didn't try to think too much about it. Played pretty decent today again. Missed a few shorter putts, but I kept it on the green and two putted a lot. So, and a few went in, so that was fine.”

Amari Avery stayed near the top of the leaderboard with a solid 4-under 68. The California native carded a sharper, more picturesque round draining five birdies and one bogey.

“I think today was a little more solid, a lot more put together, a lot of great putting again, said Avery. “So it was kind of feeding off of yesterday, which is nice. I hit a lot fairways, hit a lot more greens, and I was a little closer today, so it wasn't so hard to make putts. So I think that was just kind of the vibe the whole day.”

Annie Kim wasted no time this morning opening her round with back-to-back under par holes on the par-4 1st hole, and par-3 2nd hole. The Republic of Korea native continued her momentum with birdie on hole nine. Kim finished the day at with three consecutive birdies on holes 13 through 15, finishing at 8-under across 36 holes, placing her in solo fourth place.

Other notables include Mirabel Ting, who opened her day with a birdie on the par-3 2nd hole, and continued to drain birdies on holes four, five, eight and nine to round the turn 4-under par. The Epson Tour Rookie started her final nine holes steadily, not finding a birdie until hole 14, and managed to squeeze one final birdie of the day on the par-5 16th hole to sign for a 5-under 67.

2019 U.S. Women’s Open Champion, Jeongeun Lee6 is sitting in a tie for seventh, but has quietly climbed the leaderboard. The Republic of Korea native fired a 4under bogey-free second round.

The leaderboard remains packed, with several players at 5-under tied in the top 10, promising a dramatic Sunday chase for the title, $200,000 purse, and crucial Race to the Card points toward LPGA dreams.

Ito and Nordfors will each look to take the victory on Sunday when round three begins at 7:00 a.m. local time. Follow along with live scoring here.

Anna Nordfors and Nika Ito Tie the Lead of IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort and Spa after Round Two

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