With the first week of the Pure Michigan Cup complete, athletes teed up this morning and afternoon in the first round of the Great Lakes Championship at the Highlands. As the second full field event of the season was underway, a plethora of athletes took advantage of the calmer winds in the morning hours, but it was Australian native Jennifer Elliott who finished the day on top.

Jennifer Elliott is an Epson Tour sophomore who holds the lead in the clubhouse after firing an impressive 5-under, 67. Elliott was very nervous to start the day due to poor preparation sessions throughout the beginning of the week, showing with three bogeys in her first four holes.

“Honestly, just for finishing really, said Elliott. “I was really nervous this morning, but yeah, I actually had fun out there today, it was not the round I was actually expecting to play today. I'm just really happy about how everything actually came together, definitely was not on my own strength, but I had a great playing partner today, Kaleigh Telfer played really well today as well, so I kind of felt like we were pushing each other out there. Overall, I'm just really happy to be out here and really thankful.”

After the first few holes Elliott managed to find an eagle, followed by back-to-back birdies on holes five through seven, and snuck in one more birdie on the ninth hole to round the turn 3-under.

On the back side, the 25-year-old continued to display her incredible golf game, draining three more birdies to head into the 18th hole 6-under par, but unfortunately dropped a shot on the difficult par-4 finishing hole, to sign for a 5-under, 67 sitting solo atop the leaderboard for the second time this season. Let’s see if the Australian can channel her flow state for the next 36-holes and walk away with her first Epson Tour title.

When asked what to take into the weekend Elliott mentioned, “Definitely off the tee, I was really well off the tee today. There's a lot of fade shots out there and that's the shot I like to hit. Probably need to go and work on some of the draws that you need to hit out here off the tee. I think I hit about 80% of fairways out there today, so hopefully we can continue that into tomorrow for sure.”

A pair of Epson Tour rookies, Catherine Park and Gianna Clemente, showed their talents after carding rounds of 4-under, 68. This marks Park’s second professional start on the Epson Tour, after graduating from the LPGA’s new LCAP program, and Clemente has been a star amateur, as she forfeit her opportunity to compete collegiately to begin her professional career on the Epson Tour.

Park was the only bogey-free round of the day, who sits in the group of athletes ahead of the rest of the pack. The University of Southern California alumna’s round was highlighted by two consecutive birdies on holes 14 and 15.

Clemente’s round was almost blemish free, but the young professional found a bogey on the par-4 15th, however refocused and finished the day with three birdies in a row on holes 15,16, and 17.

Park and Clemente sit in a tie for second place with four more Epson Tour athletes, notably, 2026 IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort and Spa winner, Amari Avery, who also signed for a 4-under 68.

The 21-year-old made one eagle, and five birdies throughout her round, but found mistakes on three holes, to finish round one at 4-under. Avery is currently No. 1 on the Race for the Card leaderboard and feels very comfortable on The Highlands – The Heather course, a more traditional layout of tree-lined golf. Will the California native, take home her second trophy of the 2026 Epson Tour season, come Sunday evening.

“Yeah, I mean, it feels really good to be almost halfway through the season and still being number one on the race, said Avery. “Obviously, weeks like Utah and the week last week, it wasn't my best, but I'm still making cuts and giving myself opportunities. It's nice that I'm at the top of the race and have every opportunity to keep pushing and keep the points up. But yeah, I think this is one of my favorite stops of the year, like I said. So confidence is really high, and I'm just really excited for the rest of the year.”

The pack tightens quickly, with three more athletes at 4-under, sitting in a tie for second, setting up an intense battle heading into day two.

Make sure to stay tuned for who will hold the lead heading after day two of the 2026 Great Lakes Championship at the Highlands and possibly make a jump in the 2026 Pure Michigan Cup standings.

Round two will begin at 7:30 a.m. local time. The Great Lakes Championship continues to deliver drama and opportunity for these rising stars chasing LPGA dreams. Follow along with live scoring here.

Australian Jennifer Elliott Leads Round One of 2026 Great Lakes Championship at the Highlands

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