Isabella Fierro’s final round was nothing short of a spectacular showing of golf. Sitting one shot behind the lead heading into Championship Saturday, the Mexico native felt some nerves while on the quest to claim the second victory of her young professional career.

The 25-year-old carded six birdies on the day to climb to the top of the leaderboard. Starting off strong with a birdie on her opening hole, nerves hit her quickly with a bogey on the par-4 2nd. However, after expressing the nerves to her caddie, Juani Lebbad, the Epson Tour champion drained birdie putts on holes three and six, rounding the turn at 2-under.

“My hands were just shaking, and I told my caddie, and he goes, 'This is what we practice for, right?' Like feeling the adrenaline, feeling the nerves, this is what an athlete practices for, and this is how you want to feel,” said Fierro. “So, instead of avoiding that sensation, I just kind of let it pass, and man, it's just the best sensation ever.”

The Oklahoma State alumna continued a steady round of golf before sealing the deal by draining two consecutive birdies on holes 14 and 15, followed by another on the par-4 17th hole to finish the tournament at 13-under par total, breaking the 54-hole tournament scoring record by five shots.

Fellow Mexico native Maria Fassi also staged a significant charge on Saturday, starting the day in a tie for 10th, at 3-under par total. The LPGA and Epson Tour veteran quickly got to work dropping back-to-back birdies on holes three and four to make the turn 1-under after a blemish of a bogey on hole No. 8. The University of Arkansas alumnae got to work and made five birdies on the back nine, highlighted by three consecutive on holes 12-14.

“Mexican women's golf is just growing so much, and Maria didn't have a great year last year, but she's the GOAT,” praised Fierro. “She's played the Olympics; she has done absolutely everything a professional golfer can dream of. And I was seeing her from a distance; I was cheering for her, I was looking at the shots... At the end of the day, she's my competition, but she is a friend, and she's a Mexican girl, and you want to cheer for your country at the very end of your day, so I'm just happy that she's finding her spot and she's grinding it out, and it's paying off. I'm really, really happy for her.”

With this win, Fierro is now sitting at No. 1 in the Race for the Card standings, being the first athlete to claim the top of the leaderboard this 2026 season.

“It means a lot, actually,” expressed Fierro. “Having my mom this week with me, having family, just kind of seems like a lucky charm, so I'm just really, really happy and excited for what's to come. It's definitely going to bring me a lot of confidence for starting the year, but definitely winning on this golf course, it's just hard. And everybody played so well this week that I knew that I had to bring my A-game, so I'm just really, really happy. I'm blessed that it paid off.”

Kaitlyn Papp-Budde started the day three shots back of 36-hole leader Annabelle Pancake-Webb, ultimately finishing T2 at 9-under total with Maria Fassi. Papp Budde had an up-and-down round of golf, flopping between birdies and bogeys, signing for a final round of 2-under. The Texas native now has nine top-10 finishes throughout her Epson Tour career and is looking forward to carrying this momentum into the final two events of the Florida swing with hopes of securing her first professional win.

When the day began, Caitlin Peirce was in a tie for 27th at even par, before lighting it up in her final round on Championship Saturday. Peirce rounded the turn with a strong 2-under 33 on the front nine. The Australian native did not stop there, making six birdies in three back-to-back segments on holes 10 and 11, 14 and 15, and 17 and 18, ultimately signing for a 7-under, 64, to finish the tournament in a tie for seventh. With this top finish, Peirce now sits T7 in the Race for the Card standings and looks to hold her position as the remainder of the season gets underway.

As the first weeks of the 2026 season continue, the Epson Tour will head off to Longwood, Fla., for the thirteenth annual IOA Golf Classic from March 13-15.

Isabella Fierro Claims First Win of the 2026 Epson Tour Season at Atlantic Beach Classic presented by Access Golf

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