The race for the Epson Tour card continues in Michigan

The Race for the Card continues as the Epson Tour prepares for the Island Resort Championship, the second event in a three-tournament series in the Great Lakes State. Players will once again compete for 500 Race to the Card points as they look to find success in Michigan.

Despite missing her second cut of the season at the Otter Creek Championship last week, New Zealander Fiona Xu remains atop the leaderboard with 1,013 points. Epson Tour sophomore Cassie Porter is in second place with 822.5 points, but has closed the gap slightly after a T47 finish in Columbus, Indiana, to just 191 points behind Xu.

Madison Young is in third place with 769.882 points, while Yahui Zhang moves up from 22nd to fourth after her second-place finish at Otter Creek Golf Course with 679.722 points. Completing the top five is Briana Chacon with 654.542 points, who won the Atlantic Beach Classic in March.

After a thrilling final round and a two-hole playoff, Savannah Vilaubi emerged victorious at the Otter Creek Championship, marking her second victory on the Epson Tour. She defeated Yahui Zhang in a playoff by sinking a 12-foot putt for birdie on the second extra hole. This was her first win since the 2023 Copper Rock Championship. The win jumped her from 103rd to 15th in the race, and Vilaubi currently holds 542,686 total points.

Some other important steps after the Otter Creek Championship are the following:

• Brooke Matthews, who finished third at the Otter Creek Championship and made it into the top 10 for the third time this season, improved from 17th to 8th place with 631,417 total points.
• Epson Tour newcomer Minori Nagano jumped into the overall standings after her T3 performance at Otter Creek Golf Course and is now in 50th place with 267,200 total points.

The Race for the Card is a season-long points competition in which Epson Tour members earn points in every official Epson Tour tournament. The ultimate goal is to finish in the top 15 in the points standings to earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2025 season. New to the Epson Tour this season, the points-based system replaces the cash-based system and awards points weekly to those who make it.

The 2024 season will also be the first year that Epson Tour athletes will compete for 15 LPGA Tour cards, which will be awarded following the season-ending Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, California, in the fall.