As Epson Tour season winds down, players jockey for LPGA cards - Golfweek
As the Epson Tour season wraps up this week, nine players have already locked up status for 2027.
Exactly how good that status will be, however, is still up for debate for some.
The top 15 players at the end of the Tour Championship will receive LPGA status for next year. Those in the top 10 will be seeded in Category 9 of the 2027 LPGA Tour Priority List. Those who finish 11-15 will be in Category 16, meaning the potential for fewer starts.
Nine players have already secured status for next season, beginning with No. 1 Mirabel Ting, a former Florida State standout and Annika Award winner who has won twice and posted 11 top-10 finishes. Lauren Olivares (No. 2) and Kaleiya Romero, who will join sister Kiara next year on the LPGA, round out the top three.
Ting made her professional debut last July at the Amundi Evian after clipping teammate Lottie Woad for the biggest award in college golf. While Woad experienced immediate success as a pro, it has taken a bit longer for Malaysia's Ting, though she has come on strong in recent months. In addition to her two victories on the Epson Tour, Ting took a share of 15th last week at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship after she Monday-qualified.
Ting, 21, hasn't finished outside the top 20 in her last eight starts.
Florida State head coach Amy Bond once said of Ting: "In my 25 years, sheβs by far the best ball-striker Iβve ever seen."
Annabelle Pancake-Webb, Carla Bernat Escuder, Liqi Zeng, Mariel Galdiano, Amari Avery and Cholcheva Wongras round out the nine who are guaranteed to finish in the top 15.
That leaves six spots up for grabs this week in Indian Wells, California. A total of 59 players in the field of 71 have a mathematical chance of securing one of the last spots.
The Epson Tour Championship takes place Oct. 1-4 at Indian Wells Golf Resort. The purse of $300,000 will feature a record $100,000 first-place prize. It marks the first six-figure winner's share in tournament history.
Players just outside the top 15 looking to make a big move this week include No. 16 Samantha Wagner, recent tour winner Kary Hollenbaugh (No. 19), who turned pro after the Curtis Cup, and defending champion Anne Chen (No. 18).
Beth Ann Nichols is a senior writer for Golfweek covering the LPGA and all things women's golf. Follow her on X/Twitter (@GolfweekNichols).
