There are only two events left in the 2023 Epson Tour season, and there has been a slight switch up in the Race for the Card standings. Two new faces have entered the mix since Prattville and two more spots have been mathematically locked up.
Natasha Andrea Oon and Jiwon Jeon have clinched their cards for the 2024 season after their finishes at last week’s Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout. Oon would take home her first Epson Tour victory at the event, while a T20 finish for Jeon was all she needed to make her way back on to the LPGA Tour.
“All of these women are so good,” said Oon. “I’m really honored to compete with them and just be able to win a tournament out here.”
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Race for the Card Top 10 |
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1 |
Gabriela Ruffels* |
$156,283 |
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2 |
Natasha Andrea Oon |
$147,780 |
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3 |
Jiwon Jeon* |
$111,370 |
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4 |
Agathe Laisne |
$109,060 |
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5 |
Jenny Coleman |
$103,833 |
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6 |
Roberta Liti |
$102,734 |
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7 |
Minji Kang |
$98,304 |
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8 |
Jenny Bae |
$87,764 |
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9 |
Robyn Choi |
$86,358 |
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10 |
Nataliya Guseva |
$82,984 |
*Not competing this week at the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic
Moving into the top 10 in the Race for the Card are Robyn Choi and Nataliya Guseva. Guseva made her big jump up the standings with her win at the Black Desert Resort Championship, which moved her from No. 67 to the top 15. She followed up her win with a T3 finish at the Guardian Championship, which moved her inside the top 10, making her the youngest player on the top 10 list. A missed cut by one shot last week in El Dorado was the first cut missed in five events for the 20-year-old as she looks to get back to the form she had just a couple of weeks ago while she was in Alabama.
“The Top 10 means a lot to me,” said Guseva. “I will take one day at a time, one shot at a time. I think this is the best thing I could do moving forward. It would be amazing to get the card, but now I just want to focus being in the moment.”
Robyn Choi is the second player to make her way into the Race for the Card standings, sitting at no. 9 on the list after her runner-up finish at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout. The runner-up finish was the best placing for Choi all season, who has racked up five additional top-10 finishes in 2023, making her six top-10 finishes the fourth most on the Epson Tour. The Australian comes into the week as the current course record holder at Ol’ Colony Golf Course, signing for a 10-under 62 in the first round in 2022. Choi is another top finish away from sitting in a comfortable spot heading into the Tour Championship in Daytona Beach next week.
“I think after last week I’ve put myself in a position where I have a good chance in finishing top 10. I want to take the good momentum into the next two weeks and focus on getting the work done, but I’m not going to get ahead of myself too much,” said Choi. “It’s nice to be at a course where I know I can play well too. I think having a good finish here will definitely boost my confidence heading into next week, but I just need to keep telling myself to stay in the moment.”
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