Before the Epson Tour’s season finale even started, 10 players had already secured LPGA cards for 2026.
Even so, there was much to play for in Indian Wells, California.
The top 15 in the Race for the Card standings earned status, though where a player finished within the top 15 matters. Those who finish in the top 10 earn Category 9 status, while those finishing 11th-15th earn Category 16.
There’s a significant difference between Category 9 and Category 16, with members finishing Nos. 81-100 on the previous season points list; the current season reshuffle; and the top 25 from Q-Series, among those listed in between.
Only one player who was outside of the top 15 entering the week played her way to an LPGA card.
Here’s a look at how things shook out this week in the California desert.
Meet the 2025 Epson Tour graduates
Melanie Green
Former South Florida player and British Amateur champ will be a rookie on the LPGA next season. Green, 23, won twice on the LPGA this season.
Yana Wilson
Two-time winner on the Epson Tour this season, 19-year-old Wilson won the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior. Wilson was the 2023 AJGA Player of the Year.
Sophia Schubert
U.S. Women’s champion played on the LPGA from 2022 to 2024, finishing runner-up to Brooke Henderson at the 2022 Amundi Evian Championship. The 29-year-old Schubert has earned $897,400 in official LPGA earnings.
Gina Kim
A three-time winner on the tour this season, the former Duke grad first earned LPGA status in 2022 when she finished eighth on the Epson Tour money list. The 25-year-old lost her card after the 2024 season.
Erika Hara
A member of the JLPGA since 2018, the 26-year-old won the Japan Women’s Open Golf Championship in both 2020 and 2023. The social media star won the Epson Tour’s Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic in August.
Briana Chacon
A three-time winner on the Epson Tour over the past two seasons, Chacon played collegiate golf at Oregon where she became the first Duck to win an NCAA Regional title in 2022.
Riley Smyth
Former Virginia player will be a rookie on the LPGA in 2026. One of the longest players on the Epson Tour this season, 25-year-old Smyth is a two-time winner this season.
Laetitia Beck
A rookie on the LPGA in 2015, 33-year-old Beck became the first Israeli to compete on the tour in 2011. Duke grad won the Atlantic Beach Classic earlier this season.
Minji Kang
Kang returns to the tour after losing her card in 2024. The 25-year-old South Korean, who played at Truett McConnell University, was the 2022 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national champion.
Hailee Cooper
Cooper, 25, will be an LPGA rookie in 2026. The former Texas A&M player tied for seventh at the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills, where she earned $358,004. That’s more than twice what she’s made on the Epson Tour this season.
Anne Chen
A stellar week at the Epson Tour Championship resulted in Chen moving into the top 15 to earn her Epson Tour card.
Isabella Fierro
Former Oklahoma State player first earned LPGA status for the 2024 season after finishing ninth on the Race of the Card list in 2023. Won the Mexican Amateur, North and South Amateur and South American Amateur in 2017.
Michelle Zhang
China’s Zhang was a rookie on the Epson Tour in 2023. She earned LPGA status for the first time on the strength of consistent play with only two missed cuts in 19 starts.
Carla Tejedo Mulet
Spanish player was a rookie on the Epson Tour in 2025. Tejedo Mulet played collegiate golf at LSU and while she didn’t win this season, she had back-to-back top-three finishes over the summer.
Laney Frye
The 23-year-old Epson Tour rookie didn’t win this year but made the cut in 16 of 19 starts this season. Former Kentucky standout ranked second on tour in driving distance.
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