It was a week of firsts at the inaugural Atlantic Beach Classic, with Atlantic Beach Country Club hosting their first Epson Tour event, a first-time champion, and an Epson Tour rookie winning for the first time this season.
Briana Chacon hung around all week before finally making a splash coming down the stretch. The recent University of Oregon grad never held a share of the lead all week until the last three holes of the event. She would finish her tournament birdie-par-birdie to finally grab the solo lead she had been chasing down all week.
"Words cannot really describe what I'm feeling," said Chacon. "I'm still shocked and just really surprised. But most of all, I'm super grateful and super thankful to be here."
The approach into 18 green was the key shot of the tournament, leaving the 22-year-old 40 feet for eagle. The first putt missed low, leaving her around 6 feet for birdie. With the tournament on the line, the rookie rolled in the final shot of the tournament and walked away the 2024 Atlantic Beach Classic champion. Chacon played steady golf all week, never making a score bigger than a bogey in her 54 holes played and was the only player in the top 5 to break par in all three of her rounds this week. Although, the newest Epson Tour champion had different thoughts.
"I feel like I had a pretty solid round today. Nothing really major happened. I just feel like I hit the ball really well, I was pretty consistent off the tee," said Chacon. "I wasn't super consistent the first two days, but today, my driver really worked out well for me. I did a pretty good job of hitting a lot of greens, and I think for me, it just all came down to the putting and making clutch shots up towards the end."
Jessica Porvasnik did not start the day with the lead but quickly gained it for most of the day as the leaders fell down the leaderboard fast. The 28-year-old made her move in the first 10 holes, making four birdies in that stretch and taking the lead score to 7-under. The Florida native played the following eight holes in 1-over and would finish just one shot back from a playoff.
"I struck the ball well, made some good putts. It's always nice to play well when you're at home," said Porvasnik. "I think there's a little more pressure on you. Having everyone out watching was awesome. I mean, there's a great atmosphere out here. Probably one of the best crowds we've seen, so that's cool."
)
)
)
)
