After battling through 54 holes of treacherous winds, intermittent rain, and a demanding course, the Epson Tour has crowned a new champion. Cassie Porter, starting her day three shots behind the leader Dana Fall, seized the opportunity as Fall struggled early. Porter's resilience and skill led her to post a 3-under 69, securing her first professional victory at the 2024 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship.
Porter, in her second year on the Epson Tour, demonstrated her potential in her rookie season, finishing at No. 54 in the Race for the Card. Her victory, though not unexpected, was a significant milestone in her career, especially considering this was only her 23rd Epson Tour event.
The 21-year-old showed poise all week, making two double bogeys in her opening round, but she remained determined to get back into the tournament. A 4-under second round put her within shouting distance, and the Australian let her game do the rest. Seven straight pars is how she started her final round, with birdies on 8, 9, and 10 moving her within a shot of the lead with only eight holes to play. Porter added another birdie on No. 15, giving her the outright lead by two shots after both leaders made double bogeys on No. 12 behind her. Walking down 18 with a two-shot lead, Porter would make a bogey on the difficult closing hole, but it was good enough to hold onto the championship, and for the Aussie to do it with her best friend on the bag was just the cherry on top.
"It hasn't sunk in yet. I'm feeling amazing. It was really cool to do it here this week with Steph, my caddie," explained Porter. "I leaned on Steph so much today. I said to her probably on the 11th hole after I made a good par, 'Hey Steph, like I'm really nervous' and she was like, 'why?' So yeah, Steph was amazing. She's like my sister. Honestly, I've done a lot of work on my mental game recently, and you know, this week, the wind was really, really testing. So, it was nice to be able to put that to the test and get a good result out of it."
Porter controlled the top of the leaderboard coming down the home stretch, but before that, it was as packed as it could get. Four players finished runner-up, with Anita Uwadia nearly holing out for an eagle on her last tournament hole to force a playoff. That was not the only bullet Porter had to dodge, however. Brooke Matthews and Amelia Garvey both had chips to force a playoff that both narrowly missed going in.
Uwadia played in the final group for the first time in her career this week, a significant milestone that could mark a turning point in her career, and almost produced a moment of magic that would have stunned everyone in attendance. The England native spoke with her caddy before the shot and tried to scare Porter before claiming her first victory.
"I told my caddie, 'Yeah, I'm about to hit it to five feet,' and obviously, it was a lot better than that. So, you know, I'm just pretty proud of how I finished," said Uwadia. "This week definitely gave me a lot of confidence. I've always told my coach that if I'm hitting it well, I can compete out here. This shows me that I am heading in the right direction with my game."
IN THE WINNERS CIRCLE WITH CASSIE PORTER
Hometown/Resides: Peregian Springs, Australia
Age: 21
Qualified for the Epson Tour: Finished T65 at Qualifying during 2022 LPGA Qualifying Series to earn Epson Tour membership
Rookie Year: 2023
| CATEGORY | |
|---|---|
| 2024 Race for the Card Place | 2 |
| 2024 Race for the Card Points | 815.50 |
| 2024 Epson Tour Wins | 1 |
| 2024 Epson Tour Top 10s | 2 |
| 2024 Season Earnings | $55,027 |
| Career Epson Tour Wins | 1 |
| Career Epson Tour Top 10s | 4 |
| Epson Tour Career Money | $87,720 |
OF NOTE
- The 2024 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship is her first professional victory
- Porter’s win moves her into the top 10 in the 2024 Race for the Card standings
- She finished No. 54 in the 2023 Race for the Card standings
- This is her second career start in the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship
- She finished T8 in 2023
- Porter has three additional top-10 finishes outside of her win
- Her last top-10 finish before her win was at the 2024 Florida’s Natural Charity Classic where she finished third
- The 21-year-old was bogey free in her final round until her last hole
- Porter is the first Australian to win the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship
QUICK QUOTES
Amelia Garvey (-5, T2) on her confidence after making the cut last week at the U.S. Women’s Open and her runner-up finish this week:
“I think last week was a big confidence booster. I just proved to myself that I can compete against the best players in the world, and I can compete out here as well. Obviously, coming back here after a second-place finish last year, I really like this course. It fits my eye pretty well. I've just put in a lot of hard work over the last few weeks before the U.S. Open, and that seemed to pay off a little bit this week.”
Harriet Lynch (-3, 7) on her game after competing in the U.S. Open last week:
“It was definitely kind of a rude awakening. I didn't play great. But you know, the course is super difficult. Seeing all the top players struggle was like a little bit put me at ease a little. You know, I really struggled with confidence this year. I haven't had the best of starts but qualifying for the U.S. Open and then playing well here helps. I'm super excited to play the next few weeks.
Karen Chung (-1, T14) on her 4-under round that moved her up nearly 40 spots:
“Today my sole goal was to stay alive and get the round done as soon as possible before the wind blew through. I putted really well today. I just kept telling myself a couple birdies and no bogeys today and I may move me up the leaderboard at the end of the day.”
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