Epson Tour Player of the Year

Description: The Epson Tour Player of the Year award goes to the player who finishes at the top of the Race for the Card points list for that season.

Last Five Recipients: Gabriela Ruffels (2023), Linnea Strom (2022), Lilia Vu (2021), Ana Belac (2020) and Perrine Delacour (2019)

Players to Watch: The winner of the 2024 Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells earns 650 points, so Player of the Year could be anyone’s honor to claim. But there are five players who have already clinched their LPGA Tour Membership for the 2025 season, including Yahui Zhang, Lauren Stephenson, Fatima Fernandez Cano, Jessica Porvasnik, and Brooke Matthews.

Heading into the Epson Tour Championship, Stephenson currently leads the Race for the Card, with 1,633 points after her win at the Twin Bridges Championship and six additional top-10 finishes. She started her professional golf career in 2018 and first earned LPGA Tour membership for the 2019 season. After a tough couple of years on the LPGA Tour, Stephenson began playing on the Epson Tour full-time in 2024. In September, she clinched her card and will return to the LPGA Tour in 2025.

Sitting 109 points behind Stephenson is 18-year-old Yahui Zhang. Zhang is also in the running for the Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year award. She looks to join an elite group of athletes that have won both awards in the same year, a list of players that includes Madelene Sagstrom in 2016, Annie Park in 2015, Mina Kreiter in 2009, Vicky Hurst in 2008, Song-Hee Kim in 2006, Lorena Ochoa in 2002 and Beth Bauer in 2001.

Jessica Porvasnik has 1,432 points and is in her third full season on the Epson Tour. Although she has not earned a win in 2024, she has had a heater of a season, carding six top-10 results, including two runner-up finishes at the Atlantic Beach Classic and the Twin Bridges Championship. Her highest finish in the Player of the Year standings was 42nd in 2023.

Fatima Fernandez Cano is ranked fourth and has 1,357 points after earning a victory at the Guardian Championship and three additional top-10 finishes this season. Fernandez Cano has played in events on the Epson Tour since 2018. After the 2020 and 2021 seasons, she finished second in the Race for the Card and second in the Player of the Year standings. At this week’s Epson Tour Championship, the Spaniard looks to secure her best finish in the Race for the Card standings and earn the award after seven seasons competing on the Epson Tour.

Rounding out the top five is University of Arkansas alum Brooke Matthews (1,292 points). In 2024, she earned seven top-10 finishes in her 17 starts on the Epson Tour and clinched her 2025 LPGA Tour card on Sept. 24, one week ahead of the season finale at Indian Wells Golf Resort. The former Razorback will make her LPGA Tour return after competing on the biggest stage in women’s golf in 2022.

Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year

Description: The Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year is awarded to the player competing in her first professional season who finishes highest on the Race for the Card points list.

Last Five Recipients: Natasha Andrea Oon (2023), Xiaowen Yin (2022), Amanda Doherty (2021), Patty Tavatanakit (2019) and Linnea Strom (2018)
*Award not given out in 2020 due to a shortened season during the COVID-19 pandemic

Players to Watch: Going into the 2024 Epson Tour season finale, three rookies have over 1,000 points and are within reach of the Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year award. No. 1 Yahui Zhang (1,524 points), No. 2 Fiona Xu (1,199 points) and No. 3 Ingrid Lindblad (1,160 points) look to become the 24th winner of the coveted award.

A CLPGA Tour winner, Zhang came to the Epson Tour with years of professional golf experience already under her belt. Since the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, the 18-year-old has acquired eight top-10 finishes, including a win at the Four Winds Invitational and a runner-up finish at the Otter Creek Championship. Zhang clinched her 2025 Membership in early September and will be an LPGA Tour rookie next year.

Xu is 325 points behind Zhang. In her first six starts of the 2024 season, the 20-year-old recorded her first professional win at the Copper Rock Championship and a runner-up finish at the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. The New Zealand native then missed the three cuts in her next five starts but responded with her third top-five finish at the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic. Xu sits at No. 6 in the Race for the Card point standings and looks to lock up her 2025 LPGA Tour card this week.

Amateur phenomenon Lindblad came onto the Epson Tour scene after wrapping up her collegiate and amateur career at Louisiana State University in May. She made her first start on the Epson Tour in June at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship, where she missed her first cut. In her third event at the Island Resort Championship presented by Delta County Chamber, she made a run at her first professional title, finishing in a tie for second. Lindblad missed her second cut as a rookie at the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic, but she recovered with another runner-up finish at the Guardian Championship. After much anticipation, she won the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic to drastically move up in the Race for the Card and into the conversation to earn Rookie of the Year honors.

Projections for Epson Tour Player of the Year and Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year

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