The Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA holds a special place in a lot of athletes’ hearts, whether they continue to play on the Epson Tour or have made their way to the LPGA Tour. This is because, a lot of the time, it is the circuit on which a player earns their first professional victory and where they learn how to become a professional. For Briana Chacon, both rang true during her rookie season in 2024.

At the inaugural Atlantic Beach Classic presented by Access Golf in 2024, Chacon was entering just her third tournament as a professional and was still figuring out the ins and outs of what exactly that means.

The California native entered the year off an impressive amateur career, setting the all-time scoring average record at the University of Oregon and becoming the first medalist in program history at an NCAA Regional Tournament in 2022. Chacon was also a two-time All-American while representing the Ducks and a two-time participant at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

While amateur success didn’t transition over immediately, it did come fairly quickly. After Chacon missed her first two cuts as a pro, she headed into the 2024 Atlantic Beach Classic presented by Access Golf in search of a first made cut but ultimately walked away with a much better result.

Battling through difficult conditions, Chacon fired three straight under-par rounds, ending the week with a 2-under 69 and a crucial birdie on her 54th hole to seal her first career victory by one shot.

“It feels great being back at Atlantic Beach. Very nostalgic, for sure. It was super nice to come back and see all the memories and where everything happened,” explained Chacon before play began. “Especially on 18, when I was playing my practice round earlier, I redid my winning putt, so that was pretty cool. I'm super, super excited to be back here.”

The rest of the 2024 season was steady for Chacon, who made 12 cuts in total on the year but could not make her way into the top 10 again. It could be a blessing in disguise for the 23-year-old, as with a full season under her belt and lessons learned, her eyes are now set on an LPGA Tour card for 2026 and a new attitude to go with it.

“I think what I learned the most is that momentum is really important. I think having a good showing last year is going to give me some good confidence going into this week,” said Chacon. “Like everybody else here, my goal is to make the LPGA, and regardless if I make it or not, I think one of the biggest takeaways I want from this year is to look back and know that I had like a really good positive attitude about the whole year, not even just about golf.”

Chacon takes to the course to defend her title at 12:38 p.m. local time on Thursday, March 6. Follow along with live scoring here.

Briana Chacon Eyes Down Second Atlantic Beach Victory After a Win in 2024

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