The seventh event of the 2025 LPGA season is set to start this week in Phoenix, as the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass gets underway on March 27th. This is a crucial period in the season as the athletes are looking to move up in the Race to CME Globe rankings with the first major of the season, the Chevron Championship, just under a month away.

The 2024 Epson Tour grads arrived at the Ford Championship eager to make their mark on the LPGA Tour after earning their cards through a season of sustained excellence on the Epson Tour, the Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA. With 12 of the 15 2024 graduates in the field, including the former Race for the Card top 10 finishers, this event will provide an early opportunity for these up-and-coming players to showcase their talent and establish themselves on the biggest stage in women's golf. LPGA rookie and Epson Tour alum Cassie Porter will look to build on her already strong start to the 2025 season. Porter carded a 7-under tournament at the Blue Bay LPGA earlier this year, a 4th-place finish in her second career start on the LPGA Tour.

Other recent Epson Tour alumni to watch out for this week include 2024 graduate Fatima Fernandez Cano and 2023 graduate Gabriela Ruffels. Both players have found success in Arizona before, with both Fernandez Cano and Ruffels each being past champions of the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic in Scottsdale, a key event on the Epson Tour’s annual schedule. These athletes will look to convert their past success in Arizona into a strong performance this week at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass.

Former Epson Tour standout and 2017 NCAA National Champion with Arizona State University, Linnea Strom will be another player to look out for this week. A household name just 20 minutes up the road in Tempe, the former Sun Devil will look to channel that same winning energy in front of a familiar fanbase in Phoenix. Strom is off to a solid start in 2025, making the cut in all four events she has competed in so far.

Here is a full list of the Epson Tour’s most recent graduates to look out for this week at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass:

Lauren Stephenson
Yahui Zhang
Fatima Fernandez Cano
Jessica Porvasnik
Brooke Matthews
Ingrid Lindblad
Jenny Bae
Fiona Xu
Madison Young
Cassie Porter
Ana Belac
Pornanong Phatlum

Epson Tour Graduates to Watch at the Ford Championship Presented by Wild Horse Pass

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