Well before the Atlantic Beach Classic presented by Access Golf suspended the first round due to darkness (at 6:25 p.m. local time), Riley Smyth found herself near the top of the leaderboard for the second consecutive week. The Epson Tour winner shot a 1-under 70 in tough, windy conditions, posting the low round of the day until the Republic of Korea’s Bi Shin matched her round just before the horns sounded for the conclusion of play.

When the opening round resumed and concluded on Friday morning, the University of Virginia alum found herself one shot back of the new leader, Epson Tour rookie Yana Wilson, at 2-under. As most of the field would say, patience was key during Thursday’s first round, and scores reflected that with only three athletes under par.

“It was playing so tough out there today, so just really trying to stay patient in the wind and you know, just put together a good solid round,” said Smyth following her first round. “I knew anything under par or around par was going to be a really good score to start this week, so it feels good to get that in.”

Winning the season-opening Central Florida Championship gave the 25-year-old confidence heading into the second tournament in Atlantic Beach, Fla., but she also knows that each week is a different story. Although the leaderboard reflects otherwise.

“You never know how much it's going to translate week to week, where obviously everything went my way last week,” said Smyth. “And we completely changed up, where this course is playing a lot tougher, it's colder out today, a lot windier, so just overall tougher conditions. It definitely helped knowing that I played well last week, but at the end of the day, it doesn't mean a whole lot, and I know I just got to go play this week.”

With 36 holes left to play, anything can happen. And a win for Smyth could etch her into the Epson Tour history books. The 2024 season saw 19 different winners from 19 events, making the last athlete to win multiple times in one season Gabriela Ruffels in 2023.

“It would mean a lot to walk away with another win, but we still got two more rounds,” said Smyth. “There's a lot of good players out here again this week, so I'm not putting any pressure on it. Obviously, always want to get a win, but whatever happens, happens, and I just got to go play good golf.”

Smyth is off Atlantic Beach Country Club’s 10th at 1:00 p.m. local time.

Epson Tour Winner Riley Smyth Fires Off Another Low Round in Atlantic Beach

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