Welcome back to Golf Thursday, everyone. The 2025 Epson Tour season has come to an end, so let’s meet the graduates!
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Duke alum Anne Chen took the title at the 2025 Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells Golf Resort. She won in a dramatic playoff to claim her first Epson Tour victory and earn her 2026 LPGA Tour card. Chen, and others, were fighting for position in the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card.
Here are the 15 grads in the Epson Tour Class of 2025 that were decided after the conclusion of the Tour Championship.
No. 1: Melanie Green
Age: 23
Hometown: Medina, N.Y.
Collegiate golf: University of South Florida
Race for the Card points: 2,573.004
Her 2025 season: Green won twice in her rookie season on the Epson Tour this year at the Island Resort Championship and Guardian Championship. She also had 10 top-10 finishes this season.
Notables: In college, Green was the first USF women’s golfer to be named the 2023-24 AAC Women’s Golf Player of the Year. She’s also a four-time American All-Conference Team member in her time at USF. In 2024, Green became the first American since 1996 to win the Women’s Amateur Championship.
No. 2: Yana Wilson
Age: 19
Hometown: Henderson, Nev.
Race for the Card points: 2,265.077
Her 2025 season: As an Epson Tour rookie, Wilson won twice this season at the Reliance Matrix Championship and the Dream First Bank Charity Classic. She also had 12 top-10 finishes and made 18 cuts in her 19 starts on Tour.
Notables: Wilson turned professional in 2024, when she was 18, and is looking to further an already successful career. She won the AJGA portion of the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open, the 2022 USGA Girls Junior Championship and the 2022 Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational, and she was the youngest player to win the Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship at 14 years old.
No. 3: Gina Kim
Age: 25
Hometown: Durham, N.C.
Collegiate golf: Duke University
Race for the Card points: 2,084.750
Her 2025 season: Kim can take a bow after the season she had on the Epson Tour this year. Her three wins came at the IOA Golf Classic, Copper Rock Championship and the Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship. Kim also finished with seven top-10 results this 2025 season.
Notables: Kim was part of the Duke University team that won the 2019 NCAA Division I Championship, and she was the winner of the 2021 ACC Individual Championship. Kim is a returner to the LPGA Tour for the 2026 season after losing her Tour card in 2024.
No. 4: Sophia Schubert
Age: 29
Hometown: Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Collegiate golf: University of Texas
Race for the Card points: 1,857.301
Her 2025 season: Schubert finished in solo second place at the 2025 Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells to cap off a solid 2025 season that included five more top-10 finishes.
Notables: Schubert won the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. Professionally, she played on the LPGA Tour in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons, but lost her Tour card after last year’s season. Schubert has two top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour, one of them being a second place result at the 2022 Amundi Evian Championship. She has a win (2021 Carolina Golf Classic) and 15 top-10 finishes in her Epson Tour career.
No. 5: Erika Hara
Age: 26
Hometown: Yokohama, Japan
Race for the Card points: 1,847.472
Her 2025 season: Hara had a win (Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic) and nine top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour this year. She was consistent, making 17 cuts out of 18 starts.
Notables: Although Hara will be a rookie on the LPGA Tour in 2026, she has experience in the professional golf setting. As a member of the LPGA of Japan (JLPGA), she has several wins, including two Japan Women’s Open Golf Championship victories in 2020 and 2023. 2020 was her standout season, as she won the Japan LPGA Tour Championship that year as well.
No. 6: Briana Chacon
Age: 24
Hometown: Whittier, Calif.
Collegiate golf: University of Oregon
Race for the Card points: 1,686.737
Her 2025 season: Chacon was another multiple winner on the Epson Tour this season. She finished with five top-10 results, including two wins (the IOA Championship and the Casella Golf Championship).
Notables: Chacon is a decorated former collegiate golfer, holding the record for lowest scoring average in program history with Oregon. She was the first Oregon player to win the NCAA Regional Individual title, doing so in 2022.
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No. 7: Riley Smyth
Age: 26
Hometown: Tequesta, Fla.
Collegiate golf: University of Virginia
Race for the Card points: 1,588.329
Her 2025 season: Smyth had five top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour this season. This included two wins, one at the season opener, the Central Florida Championship, and the Great Lakes Championship.
Notables: Smyth has played on the Epson Tour since 2023, and through that time, she’s accumulated 10 total top-10 finishes.
No. 8: Laetitia Beck
Age: 33
Hometown: Tel Aviv, Israel
Collegiate golf: Duke University
Race for the Card points: 1,561.971
Her 2025 season: Beck carded a win on the Epson Tour this year at the Atlantic Beach Classic to go along with four additional top-10 finishes.
Notables: Beck competed on the LPGA Tour in the 2015-2021 and 2024 seasons and has two career top-10 finishes. The Duke alum, who was the 2011 ACC Rookie of the Year, will be returning to the LPGA Tour in 2026.
No. 9: Minji Kang
Age: 25
Hometown: Bucheon, Republic of Korea
Collegiate golf: Truett McConnell University
Race for the Card points: 1,529.043
Her 2025 season: Kang had a standout 2025 season on the Epson Tour, making 19 cuts out of 20 starts and finishing with nine top-10 results.
Notables: Kang is back in action on the LPGA Tour for the 2026 season after losing her membership following the 2024 season. Her collegiate golf career at Truett McConnell University included winning the 2022 NAIA Women’s Golf National Championship and being named the 2022 AAC Women’s Golfer of the Year.
No. 10: Hailee Cooper
Age: 25
Hometown: Montgomery, Texas
Collegiate golf: University of Texas, Texas A&M
Race for the Card points: 1,499.545
Her 2025 season: In her 2025, Cooper finished with eight top-10 results and made 17 cuts out of 19 starts on the Epson Tour. She also had a great finish at the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills, where she tied for seventh place.
Notables: Cooper has 12 career top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour, and her career best was a T2 result at the 2024 Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout. She’s still searching for a professional win.
No. 11: Anne Chen
Age: 24
Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas
Collegiate golf: Duke University
Race for the Card points: 1,260.358
Her 2025 season: Chen had a dream finish to her 2025 Epson Tour season. After notching four top-10 finishes, she capped off the season with another one, her win at the 2025 Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells.
Notables: In her rookie year on the Epson Tour in 2024, Chen made eight cuts out of 12 events and had a top-10 finish at the Island Resort Championship. Her career at Duke included an individual win at the 2022 Chattanooga Classic and an All-ACC honor in 2022.
No. 12: Isabella Fierro
Age: 24
Hometown: Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico
Collegiate golf: Oklahoma State University
Race for the Card points: 1,120.447
Her 2025 season: Fierro had six top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour this 2025 season.
Notables: Fierro competed on the LPGA Tour during the 2024 season but lost her card following that year. She’ll return to the LPGA in 2026 to hopefully make more cuts and notch some solid finishes under her belt. In college, Fierro was named to the 2016 All-SEC Freshman Team and finished her sophomore year with the best scoring average in Oklahoma State history.
No. 13: Michelle Zhang
Age: 20
Hometown: People’s Republic of China, resides in Frisco, Texas
Collegiate golf: Southern Methodist University
Race for the Card points: 1,017.776
Her 2025 season: Zhang ended with four top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour this season.
Notables: Since starting on the Epson Tour in 2023, Zhang has earned 12 top-10 finishes. In her one year with Southern Methodist, she broke the program records for scoring average, rounds of par or better and birdies in a single season.
No. 14: Carla Tejedo Mulet
No. 14, Carla Tejedo Mulet
Age: 23
Hometown: Castellon De La Plana, Spain
Collegiate golf: Louisiana State University
Race for the Card points: 994.016
Her 2025 season: In her rookie year on the Epson Tour, Tejedo Mulet finished with four top-10 results and made 13 cuts in 18 appearances.
Notables: During her time at LSU, Tejedo Mulet was named the 2021 All-Louisiana Freshman of the Year and was a member of the 2024 All-NCAA Championship Team. She also has some international team accolades with her home country of Spain.
No. 15: Laney Frye
Age: 23
Hometown: Nicholasville, Ky.
Collegiate golf: University of Kentucky
Race for the Card points: 965.726
Her 2025 season: As an Epson Tour rookie this season, Frye made 16 of 19 cuts on her way to six top-10 finishes.
Notables: At UK, Frye earned 2023-24 All-SEC First Team honors and was a 2023-24 WGCA/Golfweek All-American Honorable Mention.
Keep an eye on these players as they make their debut (or return) to the LPGA Tour in the 2026 season. See you next week!
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Five at The IX: Sponsor invite Youmin Hwang becomes fourth Korean to win LOTTE Championship
On Saturday, Oct. 4, the 2025 LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei was decided when Youmin Hwang birdied five of her last six holes to shoot a final-round 67 (-5) and finish one shot ahead of compatriot Hyo Joo Kim. This was the first LPGA Tour win for the 22-year old, who is not a member of the LPGA Tour but earned membership after this victory. She deferred that membership to the 2026 LPGA Tour season. Here are some snippets from Hwang’s post-win press conference.
THE MODERATOR: Joining me here after the final round of the LOTTE Championship is our 2025 winner, Youmin Hwang. How does it feel to be a winner on the LPGA Tour?
Q. You mentioned earlier in the week that you want to play on the LPGA Tour. How does this week show that you can compete against the best in the world?
YOUMIN HWANG: (Through translation.) So it was an honor for me that I can play with strong players in the LPGA league and I actually watched their play on the green and also learned a lot.
Personally, I really tried myself to perform well.
Q. You’re the fourth Korean to win at the LOTTE Championship, joining Sei Young Kim, Hyo Joo Kim, and A Lim Kim. What does it mean to be listed among those winners?
YOUMIN HWANG: (Through translation.) So it is good to see Korean players win the championship, but I’m here today so it’s truly meaningful for me to be able to stand alongside those Korean winners.
Q. How have those winners and other Korean players helped to mentor or inspire you?
YOUMIN HWANG: (Through translation.) So Hyo Joo Kim, especially, is a senior player whom I’ve always respected and admired and she’s kind of my mentor. It’s really good that I can stand alongside here as well.
Q. As you were preparing in your career, now 22 years old, won twice on the KLPGA. When did you think this victory in an LPGA might happen for you?
YOUMIN HWANG: (Through translation.) So before I joined this LOTTE Championship, I didn’t think I can be the winner this year. But after playing second round I thought, I might can be the winner if I focus on my play, my own play.
Q. To know that you’re part of history, what does that mean? Because there is no—you’re the 26th different winner on Tour this year; no multiple winners. What is that like for you?
YOUMIN HWANG: (Through translation.) I still cannot believe that I am the champion this year. As you just mentioned, we have a different winner every year. Maybe I will be the consecutive winner next year if I try really hard and do my best, so let’s see.
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