Welcome to this week’s Golf Insider, everyone!
On Sunday, Oct. 4, the Epson Tour season came to a close. 21-year-old Mirabel Ting topped the Race for the Card standings and claimed both Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors.
But at the final tournament of the season, Reagan Zibilski shot a final-round 62 to win the 2026 Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells. With her first Epson Tour win, Zibilski finished tenth in the Race for the Card standings and earned her LPGA Tour card for the 2027 season. The 22-year-old from Missouri joins fourteen other athletes in the Epson Tour’s 2026 graduating class. Let’s meet them!
Help shape what’s next for The IX Sports! Take our short reader survey:
No. 1: Mirabel Ting
Age: 20
Hometown: Miri, Malaysia
Collegiate golf: Augusta University (one year), Florida State (two years)
Race for the Card points: 2,778.153
Her 2026 season: Ting won twice on the Epson Tour in her rookie season this year. She claimed her first title at the 2026 Smoky Mountain Championship, defeating Rachel Kuehn in a playoff. Her second win came just two weeks later at the Dream First Bank Charity Classic. Ting notched 10 more top-10 finishes this season in addition to those two wins.
Notables: The Florida State alumna was named the 2025 ACC Golfer of the Year, 2025 ANNIKA Award winner and 2025 PING WGCA Player of the Year. While at FSU, Ting claimed seven collegiate wins.
No. 2: Lauren Olivares
Age: 22
Hometown: Guanajuato, Mexico
Collegiate golf: NC State
Race for the Card points: 2,280.442
Her 2026 season: In her rookie season, Olivares claimed one win and 11 more top-10 finishes. Her maiden Epson Tour title came at the 2026 Great Lakes Championship. Even though she didn’t claim another win after that, Olivares stayed consistent to climb to No. 2 in the Race for the Card.
Notables: Olivares became the first woman to shoot a round of 60 in a collegiate golf round during her time at NC State. She also is the first NC State golfer to be named an All-ACC player.
No. 3: Kaleiya Romero
Age: 24
Hometown: San Jose, Calif.
Collegiate golf: Pepperdine
Race for the Card points: 2,140.676
Her 2026 season: Romero cemented herself as a force in the professional game during her 2026 Epson Tour season. She won the 2026 Island Resort Championship and earned nine more top-10 finishes.
Notables: At Pepperdine, Romero won the 2021 Dick McGuire Invitational and finished first at the 2023 WCC Championships. Before making strides on the Epson Tour, Romero was a graduate assistant with Oregon, where her sister, Kiara, played her collegiate golf. Now both sisters will be pros on the LPGA Tour in 2027.
No. 4: Annabelle Pancake-Webb
Age: 24
Hometown: Zionsville, Ind.
Collegiate golf: Clemson
Race for the Card points: 1,760.493
Her 2026 season: Pancake-Webb earned her first Epson Tour win at the 2026 Greater Toledo Classic and had seven more top-10 finishes. During her rookie season last year, she finished at a then career-best T5 at the Epson Tour Championship, and she made nine cuts in 17 starts.
No. 5: Carla Bernat Escuder
Age: 23
Hometown: Castellon, Spain
Collegiate golf: Kansas State
Race for the Card points: 1,626.300
Her 2026 season: Bernat Escuder notched five top-10 finishes in her rookie season this year, including one win at the 2026 Guardian Championship.
Notables: The 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion was a five-time individual champion at Kansas State. She also holds the program record for low scoring average (70.44). Bernat Escuder was named the 2024-25 Big 12 Women’s Golfer of the Year.
Rep The IX Sports at your next game!
Shop the logo collection or special “Women’s Sports are Front Page News” collection now on Shopify.
No. 6: Cholcheva Wongras
Age: 19
Hometown: Chiangmai, Thailand
Race for the Card points: 1,507.295
Her 2026 season: Wongras notched one win during her 2026 rookie season, and it came at the Reliance Matrix Championship. She made 14 cuts in 16 starts on the Epson Tour, and claimed five top-10 results.
Notables: In 2025, Wongras competed on the Thai LPGA and finished number one in the Order of Merit. She also has a professional title at the Taiwan LPGA’s Kenda Tire TLPGA Open.
No. 7: Liqi Zeng
Age: 20
Hometown: Nanchang, People’s Republic of China
Race for the Card points: 1,409.405
Her 2026 season: Zeng had a solid season on the Epson Tour despite not getting a win. She had six top-10 finishes this season, an improvement from only two in 2025.
Notables: Zeng will be returning to the LPGA in 2027 after a stint on tour in 2024. During that 2024 season, she made nine cuts in 18 starts and had two top-20 finishes. Her best finish of the season was at the 2024 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, where she finished tied for 17th.
No. 8: Amari Avery
Age: 22
Hometown: Riverside, Calif.
Collegiate golf: USC
Race for the Card points: 1,403.161
Her 2026 season: Avery made history at the 2026 IOA Championship when she claimed her first Epson Tour victory; she became the first Black player to win on the Epson Tour in 12 years. Avery has steadily been climbing the Epson Tour ranks, earning four more top-10 finishes in her 2026 season to gain LPGA membership.
Notables: Avery was a part of the American Curtis Cup winning team in 2022 at Merion. She was a rookie on that team and was just one singles match short of going 5-0-0 in a single Curtis Cup tournament.
No. 9: Mariel Galdiano
Age: 28
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii
Collegiate golf: UCLA
Race for the Card points: 1,318.045
Notables: Before turning professional in 2020, Galdiano won the 2015 Canadian Women’s Amateur. She represented the United States at the 2016 and 2018 Curtis Cups and was on the 2015 Junior Solheim Cup U.S. Team.
No. 10: Reagan Zibilski
Age: 22
Hometown: Springfield, Miss.
Collegiate golf: Arkansas
Race for the Card points: 1,142.583
Her 2026 season: This was Zibilski’s rookie season on the Epson Tour, and she had four top-10 results. Her best was a win at this 2026 Epson Tour Championship, the one that awarded her LPGA membership.
Notables: Zibilski is part of the Epson Tour’s inaugural LPGA Collegiate Advancement Pathway (LCAP). This path also produced 2026 Epson Tour winner Kary Hollenbaugh. Zibilski credits LCAP as a huge help in getting her tour card right out of college.
No. 11: Rachel Kuehn
Age: 25
Hometown: Asheville, N.C.
Collegiate golf: Wake Forest
Race for the Card points: 1,079.231
Notables: Kuehn enters her professional career as one of the most decorated college golfers. She’s an eight-time individual collegiate winner with Wake Forest and still holds the program record for best career scoring average. She was part of the 2022 and 2024 ACC Championship teams and won the 2024 ACC individual championship. Kuehn also clinched the winning match point to help Wake Forest to its first NCAA national title in 2023, leading her to her second ACC Player of the Year honor.
No. 12: Megha Ganne
Age: 22
Hometown: Holmdel, N.J.
Collegiate golf: Stanford
Race for the Card points: 1,065.100
Her 2026 season: Ganne came out of the LCAP program to the Epson Tour and nabbed a win in her rookie season. She won the 2026 Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic in a playoff for her first professional title. Ganne had three more top-10 finishes to round out her 2026 season.
Notables: Speaking of decorated amateur and collegiate golfers, Megha Ganne is certainly one of them. The 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion has three individual collegiate wins. She’s led Stanford to two NCAA national titles in 2024 and 2026. In 2023, Ganne was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
No. 13: Lauryn Nguyen
Age: 23
Hometown: Seattle, Wash.
Collegiate golf: Northwestern
Race for the Card points: 1,029.605
Her 2026 season: Nguyen notched five top-10 finishes in her rookie season, including her first professional title at the 2026 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship during the Pure Michigan Cup.
Notables: The 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year led her Northwestern team to its first NCAA national title in 2025, defeating Stanford in the matchplay final. That championship will go down as one of the most iconic upsets in college golf. Nguyen downed Paula Martín Sampedro 1-up with an emphatic birdie on the 18th hole to contribute a point for the eventual champs.
No. 14: Megan Schofill
Age: 25
Hometown: Monticello, Fla.
Collegiate golf: Auburn
Race for the Card points: 970.350
Her 2026 season: Schofill won her first Epson Tour title at the 2026 Carlisle Women’s Golf Classic. She also had two other top-10 finishes and made 14 cuts in 19 starts in her second Epson Tour season.
Notables: Schofill is the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion. She had a solid rookie season on the Epson Tour in 2025 with three top-10 finishes, including a runner-up finish at the IOA Championship.
No. 15: Samantha Wagner
Age: 29
Hometown: Windermere, Fla.
Collegiate golf: Florida
Race for the Card points: 942.609
Notables: Wagner has been grinding. She turned pro in 2017 and has been fighting for LPGA membership since. In 2022, Wagner finished tied for sixth at LPGA Q-Series, earning membership on the LPGA Tour in 2023. Wagner will return to the LPGA Tour in 2027 after claiming her first Epson Tour win at the 2025 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship.
As the official qualifying tour of the LPGA, the Epson Tour produces some of the most hardworking, entertaining athletes to play on Tour. Players like Megha Ganne, Kaleiya Romero and Mirabel Ting are surely going to have an immediate impact. Keep an eye out for these golfers when the 2027 LPGA season kicks off.
See you next week, golf fans.
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
This week in women’s golf
LPGA News
LPGA Tour announces 2027 schedule
The LOTTE Championship moving to Kapalua Resort starting in 2027
Jeeno Thitikul wins in Hawaii for her fourth LPGA Tour victory of the season
Ina Yoon records second runner-up finish of the season at the 2026 LOTTE Championship
LET News
LET begins Asia swing with Aramco Korea Championship
Field breakdown: 2026 Aramco Korea Championship
Watch live: 2026 Aramco Korea Championship
Pettersen aiming to get a sense of where her game is at during Aramco Korea Championship
Ciganda keeping Solheim Cup momentum going at New Korea Country Club
17-year-old Huang eyes the LPGA and consecutive PIF Global Series crowns
Alexander chasing LET Order of Merit crown before final 2026 event
Spitz hoping to stay in the moment at 2026 Aramco Korea Championship
September 2026 LET Player of the Month nominees announced
Asian Games 2026: Urs makes Indian golf history
Epson Tour News
Alexis Phadungmartvorakul earns second Epson Community Achievement Award for giving back
Carley Cox Pruette leans on faith and family as recipient of Heather Wilbur Spirit Award
Mirabel Ting sweeps 2026 Epson Tour Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors
Meet the 2026 Epson Tour graduates
Reagan Zibilski wins first pro title at 2026 Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells
NCAA News
Oklahoma, Thiengsri sweep titles at OU Intercollegiate
Tennessee wins second straight victory at Mercedes Benz Intercollegiate
Stanford wins first team title of the season at Windy City Collegiate Classic
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
Five at The IX: Jeeno Thitikul claims fourth win of the season at the 2026 LOTTE Championship in Hawaii
On Sunday, Oct. 4, Jeeno Thitikul won her fourth LPGA Tour title of the season at the 2026 LOTTE Championship in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Thitikul shot four rounds in the 60s to climb three strokes ahead of Ina Yoon and claim another victory. She ended her final round with two birdies in a row to separate herself from the field. With this win, Thitikul is one win away from tying Ariya Jutanugarn’s record for all-time LPGA Tour wins by a player from Thailand. Here are some snippets from Thitikul’s post-win press conference.
MALLORY KINAHAN: All right, we are pleased to be joined by the champion of the 2026 LOTTE Championship, Jeeno Thitikul. Just is it sinking in yet you’re the champion of the 2026 LOTTE Championship? What are your emotions right now?
JEENO THITIKUL: Tired. (Laughter.)
Definitely my leg was so sore. I mean, just, you know, word cannot describe what I feeling right now. I mean, it’s happy, it’s, you know, a lot of feelings going on.
I mean, like really like a rollercoaster on like 15, 16, 17, and 18. So just, I mean, now everything was set so just tired right now, but a good tired.
KINAHAN: And you mentioned just the rollercoaster on the last three holes. You had the double bogey on 16. How do you turn it around and come back from that with two birdies on the last two holes? What’s your mentality on that stretch?
THITIKUL: It definitely feels so bad after finishing the 16, but I also told myself that I still in the bubble, like my bubbles, and then I feel like I trying to play my game; not other or anyone game.
So I just really want to focus on what I have, because like on my mind I think whenever if I still have a shot, which mean I still have a chance, no matter it’s going to be good or bad, I have nothing to lose, so…
KINAHAN: What was the mindset knowing you had Ina [Yoon] chasing you the whole round?
THITIKUL: Has to make birdies. I mean, she [Yoon] played really incredible golf today. I mean, she opening the round with like five hole 4-under par, which is, you know, a really like good, good round of golf that she put in.
And then it’s a really good battling out with her out there. We have fun.
But at the end of the day, you know, if she doing better, she get it. If I’m doing great, I get it. We just trying to do our job the best that we could put it in.
So I think we put it in pretty good today with all the result that we got.
KINAHAN: 65 out of 72 greens in regulation through your four rounds here at Hoakalei, which is the best in the field. What do you feel like was your key to success in that area?
THITIKUL: I think I keep the ball where I wanted to pretty well today. I mean, if you win it, yeah, I have to keep the ball where I want it to anyway, right?
But, I mean, maybe kind of like little break from golf kind of help. You know, like just like I said earlier of the week, I really worked on work-life balance. Off for two weeks and work for two weeks is really balancing it out.
But, you know, it’s golf. When you had a confident into it and then when you’re not thinking much, that’s when your result kind of show what you had.
So, I mean, I think I maybe thinking less. I just focus what I have to do in the present on just like shot by shot for this couple month, so it’s kind of worked out.
KINAHAN: Yeah, and then you got to experience that luau dance after the final putt there. You are the first Thai player to win the LOTTE Championship. How great is that opportunity and experience and just being here in Hawai’i to be able to do that tradition?
THITIKUL: It’s really different to honor another like wins that I have. This is my 11 one; 10 one was way easier than the dance. I obviously think my—I mean, my 16 is even better than my dance. (Laughter.)
I mean, and actually my friend came and seen me last week in Dallas and they’re a couple and they was like, I’m going to see you dance in LOTTE. I was like, hell no. But I end up won it, but I don’t know how.
But the dance even the hardest that I have to do today. Not the golf.
Your business can reach women’s sports fans who share your passion!
Here at The IX Sports, our audience is a collection of the smartest, most passionate women’s sports fans in the world. If your business has a mission to serve these fans, you should reach out to our team at BAlarie@theixsports.com to discuss ways to work together in 2026.
Soccer: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
Tennis: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Basketball: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus, The IX Sports
Golf: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Hockey: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Gymnastics: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer
