After one of the most unpredictable LPGA Qualifying Series Final Qualifying Stages in recent years, the Epson Tour is sending 16 athletes to the LPGA Tour for their rookie seasons in 2026.

With the conclusion of the Epson Tour Championship on Oct. 5, 2025, the Epson Tour Race for the Card rankings were finalized. Ten of the 15 graduates will be LPGA Tour rookies, some of whom include Melanie Green (1), Yana Wilson (2), Erika Hara (5), Briana Chacon (6), Riley Smyth (7) and Hailee Cooper (10). Those athletes who finished inside the top 10 in the Race for the Card earned category 8 status on the 2026 LPGA Tour Priority List and therefore could not compete at the LPGA Q-Series Final Qualifying Stage in Mobile, Ala. to better their status for next year.

Anne Chen (11), Michelle Zhang (13), Carla Tejedo Mulet (14) and Laney Frye (15) earned category 16 status from their top-15 finish in Race for the Card and were allowed to participate in Final Qualifying at the Magnolia Grove – RTJ Golf Trail. Along with the rest of what wound up being a 113-player field, Chen, Zhang, Mulet and Frye had the chance to finish inside the top 25 and ties to better their 2026 LPGA Tour status from category 16 to 15.

Following a two-month hiatus from competitive golf, making pit stops in Spain, Portugal, Japan, and China, and adding world traveler to her resume, Chen settled down from the post-win highs derived from her victory at the Epson Tour Championship and was ready to compete again, this time for the chance to improve her 2026 status.
Chen ultimately finished T56 at 2-over par across the four rounds of competition and was unable to move up a category, but she is still looking forward to making her debut on the LPGA Tour as an official member next year.

After struggling in round one, posting a 4-over 76, Zhang continued to fight, carding rounds of 68, 73 and 66 to complete the tournament at 3-under total. Like Chen, Zhang was still just short of bettering her status, as she finished 34th, two shots short of the top 25 and ties.

Frye finished inside the top 15 in the Epson Tour Race for the Card Points list with 45.055 points to spare, but the former University of Kentucky Wildcat proved herself yet again at the Final Qualifying Stage in Mobile, Ala.

Frye fired back-to-back rounds of 68 to close out her 2025 competitive season and finish in a tie for seventh place at 10-under. She was the only athlete from the 2025 Epson Tour graduating class to successfully better their status from category 16 to category 15 for the 2026 LPGA Tour season at Final Qualifying.

“It was kind of like playing with house money,” explained Frye. “I was able to play freely and not put too much pressure on myself because I didn't have as much to lose. I think anybody here is in a good spot, but having the status kinda locked up, it's just a bonus.”

Tejedo Mulet, who was 14th in the season-long Race for the Card, withdrew from Final Qualifying after completing three rounds.

Outside of the Race for the Card top 15, six additional Epson Tour athletes finished inside the top-25 and ties at the LPGA Q-Series Final Qualifying Stage.

Mohan Du, who has two top 10s on her Epson Tour resume, led the way in Mobile, Ala., posting an 11-under 72-hole total to finish in a tie for third place to solidify her category 15 LPGA Tour playing status heading into the 2026 season.

Camille Boyd, who was a 2025 Epson Tour rookie, will be going from one rookie season to another after her stellar showing in Lower Alabama, where she finished T10 with a total combined score of 8-under.

Canadian Leah John was feeling confident after her first round on the Crossings Course at Magnolia Grove, finding herself atop the leaderboard after an 8-under 64. John knew she had what it takes to be on the LPGA Tour, even more so after winning the 2025 Four Winds Invitational on the Epson Tour.

The 25-year-old ultimately finished in a tie for 10th alongside Boyd to earn category 15 status heading into 2026.

“It's definitely big to know that what you're doing has to be working in some way,” said John. “I don't know what it's going to take for me to feel like I belong out here. I think that's an ongoing battle, but definitely it's supporting the idea that you at least have a shot at it. It was really nice to have that in there, and just nice to know that Leah is enough to get it done too.”

Emma McMyler channeled her inner underdog, firing a 5-under 67 on the Crossings Course, which was highlighted by four consecutive birdies on holes six through nine, to conclude her LPGA Final Qualifying stint and finish T17, successfully gaining LPGA Tour membership.

Jiaze Sun concluded the 2025 Epson Tour season ranked 72nd on the Race for the Card leaderboard, requiring her to compete at the LPGA Q-Series Qualifying Stage. The People’s Republic of China native finished T39 at Qualifying to advance to Final Qualifying, and after six long days of competition, Sun signed for a final-round 4-under 68 to climb from T29 to T17 and receive 2026 LPGA Tour playing credentials.

Former Duke University Blue Devil Erica Shepherd, similarly to Leah John, took plenty of confidence from her 2025 Epson Tour win at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout and used it to drive her focus for the week in Alabama. Shepherd carded a 1-under 71 in the final round to sit on the cut line at 5-under and be one of the final athletes inside the top 25 and ties, claiming her LPGA Tour card for the first time.

Make sure to keep an eye out as these 16 athletes gear up for their debuts as full LPGA Tour members in the 2026 season. The final leaderboard for 2025 LPGA Q-Series Final Qualifying Stage can be found here.

Epson Tour Athletes Earn, Improve LPGA Tour Status at LPGA Q-Series Final Qualifying Stage

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