Tight race for LPGA cards ends this week with Epson Tour Championship

The Epson Tour Championship kicks off on Thursday, and 10 LPGA cards will be given out by week’s end. Three players have already clinched their LPGA cards for 2024: Gabriela Ruffels, Natasha Andrea Oon and Jiwon Jeon.

A total of seven players have already broken the $100,000 mark in season earnings, three more than any other year in the developmental tour’s history.

Madelene Sagstrom set the all-time Epson Tour money record of $167,064 in just 15 events. Ruffels is currently $10,781 shy of that record. Ruffels would need to finish in the top 3 to break the record while Oon ($147,780) would need to win.

Gabriela Ruffels of Australia watches her tee shot on the 13th tee during the second round of the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G at Kenwood Country Club on September 08, 2023, in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

A total of 108 players will compete at LPGA International for a $250,000 purse. The low 60 players and ties will advance after 36 holes.

The Race for the Card (top 10 on the money list) couldn’t be any tighter. Currently, players ranked No. 4-30 on the money list have a chance to secure their cards. Only $274 separates No. 10 Jenny Bae from No. 11 Robyn Choi.

Bae, of course, lost in a playoff to Rose Zhang at this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur and turned professional not long after. She has only played in 10 events so far on the Epson Tour this season and won twice.

Here’s the current top 10:

1. Gabriela Ruffels $156,283
2. Natasha Andrea Oon $147,780
3. Jiwon Jeon $114,219
4. Agathe Laisne $109,060
5. Jenny Coleman $104,958
6. Roberta Liti $102,734
7. Minji Kang $100,165
8. Isabella Fierro $97,504
9. Becca Huffer $89,390
10. Jenny Bae $88,889

Listed below are the projections of what players ranked Nos. 11-30 on the money list must do to jump into the top 10 and earn their cards: (Note: Ties are not factored in.)

11. Robyn Choi

Robyn Choi of Australia hits a tee shot during the final round of the 2022 LPGA Q-Series – Dothan at Highland Oaks Golf Course on December 11, 2022, in Dothan, Alabama. (Photo by Hannah Ruhoff/Getty Images)

Solo 60th or better to have a chance

12. Nataliya Guseva

Nataliya Guseva gives a wave on the Epson Tour (courtesy Epson Tour/Ben Harpring)

Solo 22nd or better to have a chance

13. Kristen Gillman

Kristen Gillman of the United States hits her tee shot on the 4th hole during the first round of the CP Women’s Open at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club on August 25, 2022, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Solo 10th or better to have a chance

14. Miranda Wang

Miranda Wang tees off on the Epson Tour. (courtesy Epson Tour)

Solo ninth or better to have a chance

15. Auston Kim

Auston Kim of the United States hits a tee shot during the final round of the 2022 LPGA Q-Series – Dothan at Highland Oaks Golf Course on December 11, 2022, in Dothan, Alabama. (Photo by Hannah Ruhoff/Getty Images)

Solo eighth or better to have a chance

16. Alena Sharp

Alena Sharp of Canada plays her shot from the 12th tee during the first round of the CPKC Women’s Open at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club on August 24, 2023, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

Solo seventh or better to have a chance

17. Gigi Stoll

Gigi Stoll lines up a putt on the Epson Tour. (courtesy photo Epson Tour/Ben Harpring)

Solo seventh or better to have a chance

18. Savannah Vilaubi

Savannah Vilaubi (Epson Tour/Ben Harpring)

Solo third or better to have a chance

Players who must win to have a chance

Cydney Clanton of the United States plays her shot from the fifth tee during the first round of the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G at Kenwood Country Club on September 07, 2023, in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Nos. 19-30 Laetitia Beck, Laura Wearn, Katherine Smith, Karen Chung, Ssu-Chia Cheng, Yue Ren, Min A Yoon, Mariel Galdiano, Kathleen Scavo, Cydney Clanton, Hira Naveed, Jillian Hollis

Note: Min A Yoon and Cydney Clanton are not in the field.