With that in mind, Gillman came out swinging on Sunday, making three birdies in her first nine holes to get to 14-under, a start she knew she would have to improve upon on the back nine if she wanted that top-three finish. She found two more birdies on Nos. 11 and 14, but with four holes left to play, Gillman knew she was running out of time.

After a par on 15 and a lip-out for birdie on 16, she let herself peek at the leaderboard to see where she stood with two holes to play. Ultimately, there was still work to do, and Gillman resolved to be as aggressive as possible on 17 and 18 to – at the very least – put herself in the best possible position to eke inside the top 10 come the end of the day.

The par-3 17th hole was playing 175 yards in the final round, and Gillman easily birdied it, hitting a 6-iron to 10 feet and confidently knocking in her putt for birdie. Now, with only the par-5 18th hole left, Gillman had to take full advantage.

She found the fairway off the tee, hitting her drive far enough to allow herself to go for the green in two, a risk she needed to take with so much on the line. Gillman had been short of the green in each of the first three rounds, so when she was in between yardages on her second shot, the 26-year-old opted for the longer of the two clubs, determined to have an eagle putt instead of a pitch shot, the former of which should have guaranteed her at least a birdie.

Gillman swung her hybrid and the ball shot into the air, landed on the green and ran up to the hole, settling just inside six feet and setting up a more-than-makeable eagle try that would move her well inside the top 10 on the leaderboard. She again stroked it confidently, and when the ball found the bottom of the cup, a cheer went up from the crowd behind 18.

Gillman had pulled off the improbable on her last two holes at the Epson Tour Championship, finishing birdie-eagle to fire an 8-under 64 and vault into the 10th spot in the Race for the Card, regaining LPGA Tour status for the 2024 season.

Kristen Gillman Comes Up Clutch to Regain LPGA Tour Card for 2024

Meet 2023 Epson Tour Graduate Kristen Gillman

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