Following a month-long break, the Epson Tour returns to action in Beaumont, Calif., for the 12th playing of the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort and Spa. The 132-player field will take on Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon from April 26 to 28. Here are five things to know about the 2024 IOA Championship:
Miranda Wang Looks to Defend Her Title
For the first time this season, the Epson Tour has a defending champion in the field. Miranda Wang won the 2023 IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort Spa and looks to defend her title in Beaumont, Calif. this week. Despite delays, unfavorable conditions and other athletes chasing her down, Wang was able to hold onto her lead and finish strong for her first career victory.
So far in 2024, Wang has shown that she is ready to defend. The People’s Republic of China native opened her season with sponsor exemptions on the LPGA Tour at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and Blue Bay LPGA. She finished in a tie for 58th in Singapore and then fired an opening-round 66 at Blue Bay LPGA to ultimately finish in a tie for 44th, earning just over $9,500. The 25-year-old carried the momentum into the start of the Epson Tour season, making the cut at both the IOA Golf Classic presented by LPT Realty and the Atlantic Beach Classic. Wang is currently 63rd in the Race for the Card standings.
The Field is Full of Past and Present Champions
The 2024 IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort and Spa field is deep. All three champions from this year will tee it up, along with six past IOA Championship winners. Briana Chacon is the most recent champion competing, winning the Epson Tour’s last event, the Atlantic Beach Classic. Valery Plata and Jessica Peng, who won the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic and IOA Golf Classic presented by LPT Realty, respectively, will join Chacon.
The six past IOA Championship winners in this year’s field are:
- Miranda Wang (2023)
- Sophie Hausmann (2021)
- Fatima Fernandez Cano (2020)
- Jillian Hollis (2019)
- Daniela Darquea (2017)
- Kim Kaufman (2014)
Young Looks for Redemption
Madison Young has unfinished business at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon. The Georgia native was the first- and second-round co-leader at the 2023 IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort and Spa but unfortunately dropped back to solo third after a final-round 73. The third-place finish was Young’s best result to date, a stat that still holds true today. However, Young is off to a hot start in 2024, making two of three cuts during the Florida stretch and finishing in a tie for 19th in the Epson Tour’s last event, the Atlantic Beach Classic. In the four-week break, the 27-year-old qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club, which will be her first career major start on the LPGA Tour.
Second Stretch with the New Points Ranking
The Epson Tour saw two major changes to the Race for the Card heading into the 2024 season. The first change is from a money-based system to a point-based system. The points will be the same for every event, except for the season-ending event, the Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, Calif. Additionally, the top 15 players in the Race for the Card will now earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2025 season. For more information about the updated season-long competition, please click here.
After the first three tournaments, Valery Plata leads the Race for the Card with 577 points. Jessica Peng and Briana Chacon share second place with 500 points each after winning the IOA Golf Classic and Atlantic Beach Classic with Ana Belac and Kim Kaufman rounding out the top five.
|
Name |
Points |
|
Valery Plata |
577 |
|
Jessica Peng |
500 |
|
Briana Chacon |
500 |
|
Ana Belac |
430 |
|
Kim Kaufman |
404.667 |
|
Lindsey McCurdy |
365.929 |
|
Jessica Porvasnik |
309.929 |
|
Kum-Kang Park |
294.179 |
|
Dewi Weber |
272.250 |
|
Cassie Porter |
266 |
|
Jenny Bae |
250 |
|
Lauren Stephenson |
198.333 |
|
Heather Lin |
187.067 |
|
Amanda Doherty |
171.179 |
|
Karen Chung |
170.958 |
What’s Next?
The IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort and Spa marks the first tournament in the four-week West Coast stretch. The 132-player field is competing for a $200,000 purse with a winner’s share of $30,000, as well as warming up for the weeks ahead and getting back into a groove after a month-long break. From California, Epson Tour athletes will travel to Arizona for two weeks, competing in the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic and Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic, the latter of which has the largest purse of the season at $400,000. The Copper Rock Championship will close out the West Coast stretch in Hurricane, Utah. More information on the West Coast swing be found here.
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