When an LPGA Tour player realizes a lifelong dream, breaks through and becomes a winner, the magnitude of their victory can't be overlooked. What does it mean for them to finally win on the LPGA Tour? In a word, everything.
Bailey Tardy experienced that firsthand on Sunday when she defeated Sarah Schmelzel by four strokes in the People’s Republic of China to become the season's first Rolex First-Time Winner. The LPGA sophomore recorded rounds of 68-70-66-65 en route to her maiden win at the Blue Bay LPGA and, with it, made the move of the week. The Georgia native jumped 85 spots from No. 169 to No. 84 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, which is now the highest ranking of her career.
The 27-year-old felt she got off to a slow start early in the final round but stayed patient with herself and was ultimately pleased with how she handled the pressure.
"I can't say that I woke up today knowing I was going to shoot 65 or knowing I needed to go that low to win," said Tardy, who became the second American to win this season. "I just knew it was going to be a tough day. I thought that everybody was going to play really well. The leaderboard was stacked, and the conditions were windy, so just really proud of myself and how I handled myself."
The Epson Tour alumna finished her rookie season on the LPGA Tour only making 12 cuts in her 21 starts in 2023 and earning just one top-10 result, a tie for fourth at the U.S. Women's Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Before last week’s breakthrough, Tardy was still relatively unknown on the LPGA Tour early in the 2024 season as she got off to a slow start this year with one missed cut at the LPGA Drive On Championship.
Sarah Schmelzel Moves Up 22 Spots
Sarah Schmelzel made the second most impactful move in the Rolex Rankings, jumping up 22 spots to No. 73 in the world after falling just short at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course. Schmelzel played solid in the People's Republic of China, finishing with a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to finish in solo second.
The American has competed on the LPGA Tour since 2019 and has ten career top-10 finishes. But her success last week could be the breakthrough moment that propels her up a couple of notches and into the winner's circle this season. Like Tardy, Schmelzel's move in the Rolex Rankings was impressive, but her move in the Race to the CME Globe standings was arguably more significant, as she jumped from No. 40 to No. 9 in the standings after a successful Asian swing. The 29-year-old has made three cuts in four starts this season, recording back-to-back top-10 finishes as she added the runner-up result at the Blue Bay LPGA to her tie for eighth at the HSBC Women's World Championship the previous week.
Valery Plata Leads Epson Tour's Race for the Card Standings
The Race for the Card is a season-long points competition that sees Epson Tour members accumulate points in every official Epson Tour tournament with the ultimate goal of finishing in the top 15 in the point standings to earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2025 season. The point-based system, new on the Epson Tour this season, replaces the money-based system and will see points awarded to those who make the cut weekly. The 2024 season will also be the first year that Epson Tour athletes will vie for 15 LPGA Tour cards, which will be awarded after the season-ending Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, Calif.
The Race for the Card continues at the IOA Golf Classic presented by LPT Realty in Longwood, Fla., this week, with players vying for 500 points in just the second event of the 2024 season. In the opening event of the year last week, first-time winner Valery Plata claimed a victory at Florida's Natural Charity Classic as well as the first 500 points of the season. Ana Belac finished runner-up after falling to Plata in a playoff and earned 320 points in Winter Haven, Fla., to sit in second place in the Race for the Card standings. The 2023 Epson Tour rookie Cassie Porter is ranked third in the standings with 230 points after finishing two shots behind Plata last week.
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