Anne Chen Secures LPGA Membership for 2026
Championship Sunday at Indian Wells Golf Resort – Celebrity Course gave athletes one last chance to finalize their positions in the Race for the Card, a paid-for invitation to Final Qualifying or guarantee full Epson Tour status for the 2026 season.
And after a thrilling five-hole playoff on Sunday evening at Indian Wells Golf Resort, it was Duke University alum Anne Chen who walked away with the trophy, winning the Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells and securing an LPGA Tour card for the 2026 season.
Chen carded rounds of 68, 64 and 69 over the first three days in California to sit alone in third heading into the final round at the Celebrity Course, two shots back of 54-hole leader Yana Wilson. Wilson faltered on day four, ultimately finishing with a 1-over 73 to tie for ninth, and both Chen and Sophia Schubert capitalized on the 19-year-old’s stumbles, moving up the leaderboard with rounds of 65 and 66, respectively, to finish in a tie for first at 22-under overall.
The pair then needed five extra holes to decide a winner in one of the most dramatic playoffs of the entire Epson Tour season. After matching pars on the first and second holes, Chen recovered from a poor bunker shot on the third hole by burying a lengthy par putt from off the green to keep the playoff going
Then, on the fourth extra hole, Chen found the green on the par-5 13th hole in two and two-putted for birdie, while Schubert got up-and-down for birdie to send the duo to a fifth playoff hole. And when Schubert missed the green with her approach shot and failed to get up and down, a two-putt handed Chen her first career Epson Tour victory and locked her into the 11th position in the season-long Race for the Card, earning the 24-year-old LPGA Tour membership for the 2026 season.
“I had a great day. It was a lot of fun. I really wasn’t trying to think about winning this tournament. I was just trying to have a great time. I played with Annabelle Pancake-Webb, and she was so much fun, such a joy to play with,” said Chen. “She definitely made me feel less stressed on the golf course, and I made a putt on 17 that I wasn’t expecting to make. I just parred out on 18, and I didn’t realize that I was tied for the lead, and then we had a playoff. Sophia (Schubert) is such a great competitor. It was so fun to play against her, and I’m super excited to win today.”
Schubert, who had already clinched her card after the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout, recorded her sixth top-10 result of the 2025 season with her solo second performance at the Epson Tour Championship. She finished fourth in the Race for the Card after play wrapped at Indian Wells Golf Resort and will return to the LPGA in a full-time capacity next year.
Isabella Fierro and Agathe Laisne tied for third at 19-under overall, finishing two shots out of the playoff. Both athletes posted 7-under 65s in the final round, with Laisne making one bogey and eight birdies and Fierro going bogey-free, putting five birdies and an eagle on the par-4 3rd hole on her scorecard. Fierro finished inside the top 15 in the Race for the Card and will also be returning to the LPGA in 2026, news the Mexico native was delighted to celebrate as the sun began to set in Indian Wells, Calif.
“It was such a long season, and the Epson Tour is getting so competitive every single day,” said Fierro with a smile on her face. “Even today, I just played with no expectations, and I knew that I was going to be up there. It was gonna be close, but I had a blast today on the course. I just played my game, and it paid off. I’m really excited to be back and to be teeing off with the best players in the world. It’s honestly a dream.”
Annabelle Pancake-Webb and Megan Schofill rounded out the top five, tying for fifth at 18-under overall. Fifteen players secured 2026 LPGA Tour membership via the 2025 Race for the Card, including Melanie Green, who earned both Player of the Year and Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year honors with her T7 showing in the desert. She is the first athlete since two-time LPGA Tour winner Madelene Sagstrom in 2016 to win both awards simultaneously, history the 24-year-old New Yorker was excited to make in her debut season on the Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA.
“It’s really exciting about the history behind it,” said Green. “Obviously, I have to go make my own, but just overall exciting. I’m really looking forward to the journey and everything that comes with it.”
Other notable athletes to secure 2026 LPGA Tour status include Nevada native Yana Wilson, Texas A&M University alum Hailee Cooper and Japan’s Erika Hara. In addition to Chen, former Duke University Blue Devils Gina Kim and Laetitia Beck also finished in the top 15 of the Race for the Card. Chen’s victory at the Epson Tour Championship was the second consecutive win for a Blue Devil on the Epson Tour, as Erica Shepherd triumphed at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout.
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