The Epson Tour will be missed by many here in the Capital Region. At 40 years, it was the tour’s longest-running tournament.
The summer golf calendar doesn’t seem complete without penciling in several days watching some of the best players in the world grind it out in hopes of earning an LPGA card.
Here are a few memories of the Epson Tour at Pinehaven and the players’ current status as LPGA professionals:
- Lilia Vu winning the 2021 Twin Bridges Championship at Pinehaven: She took home a $26,250 check. Two years later, she won an LPGA major, The Chevron Championship, collecting $765,000 for the win. She has $7 million in career earnings so far, has won eight professional titles, including two majors, and has represented Team USA at the Paris Olympics in 2024 and the Solheim Cup in 2023 and 2024. She wrote an essay about how winning at Pinehaven changed the trajectory of her career.
- Jenny Bae and Natasha Andrea Oon playoff in 2023: In just her third pro event after an outstanding college career at the University of Georgia, Bae won the Twin Bridges Championship for her second straight Epson Tour victory after she beat Natasha Andrea Oon on the fifth playoff hole. The battle over and over on the 18th hole is one of those Epson Tour moments etched forever in my mind. Bae has made nine cuts in 13 starts this season and earned $160,631 in the Mizuho Americas Open this year after tying for third. She has earned $475,000 on tour. She’s on the verge of a breakout LPGA Tour win.
- Lucy Li winning the event in 2022: Eyewitness to Li’s fabulous three days of golf was PGA Teaching Professional Matthew McPhillips, who is the PGA Director of Instruction at the Mohawk Golf Club in Schenectady and the Head Women’s Golf Coach at Union College. Li, the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open in 2014 at age 11, has reached $1.9 million in career earnings on the tour.
From writing profiles about athletes participating on the Epson Tour to covering Team USA at two Solheim Cups overseas, women’s golf has been a staple of my annual coverage…