Ashley Lau of Malaysia. Photo: Epson Tour
Malaysia’s Ashley Lau has soared up to 62nd place on the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card standings following her solo third finish in the shortened Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic on Sunday.
Lau carded rounds of 69 and 68 for a total of seven-under-par 137 at Wildhorse Resort & Casino in Pendleton, Oregon, as poor air quality due to wildfires in the region forced the tour to cancel the final round and declare an official 36-hole event. The tournament was won by China’s Xiaowen Yin with a 12-under-par total following successive rounds of 66.
Going onto the tournament ranked 128th on the Race for the Card, Lau would have had to head back to Stage 1 of LPGA Qualifying if she did not make the cut. The third-place cheque of US$14,152 bumped up the 23-year-old’s season earnings to US$18,521 from 14 starts, vaulting her to 62nd place on the season-long standings.
“This week definitely serves as a confidence booster and proof that things are going in the right direction,” said Lau, who turned professional in November last year.
“I came into this week already accepting the thought that I would be going to Stage 1. Whatever happens, happens, is what I told myself a lot this week, so I do not have so much pressure on myself – and it freed me up to just go out there and play golf and have fun,” she added.
Hailing from Bintulu in Sarawak, Lau enjoyed a stellar collegiate golf career with the University of Michigan and was ranked as high as 26th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
The performance at Wildhorse was by far Lau’s best in what has been a challenging rookie season on the Epson Tour, where she had missed nine cuts with a previous best finish of T31 at the Twin Bridges Championship in July.
“It felt really weird. I have never been in this position before, so I have not really soaked everything in yet, but I am very happy with how this week went,” noted Lau.
The Epson Tour is the official qualifying circuit for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, where the top 10 players on the Race for the Card rankings following October’s season-ending Epson Tour Championship will earn LPGA Tour cards for 2024.
Lau has now set her sights on a top 35 finish on the Race for the Card, which will get her straight into the LPGA Q-Series which is the final stage of qualifying for the 2024 LPGA Tour.
“I am going to trust what I am doing and hopefully bag a couple more of these good results and play my way into the top 35. I have always been someone that sets small goals, so I will start with that,” she said.
Malaysian number one Natasha Andrea Oon finished joint 20th in the Wildhorse event on three-under-par 141 (72, 69) and remains in second place on the Race for the Card with US$112,269. Compatriot Alyaa Abdulghany missed the cut and is currently ranked 17th on the Race for the Card with US$49,269.
2023 Epson Tour Race for the Card (Top 10 as of August 22, 2023)
| Position | Player | Earnings (USD) |
| 1 | Gabriela Ruffels (AUS) | 156,283 |
| 2 | Natasha Andrea Oon (MAS) | 112,269 |
| 3 | Jiwon Jeon (KOR) | 108,616 |
| 4 | Agathe Laisne (FRA) | 83,738 |
| 5 | Jenny Bae (USA) | 79,938 |
| 6 | Jenny Coleman (USA) | 75,225 |
| 7 | Roberta Liti (ITA) | 74,685 |
| 8 | Gigi Stoll (USA) | 73,843 |
| 9 | Alena Sharp (CAN) | 69,585 |
| 10 | Minji Kang (KOR) | 68,701 |
