Ashley Lau continued her late season charge with a T23 finish at the Black Desert Resort Championship presented by Marcella on Saturday, moving her three rungs up to 44th position on the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card season rankings.
The Malaysian carded rounds of 68, 71 and 67 for a 10-under-par 206 total at Soldier Hollow Golf Club’s Silver Course, eight shots adrift of winner Nataliya Guseva.
The US$375,000 tournament is the richest ever on the Epson Tour, which is the official qualifying circuit for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour. Lau pocketed a cheque for US$3,951 to take her season earnings to US$30,124 from 16 events.
The 23-year-old Lau has been in excellent form in recent weeks, chalking up top three finishes in her two previous starts to turn around what had been a lacklustre 2023 season.
“I focus on being in the present and not think too far ahead, which helps take the pressure off.
Just take it one shot at a time,” said Lau, who turned professional in November last year.
The 2023 Epson Tour schedule has four tournaments remaining, culminating in the Epson Tour Championship on October 5-8 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The top 10 players in the Race for the Card rankings at the end of the season will receive LPGA Tour cards for 2024. Those who finish in the top 35 earn places in the LPGA Q-Series, the final stage of qualifying for the 2024 LPGA Tour.
Malaysian number one Natasha Andrea Oon finished T46 on six-under-par and remains in second spot on the Race for the Card with US$114,030. Compatriot Alyaa Abdulghany missed the halfway cut and is in 26th place with US$49,269.
Lau, Oon and Alyaa will be part of the field for the LPGA Tour’ US$3 million Maybank Championship, which tees off at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club on October 26-29.
2023 Epson Tour Race for the Card (Top 10 as of September 10, 2023)
| Position | Player | Earnings (USD) |
| 1 | Gabriela Ruffels (AUS) | 156,283 |
| 2 | Natasha Andrea Oon (MAS) | 114,030 |
| 3 | Jiwon Jeon (KOR) | 111,370 |
| 4 | Agathe Laisne (FRA) | 109,060 |
| 5 | Jenny Coleman (USA) | 100,547 |
| 6 | Roberta Liti (ITA) | 100,291 |
| 7 | Minji Kang (KOR) | 94,677 |
| 8 | Jenny Bae (USA) | 79,938 |
| 9 | Gigi Stoll (USA) | 78,094 |
| 10 | Alena Sharp (USA) | 75,148 |
