INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — The first round of the Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells is complete, and Cholcheva Wongras leads the way early in the week after opening her tournament with an 8-under 63 at the Players Course at Indian Wells Golf Resort. It's a low number at the most pivotal time of the year.

Wongras has already clinched a top-15 spot and a place in the 2026 Epson Tour graduating class, but she still has plenty to play for. She's No. 9 in the Race for the Card rankings, so she needs a strong finish to stay inside the top 10. That would earn her Category 9 status on the 2027 LPGA Tour Priority List, the best LPGA Tour membership awarded through the Epson Tour. Her opening round puts her on track to lock up that spot and maybe close out the season with a second win.

Reagan Zibilski sits alone in second at 6-under, two shots back of Wongras. Defending champion Anne Chen is one more stroke back in solo third at 5-under. Chen won this event in 2025 in a five-hole playoff over Sophia Schubert and comes into this week No. 18 in the Race for the Card. A title defense would give her a chance to climb back into the top 15 and reclaim her LPGA Tour card outright for 2027.

Four players are tied for fifth at 4-under: Haylee Harford Sanchez, Madison Young, Gianna Clemente and Kaleigh Telfer. Harford Sanchez holds the final card spot at No. 15 in the Race for the Card, and a good week would go a long way toward making sure she's holding an LPGA Tour card come Sunday afternoon.

Seven players round out the top 10 in a tie for ninth at 3-under: Heather Lin, Liqi Zeng, Amari Avery, Clariss Guce, Rachel Kuehn, Yu-Sang Hou and Napat Lertsadwattana. Kuehn is No. 10 in the standings, right on the line between Category 9 and Category 16 status, so every shot she gains this week could change her 2027 LPGA Tour priority.

At the conclusion of the Epson Tour Championship, 15 LPGA Tour cards will be awarded to the top athletes in the Race for the Card rankings. Nine cards were clinched before the Championship, which leaves six up for grabs this week at Indian Wells Golf Resort and sets up a dramatic finish over the weekend. Other status is also on the line with three rounds to play in California.

Athletes who finish 11th through 15th will earn Category 16 status on the 2027 LPGA Tour Priority List. Athletes who finish 16th through 35th in the Race for the Card will go straight to the final stage of LPGA Q-Series in November. Every player in this week's field has already secured full Category A status for the 2027 Epson Tour season, and the higher she finishes in the final standings, the better her priority within that category will be.

Take a look at where the top 15 players in the Race for the Card stand through 18 holes at the Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells:

Mirabel Ting* – (-5, T3)
Lauren Olivares* – (+1, T47)
Kaleiya Romero* – (-2, T16)
Annabelle Pancake-Webb* – (+3, T60)
Carla Bernat Escuder* – (E, T34)
Liqi Zeng* – (-3, T9)
Mariel Galdiano* – (+1, T47)
Amari Avery* – (-3, T9)
Cholcheva Wongras* – (-8, 1st)
Rachel Kuehn – (-3, T9)
Megha Ganne – (E, T34)
Lauryn Nguyen – (-1, T26)
Megan Schofill – (E, T34)
Kate Smith-Stroh – (E, T34)
Haylee Harford Sanchez – (-4, T5)

*Mathematically clinched LPGA Tour card

Round 1 Race for the Card Update: 2026 Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells

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