While the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic on the Epson Tour has a field greatly impacted by the field on the LPGA Tour at the Riviera Maya Open, there are some former amateur super stars in contention this week.
Mexico’s Lauren Olivares is the leader thanks to an impressive ball striking display that has seen her miss five fairways on the week. Olivares was the first player in women’s collegiate golf to shoot 60 in a round while she was at NC State. She is one stroke ahead of the field at -7.
Sitting right behind her is Lauryn Nguyen, who was a third-team All American and team leader for the 2025 NCAA Divisional I National Champion Northwestern Wildcats. Nguyen is coming off a strong finish last week in California, finishing in the top 10 for the first time in her Epson Tour career. After an even par first round, she had a bogey-free -6 round.
Rachel Keuhn, another National Champion and two-time ACC Player of the Year during her time at Wake Forest, is also at -6 looking to make a push. Keuhn is looking for some form this year, as she is without a top-20 finish in her first four starts of the season.
Kaleiya Romero, the sister of world No. 1 amateur Kiara Romero, is at -6 as well, thanks to strong iron play that made up for her weaker driving and putting.
Rounding out the top of the leaderboard is Valery Plata, who was a superstar at Michigan State and nearly received her LPGA Tour card last season after a fantastic final round push in Palm Desert. She is right along Nguyen and Keuhn at -6 for the week. Plata bogeyed her first two holes but settled into the round with four birdies the rest of the way and no more dropped shots.
The third round of the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic continues Saturday.
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