This week in Indian Wells, Calif., the Epson Tour Finals are just starting, where players will clinch their way onto the LPGA Tour for the 2026 season.
This final week of the season is mostly like a regular event, except with some added importance. All season, Epson Tour Race for the Card points are up for grabs. Similar to the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour or the CME Standings on the LPGA Tour, these are accumulated throughout the year.
Members of the Tour who finish ranked Nos. 1-10 on the final standings receive Category 9 status on the LPGA Tour. Category 9 generally includes full exemptions to standard LPGA Tour full-field events. Players who finish 11-15 earn Category 16 status. This puts players below the Q-School qualifiers from the same year, but does grant partial status and exemptions into many LPGA Tour events.
The points are handed out each week to players who make the cut and finish the event. For most events, 500 points are awarded to the winner, 320 to second place and 230 to third place, and descending point values from there.
The Tour Championship puts a bit more pressure on players though, as the point values are increased by 30%. So this week the winner will receive 650 points, second place will receive 416 points and third place will receive 299 points.
Coming into this week, 69 players remain eligible to earn their LPGA Tour card. Melanie Green, Yana Wilson, Gina Kim, Erika Hara, Briana Chacon, Riley Smyth, Laetitia Beck, Hailee Cooper, Minji Kang and Sophia Schubert have already secured their cards according to the Epson Tour.
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