Peaking at the right time is essential for any sport, but on the Epson Tour, it can be the difference between ending the season inside the top 10 and earning your LPGA Tour card or missing out and battling your way through Q-School.
It may seem early to mention the Race for the Card, but five out of the first ten champions in 2022 earned their card by finishing inside the top 10.
The Copper Rock Championship marks the fifth event on the Epson Tour schedule in 2023. A winner’s payout of $34,500 gives an athlete the perfect opportunity to propel themselves into one of the coveted top 10 spots.
Clariss Guce is no stranger to winning on the Epson Tour, capturing two victories since her rookie year in 2016.
The Filipino already has two top-25 finishes in four starts in 2023, with her latest result being a T3 finish at the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic and appears to be finding her form early in the season.
‘It is definitely nice having a good finish before heading into an off week.’
However, being near the top of the money list, currently sitting at No. 15, has not fazed Guce, who is taking each tournament week to week.
“It is definitely nice having a good finish before heading into an off week,” Guce said.
“I see a season like a round of golf; you can’t look up and say, ‘oh, I started out with a birdie it’s going to be a great day,’ you have to keep playing well throughout the season and you hope that you have done your job and played your best every round. If you end up getting your card at the end of the year great but if you don’t you just have to practice some more.”
Guce is back at the Copper Rock Championship in Hurricane, Utah, and Copper Rock Golf Club has treated her well, with Guce securing two top-15 finishes in two appearances at the event.
The California State Northridge alumna will draw on past successes heading into the week.
“I have definitely had good memories on this golf course, and it is a course I enjoy the layout of and playing,” Guce said. “The set-up of the course is pretty awesome. The grandstands are right between holes 9 and 18. I actually sat there after the pro-am, eating lunch, and it’s a really cool view. As a player, we enjoy it when we see people out here; it makes it a lot more exciting.”