In a season filled with the energy of spring and new beginnings, the women on the Epson Tour tee off in the most recent addition to the calendar. Wrapping up the Florida stint at the inaugural Orlando Health Championship in Lakeland, Fla., the south Florida spring provides as even a slate as any for those in the Race for the Card, with seasonably colder temperatures and characteristic winds.
One of the largest hotbeds for golf in the United States, several of the golfers in this week’s field have collegiate experience nearby, some more recent than others. From freshman amateur invite Avery Glenn to seasoned vets Matilda Castren, familiarity may be as necessary as ever to the remain in contention at Grasslands Golf and Country Club this week.
Avery Glenn (a), Kaley Amuso (a), Rylee Suttor – The Young and the Relentless
From Centersburg, Ohio, amateur golfer Avery Glenn is making her professional debut as a sponsor invite this week. Glenn plays collegiately just down the road from Grasslands GC at Southeastern University, competing in the Sun Conference of the NAIA. She was a sectional champion in high school two years ago, and her reps at the Orlando Health Championship will allow Glenn to prepare under pressure, with her school’s conference championship looming on the horizon.
Like Glenn, Kaley Amuso is also in the midst of her collegiate golf career. A fourth year at Florida Southern College, also in Lakeland, Amuso is currently ranking in the top 200 of all NCAA Division II golfers this season, posting an adjusted scoring average of 75.7 in 23 rounds in her senior campaign. Amuso, who grew up in the nearby suburb of Summerfield, won a national championship at Daytona State College in 2024, the same season in which she scored a career-low round of 68.
Of the sponsor invites, this week’s event is arguably the closest to home emotionally for Rylee Suttor, who turned professional last year after spending her last year of eligibility at Louisville following a successful career in Division III’s Centre College. Rylee’s mom is currently based in the Orlando area, where she moved following a divorce when Rylee was a kid. And while Rylee was originally planning to relocate further south to take advantage of constant golfing weather in Florida, one phone call expedited that choice.
“I was going to go down and spend the winter with my mom,” Suttor said on Tuesday. “In October, she called me, and I was actually at the back golf facility at Louisville. I remember I was on the Bermuda chipping green over there, and she called. She was like, ‘Yeah, so I just got diagnosed with cancer.’
“Of course, when she moved to Orlando [after the divorce], we never saw her that much anyway. But after she got diagnosed with cancer, it just shocks you, pulls you back to reality. The relationship with my mom should be something special.”
The title sponsor of this week’s event, Orlando Health, has played a large part in Rylee’s mom’s journey battling cancer, so to compete this week means even more for Suttor.
“It means a lot to play in an event that helped my mom through so much. They’ve done everything with her surgery, the chemo and the radiation. So they’ve always followed up,” she said. “It’s kind of awesome to be able to represent her and all the patients that Orlando Health serves in this tournament for the week. So I’m excited to represent, and the full circle moment is kind of crazy.”
Kiira Riihijarvi – Aims to “Finnish” in the Top 15
While the roots of her golf career could not have been at more of a different environment than central Florida, Finnish pro Kiira Riihijarvi first invested in her trajectory as a pro during her collegiate career at the University of Tampa. After gaining membership to the LPGA Tour in just her second season on the Epson Tour in 2022, Riihijarvi’s journey to maintain her game at the highest level has seen obstacles that her competitors are all too familiar with: competing in the ‘bubble’ between Epson Tour and the LPGA.
While it’s been four years since Kiira hoisted the trophy as a professional – her only Epson Tour victory came at the 2022 Ann Arbor’s Road to the LPGA powered by A2 Sports Commission – she is currently in a comfortable position in the early start of this season at No. 15 in the Race for the Card. With an impressive T7 finish at the season opener, which included rounds of 65 and 68 on Friday and Saturday at Atlantic Beach, fans should keep an eye out for the Finnish pro, who might make a statement at a course unfamiliar to most of the women in the field.
Lauryn Nguyen – Wildcat on the Prowl
Easily one of the most dominant collegiate golfers in recent history, Lauryn Nguyen is making her Epson Tour debut this week at the Orlando Health Championship. The 22-year-old Seattle native broke records and cemented her name in Northwestern history, taking home a National Championship last year for the Wildcats, as well as breaking the Individual Round Low Score, Single Season Stroke Average and Career Stroke Average. The two-time All-American made her LPGA debut in November as a sponsor invite to The ANNIKA Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, following an outstanding collegiate performance and her dedication to the community, which includes hosting a junior event in her hometown every year.
Nguyen, who competed alongside Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark at the ANNIKA Wednesday pro-am last fall, is no stranger to pressure and the unpredictable Bermuda lies, especially in the humid Florida conditions. While she missed the cut in her LPGA debut with a 6-over, 71-75 first two rounds, Nguyen’s preparations look a little different in March, since competing in a professional event is the Wildcat’s new normal rather than the exception.
