The Epson Tour is back this week, kicking off the West Coast swing at the 2026 IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort and Spa. The women are headed to Beaumont, CA – between San Bernardino and Palm Springs. This marks the first event on the Epson Tour in four weeks. With a field containing past champions and a shift to firmer desert conditions, this week’s event could mark a momentum shift in the Race for the Card, in more ways than one.
Play will be contested April 24-26, 2026. Last year’s champion, Briana Chacon, will not be defending her title, though four previous champions from the last 12 years will be in the field: Juliana Hung (2024), Sophie Hausmann (2021), Jillian Hollis (2019) and Kim Kaufman (2014).
Who to Watch at the 2026 IOA Championship
There are plenty of people to keep an eye on this week in the desert.
Mariel Galdiano: Building Momentum
Heading into the spring hiatus, Hawaii native Mariel Galdiano remained atop the Race for the Card points list, following back-to-back top-three finishes. She is in the mood for momentum, as the 2025 LPGA Tour rookie had a less-than-ideal start to her Epson Tour season this year with a missed cut in Atlantic Beach.
Her appearance this week marks her return to the IOA Championship for the first time since 2024, when she missed the cut following consecutive rounds of 74. Galdiano is hoping to recalibrate her resume out West and be on the right side of the cut line this week. The last time Galdiano made the cut in Beaumont was in 2023, when she finished T14. Her best finish in a West Coast swing was two years ago, with a runner-up finish in Arizona.
Jillian Hollis: A Dark Horse Returning?
Jillian Hollis, who won the IOA Championship in 2019, is no stranger to the adjustments from Bermuda grass to the heat of the Valley, even as a dark horse in the Epson Tour at this point in her seasoned career. Her win at Morongo Resort was the second in her career at the time, clinching the victory in just her second season on tour. Since then, she has stacked up two more wins, with the most recent at last year’s Otter Creek Championship in Indiana.
Despite having years of Epson and LPGA Tour experience on her side, the former Georgia Bulldog is No. 51 in the Race for the Card so far this season. In the past two seasons, she’s only made cuts in about half of her tournaments. However, fans should keep an eye out for Hollis to break the top-10 for the first time this year.
Julia Gregg: Setting a Fast Pace for Points
Julia Gregg posted a remarkable performance in Orlando four weeks ago, finishing in T4 after consecutive rounds of 3-under-69. Additionally, Gregg’s sophomore season has already remained one of the most impressive in the Race for the Card, posting a T29 at Atlantic Beach and T15 at the IOA Golf Classic. Should the Arkansas alum continue her upward trajectory in Beaumont, the current No. 12 in the Race for the Card could set the pace for an improved experience for Gregg out west on the Epson Tour.
Sponsor Invites: Kathleen Scavo, Nicole Neale
The sponsor invites for this year’s IOA Championship encompass two distinct ends of the golf journey spectrum. Kathleen Scavo, who made her debut on the Epson Tour in 2020, is making her first start this season. While this will be her fifth appearance at Morongo Resort in her career, the Oregon alum has missed the cut the past couple years, with a career-best T27 finish in Beaumont during her rookie campaign. However, Scavo is looking to gain momentum of her own, in the form of a made cut for the first time since last August at the Wild Horse Classic (T14).
On the other end of the golf spectrum lies Nicole Neale, the other sponsor invite for this weekend. Neale, who played collegiately 8 hours away from Morongo Casino at Cal Poly State in San Luis Obispo, is making her first career start on the Epson Tour. Neale turned pro last year and competed on the ANNIKA WAPT, where she finished 69th on the money list and 71st in the Callaway Race to Qualifying. The California native could potentially have recency bias on her side, at least when it comes to April’s unpredictable desert terrain characteristic in the Palm Springs valleys.
