With a birdie on the first playoff hole, Mirabel Ting clinched her first win on the Epson Tour at the inaugural Smoky Mountain Championship presented by Food City on Saturday.
Ting defeated Rachel Kuehn in the playoff; both were tied for second going into the final round. Not bad for a player who came to Tennessee after a week away from golf..
“I didn’t touch my clubs at all,” Ting said. “I was on holiday mode.”
Ting’s tee shot in the playoff hit a tree but bounced back into the fairway, a stroke of luck that allowed her to secure the win.
Ting made waves two weeks ago when she placed second at the Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship, where she took away 320 Race for the Card points and rose to No. 7 in the standings. The 20-year-old has made 12 of 14 cuts in her rookie season and is now No. 3 on the Race for the Card leaderboard.
Ting was also a seven-time collegiate winner during her two years at Florida State. In 2025, Ting won the ANNIKA Award, PING WGCA Player of the Year and ACC Golfer of the Year honors.
Kuehn was playing to make history as the first in 35 years to win an Epson Tour title in Tennessee. Playing mere miles away from her home and where her mother won the FUTURES Chattanooga Classic in 1991, the Wake Forest alum was hoping to put another win under the Kuehn name.
“I think it’s a really special connection she and I have,” Kuehn said. “And it’s definitely in the back of my mind, but at the end of the day, you show up each week with a job to do.”
Two course records were set during the week. Anne Chen shot a 63 during her second round, while Kuehn and Ting shared the record for the lowest score after 54 holes at 15-under.
