Haylee Harford Sanchez began the day three shots back of leader Huai-Chien Hsu at the 2026 Four Winds Invitational. To her own surprise, Harford Sanchez rack up 10 birdies, 5 on each nine, to shoot 9-under and surge into first.
“I was trying not to think about it, but definitely on the back nine, on 11, I kind of just laughed because I made like a 35-footer and it was just one of those days that everything was going in,” said Harford Sanchez. “I was seeing the lines, just kind of taking each shot as it came. And when I made that long putt, I was like, okay, this is just my day.”
Harford Sanchez first began playing on the Epson Tour in 2020 after a record-breaking collegiate career at Furman. In 2018, she set the Furman 18-hole scoring record with at 63 (-9), and she did the same today at the Four Winds Invitational with the same score.
Despite the trophy and record to top off the day, Harford Sanchez was focused on her shots this week and wasn’t looking at the scoreboard. She certainly wasn’t expecting to be standing at the podium this afternoon.
“I knew it was going to be a grind to make the cut, so I really didn’t have any expectation,” she said. “I mean, obviously, that’s what you’re always trying to do, but I didn’t think this is where I’d be standing right now.”
Close on her heels was Epson Tour rookie Megan Streicher, who shot 7-under today and ultimately finished second. Liqi Zeng, who has finished in the top three in the last three events, came in third. Race to the Card leader Lauren Olivares shot 8-under today to run up the leaderboard to T4 and defend her points position.
The Epson Tour will wrap up their Midwestern events this coming weekend at the Greater Toledo Classic in Sylvania, OH, on July 17-19, 2026.
