The Epson Tour's season-ending championship teed off Thursday at Indian Wells Golf Resort, bringing 80 of the circuit's top players to the city's newly renovated Players Course for a four-day battle over LPGA Tour cards and a six-figure top prize. The tournament runs through October 4, closing out a season in which every stroke matters for players hoping to punch their ticket to golf's top tier.
This marks the third straight year the championship has landed in Indian Wells, according to KESQ, which describes the event as the Epson Tour's season-ending showcase. The field is capped at the top 80 players in the Race for the Card standings, and the station reports the tournament now uses a 72-hole, no-cut format, meaning everyone who qualified gets to play all four rounds.
The stakes are steep. Per KESQ, the top 15 finishers in the Race for the Card standings will earn LPGA Tour cards for the 2027 season, turning this week into a career-defining opportunity for dozens of competitors. The Epson Tour, per epsontour.com, has served as the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour and has been known as the “Road to the LPGA” since 1999.
A New Course and a Bigger Payday
Players are competing on the Players Course for the first time since it underwent a major renovation. Epsontour.com's tournament overview confirms the event is being staged at Indian Wells Golf Resort's Players Course, a venue where the championship has been held since the event's debut in 2008, per the same source.
Sources differ on the exact size of this year's purse. KESQ reported a guaranteed purse of $300,000, with the winner collecting $100,000, while a separate report from NBC Palm Springs put the total purse at $250,000. Both outlets agree the winner will take home $100,000, which NBC Palm Springs described as the largest first-place payout in Epson Tour history.
Last year's champion, Anne Chen, had to grind for her title — epsontour.com's overview notes she won the 2025 edition in a playoff against Sophia Schubert that went to the fifth sudden-death hole. That tournament was played on the resort's Celebrity Course while the Players Course renovation was underway, with a $250,000 purse and a 108-player field competing for a $37,500 winner's check, according to a Troon press release.
Renovation Reshaped the Layout
The Players Course overhaul, announced in a March 2025 Troon release, transformed the layout from a par 72 to a par 71 and added two new finishing holes. The resort itself is owned by the city of Indian Wells, the same release notes.
Jody Brothers, general manager of the tour, said the tournament extended its contract with Epson and Indian Wells Golf Resort for three additional years. Brothers also said athletes qualify for the event and mark the week on their calendars, underscoring how central the Indian Wells stop has become to players' season-long planning.
The city's commitment to the event stretches further still — epsontour.com reports that the City of Indian Wells has extended its presenting sponsorship of the championship through 2029. Organizers say the tournament remains open to the public, giving local golf fans a chance to watch the final rounds of the season play out before the top finishers head off to earn their LPGA Tour cards for 2027.
