Australian Cassie Porter’s dream of graduating to the LPGA Tour is one step closer to a reality after a maiden Epson Tour victory at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Trailing by two heading into a windy final round at Battle Creek Country Club, Porter used three straight birdies around the turn to play her way into contention.

A fourth birdie for the day at the par-5 15th elevated Porter to 7-under, a total she thought she shared with two others.

The 21-year-old was, in fact, two strokes clear, providing the buffer she needed to absorb a closing a bogey and still record a one-stroke win with close friend and former Tour player Stephanie Na on the bag.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m feeling amazing,” said Porter, a member of the Golf Australia Rookie Squad and winner of the 2023 Melbourne International on the WPGA Tour of Australasia.

“It was really cool to do it here this week with Steph, my caddie. I leaned on Steph so much today.

“I said to her probably on the 11th hole after I made a good par, ‘Hey Steph, like I’m really nervous’ and she was like, ‘Why?’

“Steph was amazing. She’s like my sister. Honestly, I’ve done a lot of work on my mental game recently, and you know, this week, the wind was really, really testing.

“It was nice to be able to put that to the test and get a good result out of it.”

Even par starting the back nine in Round 2, Porter generated momentum heading into Sunday with a 3-under par finish to her second round.

As the leaders struggled in the blustery conditions on Sunday, Porter opened with seven straight pars before the run of birdies that led to a 3-under 69 and 6-under total.

In her second year on the Epson Tour and coached by PGA Professional Daniel Morrison on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Porter now moves into second spot in the Race to the Card that awards the top 15 promotion to the LPGA at season’s end.

Amidst Porter’s joy was disappointment for both Kelsey Bennett and Scott Hend.

Playing on the Ladies European Tour Access Series and European Legends Tour respectively, both Bennett and Hend began their events with course records.

Bennett opened with 63 at the Montauban Ladies Open in France and led by one heading into the final round, dropping back into third with a closing round of 74.

Hend and England’s Robert Coles both broke the course record with matching 11-under 60s in Round 1 of the Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy, Hend bouncing back from a 76 on day two with a final round of 66 to finish second behind American Clark Dennis.

Victorian Cameron Percy’s third-place finish at the American Family Insurance Championship is his best result in his first month on the PGA TOUR Champions while Lucas Herbert’s tie for sixth was the best of the Aussies at LIV Golf Houston.

Results

Epson Tour
FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship
Battle Creek Country Club, Michigan
1          Cassie Porter                73-68-69—210 $US30,000
T2        Amelia Garvey (NZ)      73-68-70—211 $13,273
MC       Maddison Hinson-Tolchard      75-74—149
MC       Fiona Xu (NZ)               72-77—149
MC       Soo Jin Lee                   73-77—150
MC       Su Oh                          78-74—152
MC       Amy Chu                      77-77—154

LPGA Tour
Shoprite LPGA Classic
Seaview (Bay Cse), Galloway, New Jersey
1          Linnea Strom               69-70-60—199 $US262,500
T12      Stephanie Kyriacou      65-70-70—205 $25,365
T27      Hannah Green              71-68-68—207 $12,687
T60      Hira Naveed                 67-69-75—211 $4,700
T63      Robyn Choi                  66-72-75—213 $4,383
MC       Sarah Kemp                 69-71—140
MC       Grace Kim                    71-71—142
MC       Karrie Webb                 73-75—148
WD      Karis Davidson             71       

LET Access Series
Montauban Ladies Open
Golf de Montauban, France
1          Helen Briem (a)            70-70-69—209 -----
3          Kelsey Bennett             63-74-74—211 €4,770
T16      Stephanie Bunque        71-75-72—218 €814.50
MC       Munchin Keh (NZ)        74-78—152
MC       Wenyung Keh (NZ)       78-75—153
MC       Laura Hoskin (NZ)        80-79—159