Fátima Fernández Cano (-6) keeps the situation under control in the grand final of the Epson Tour taking place in Indian Wells, California. The Galician golfer has reached the halfway point of the tournament in a magnificent position. She currently holds the fourth place in the ranking, has put distance between herself and her closest pursuers, is within reach of the third place, and a final assault on the second or even the first position of the Race for the Card cannot yet be ruled out. The situation is almost ideal and is solely due to her good performance over the first two days.
This Friday, she delivered another card of 68 strokes, three under par, with only one serious blemish, but just one. She signed six birdies, a more than potent figure, and committed a triple bogey, a mistake that cost her dearly on the 5th hole of her round. Fátima started on the 10th and her progress was powerful and immaculate. After the 4th hole, she was four under par for the day and had fully entered the top 10 of the tournament. However, the stumble came on the 5th. The best part is how she responded. She finished with two more birdies on the 6th and 8th to regain ground and position herself in twelfth place, just one stroke from the top 10 and six from the first position. She is far, but not impossible with 36 holes ahead.
Right now, as things stand, Fátima is one birdie away from climbing to the third spot of the Epson. It is occupied by Jessica Porvasnik, who is at -1. She has just made the cut. They are separated by just over 75 points. If the Spanish golfer finishes among the top ten, she will have many chances to surpass her. The assault on the top two positions is more difficult. For now, Lauren Stephenson (-7), the Number One, and Yahui Zhang (-6), the Number Two, are defending it with solvency. Behind, Fátima has the situation very well controlled. Number 5, Brooke Matthews is at -2, far from the Compostela native, Number 6 Fiona Xu has missed the cut, and Number 7, Jenny Bae is also at -2. The main threat to Fernández Cano right now would be the Thai Pornanong Phatlum (-8), although she would have to win to surpass her in the ranking.
Heather Lin (-12) leads the tournament with a two-stroke advantage over Hailee Cooper (-10) and Clariss Guce (-10). None of these three, with these results, would enter the top 15 who will earn playing rights for the LPGA next year, the top ten with a great card and from eleventh to fifteenth place with a much weaker category. Saki Baba (-8) would rise to 14th place at the moment and Valery Playa (-6) would maintain the fifteenth. The big loser so far, we will see if it is confirmed at the end of the tournament, is Daniela Iacobelli. She reached the final in the tenth place of the ranking and has missed the cut. Right now, she is out of the top ten and is already in the hands of the rest to know if she maintains or loses that valuable condition.
Meanwhile, Teresa Toscano (-1), the other Spanish player present in this final, has made the cut with a card of 70 strokes. Again, she has alternated many birdies and bogeys, five for four. She will play all four days, although her chances of getting into the top 15 seem completely diluted, as she only needed to win and is currently eleven strokes from the first place with many players ahead. She would need an epic weekend.
