INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Rookie Laney Frye is fighting hard to earn an LPGA Tour card this week at the Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells and is well on her way to accomplishing that goal through three rounds at Indian Wells Golf Resort.

The former University of Kentucky Wildcat entered the season finale at 14th in the year-long Race for the Card and needed a strong performance in Indian Wells, Calif., to secure LPGA membership for the 2026 season. And after 54 holes, Frye has proven she was more than up for that challenge.

She opened her week with a near-perfect 67, a first-round effort that saw her make one bogey and card three sets of back-to-back birdies on holes three, four, 11, 12, 17 and 18. Frye cooled off a bit in round two, posting a 1-under 71 with two bogeys and three birdies on her scorecard, but she caught fire again on Moving Day, shooting a 6-under 66 on day three in the desert to sit in a share of ninth ahead of the final round.

The 23-year-old dropped a shot immediately with a bogey on the par-4 1st hole, recovering quickly with a birdie on two. After that up-and-down start, Frye steadied herself on the rest of her opening nine, picking up two more birdies on the par-5 5th and par-4 8th holes to turn in 34 at 8-under overall. Frye then struck again with a birdie on 10 to climb to 9-under before making her second bogey of the round on 13.

Undeterred by that late misstep, Frye ripped off four consecutive birdies on the par-4 14th, par-3 15th, par-4 16th and par-4 17th holes to race up the board to 12-under, parring the 18th hole at the Celebrity Course to polish off a 66 and put herself in a good position to secure LPGA Tour status with 18 holes remaining at the Epson Tour Championship.

This is Frye’s 19th start of 2025, and in her 18 tournaments ahead of the season finale, she had made 15 cuts and racked up five top-10 finishes, the best of which is a tie for second that came at the Great Lakes Championship. She most recently finished in the top 10 at the Dream First Bank Charity Classic in late August, a tournament that saw the rookie tie for eighth with a 54-hole total of 6-under.

If she wants to earn LPGA membership for the 2026 season on her first attempt via the Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA, Frye will need to keep the pedal down in her last 18 holes of the year and make a substantial push to find herself inside the top 15 on Sunday.

Projections indicate she currently needs to finish solo 10th or better to have a chance to secure her LPGA Tour card, and if she does so, Frye will be an LPGA Tour rookie for the 2026 season.

Laney Frye Fighting for LPGA Tour Card at Epson Tour Championship

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