The third and final stop of the 2026 Epson Tour opening stretch is officially underway at the inaugural Orlando Health Championship. The field of 120 athletes dealt with gusty winds and firm greens at Grasslands Golf & Country Club on Friday.

Mariel Galdiano is an Epson and LPGA Tour veteran coming off a solo third-place finish at the IOA Golf Classic. The 27-year-old continued her momentum this morning, firing a near-perfect round of 5-under, 67.

“I'm just building off of last week, mentioned Galdiano. “I just want to hit really solid golf shots. You know, I've been working hard in the off-season just to hone everything down, and for a while I didn't see a lot of results last year, so it's nice to see some under-par rounds this year. I hate having to shoot or shooting like one or two over and having to grind the second day, so it's really nice for me and rewarding to see birdies fall, and just solid shots in general.”

Galdiano carded two birdies on her opening nine, and did not stop there, dropping back-to-back birdies on holes 11 and 12. The Hawaii native has a familiar name on the bag this week, her father expressing how “it's really rewarding when putts drop, and you can do a fist bump with your dad. I played with Kayla Smith, and her dad was on the bag, so it was really cool to see both of our dads out there.”

The UCLA alumna dropped deeper into the red with under-par holes on 16 and 17 to finish out her opening round, sitting at the top of the leaderboard.

Galdiano said, “I'd like to see what else I can do out here on this golf course,” and make sure to check out what your 18-hole leader does as she plans to tee off for round two at 1:24 p.m. local time Saturday afternoon.

Another player taking advantage of Grasslands Golf and Country Club was Katherine Muzi. The 25-year-old opened 4-under through four holes. Muzi settled into her round as the wind started to pick up, but she sank an eagle putt on one of her final holes of the day, No. 8, after only having an 8-iron in on the 459-yard par-5.

“Yeah, the four birdies were pretty wild, happily expressed Muzi. “A bunch of them, I just hit it close. But the first hole, I teed off on 10. I hit it to like 30 feet. Then I made a 30-foot putt, so I was pretty lucky. The next one, I hit it like five feet. No. 12, I chipped it to six feet. And then the hole after, I think I had about six or seven feet for a birdie. I almost made another one on the par three from the down slope, but it was a cool start.”

Jillian Hollis is a 28-year-old who has started this season on a slower note, with a missed cut and a T48 finish at the Atlantic Beach Classic presented by Access Golf and the IOA Golf Classic, respectively. However, the Epson Tour veteran’s off-season work is starting to show, draining six birdies and three bogeys on the day, highlighted by a 2-under closing nine.

Sofia Garcia opened her day on one tee, marking the first blemish of the day on hole five. The Paraguay native was soon under par after draining five birdies in her next six holes, ultimately signing for a 3-under, 69. The Epson and LPGA Tour regular heads into moving day in a tie for third with five other athletes.

Rookie Lauren Olivares is finding her spark coming off a T5 finish at the IOA Golf Classic. The Mexico native posted a bogey-free round of 69 to open the Orlando Health Championship and looks forward to continuing a weekend of solid golf.

The pack tightens quickly, with six athletes at 3-under, sitting in a tie for third, setting up an intense battle heading into day two.

The Orlando Health Championship continues to deliver drama and opportunity for these rising stars chasing LPGA dreams. Follow along with live scoring here.

Mariel Galdiano Leads the Inaugural Orlando Health Championship after Round One

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