Story, photo courtesy of Epson Tour
HARRIS---Moving Day lived up to its name as 144 athletes competed in the second round of the Island Resort Championship presented by Delta County Chamber on Saturday at Sweetgrass Golf Club. The cut was made at 4-under par with the top 60 and ties now preparing for the final round.
18-hole leader, Kelly Xu felt more confident heading into the second round, than her fellow first round opponents, and her scorecard proves just that. The recent Stanford University alumna holed six birdies on the day to gain a two-shot lead through 36-holes heading into Championship Sunday solo atop the leaderboard.
“Putts rolling in, putting good reads on the ball and just staying committed with each shot, said Xu. “I think it's like greens sometimes can get a little dicey, but I think just try to control what I can control.”
The Epson Tour rookie started her second round on No. 10, and shortly thereafter found her first birdie of the morning on the par-3, 12th. Xu continued her birdie streak dropping further into the red, to round the turn 4-under par. The LCAP graduate had a slower finish to her round, ultimately signing for a 5-under, 67. Make sure to tune in to see if Xu can take home the trophy and winner’s check in just her second professional start on the Epson Tour.
When asked if Xu would have been in this position so quickly, “Yeah, definitely not. I think I came into this being like I just want to learn how to get better and be a better player on this tour. So definitely very different from college golf or anything before, but I think a lot of it took a mindset shift and focusing my attention on now and these amazing competitors here. So that's where my mind is really at now.”
Last week’s sudden-death playoff duo, Lauren Olivares and Kaleiya Romeo, are two of the three athletes sitting in a tie for second heading into the final round of the Island Resort Championship.
Olivares, the 2026 Great Lakes Championship at the Highlands Winner, has posted two back-to-back rounds of 66. Today, the Epson Tour rookie started off strong with two consecutive under par holes and headed into her back nine 4-under.
“Driving the ball is super good, so I think that's helping me being in the fairways and not being in the rough because I think being in the rough is just tough putting it near the pin, said Olivares. “The wedges are also working.”
Romero came into her second round on a high note, after making a hole-in-one and eagle on day one. Currently No. 4 in the Race for the Card standings, Romero submit a near perfect scorecard finding six birdies, to sign for a 6-under 66, heading into Championship Sunday one shot off the lead. For the second week in a row the California native will be playing for the chance to earn her first Epson Tour victory.
Liqi Zeng rounds out the three-way tie for second after finding an impressive 4-under par round on Saturday. The 20-year-old has found herself in contention quite a few times this season but has yet to clinch the victory.
Two shots off the lead sits, Xiaowen Yin, Mariel Galdiano, and Jillian Hollis at 11-under par through 36-holes.
Yin posted the lowest round of the day, with a 7-under 65, highlighted by one eagle, and six birdies. However, the Republic of China native made a blemish on the par-4, 8th to drop a shot.
The leaderboard remains packed, with six players at 10-under tied within the top ten, promising a dramatic final round for the title, $225,000 purse, Pure Michigan Cup points and crucial Race to the Card points toward LPGA dreams.
The final round begins at 7:30 am local time with a single tee format. Follow along with live scoring
here.
