Epson Tour rookie Yana Wilson drained her final putt on the 18th green at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course to claim the second professional victory of her Epson Tour career.
Despite starting the round three shots off the lead heading into Championship Sunday, Wilson felt that this weekend was going to be special. Wilson carded eight birdies on the day to climb the leaderboard and finish the tournament with a three-day total of 11-under par.
The 2025 Reliance Matrix Championship presented by Epson winner started off a little shaky, making a triple bogey on her fourth hole, but bounced back, making four birdies in a row on holes five through eight. Wilson rounded out her opening nine, posting a one-under 35. The Las Vegas native found birdies on holes 10, 12, 14, and 17 in her final stretch to post a 5-under 67.
“Yeah, I started off pretty slow, made three pars on the first three holes, that could have easily been birdies. Then on the fourth hole, I got pretty unlucky and ended up making a triple bogey. After that, I kind of just told myself, I was like, you know, I’m going to try to make as many birdies as I can today. I actually told myself if I make eight birdies, I think I could actually get in contention and maybe sneak a top five in. That’s what ended up happening later in the round. Ended up having eight birdies to shoot five under, and pulled off the win,” commented Wilson.
2025 Epson Tour veteran Daniela Iacobelli started the day just four shots back of the lead, ultimately finishing in a tie for second place with Thai native Trichat Cheenglab. Iacobelli, the 2024 Dream First Bank Charity Classic runner-up, put four birdies and no bogeys on her card during the final round to post a 4-under 68, but was unable to secure her sixth Epson Tour victory. Cheenglab couldn’t get things to fall her way on Sunday, but still carded a 4-under 68 and a combined 9-under for the tournament. Despite not taking the victory, the 30-year-old gained confidence to take into the rest of the season with her runner-up finish.
Wilson not only celebrated her 19th birthday this weekend, but also climbed into first place in the Race for the Card standings after receiving 500 points from her win at the Dream First Bank Charity Classic.
“It was really fun. My mom was actually here at the beginning of the week and helped me celebrate my birthday. But she ended up leaving early because she had to go take care of my dog. It was still really special that my dad was here. I honestly, at the beginning of the week, felt a lot more excitement than I normally do. Just turning 19 and being a new age is pretty cool. I’m really happy to get my first win as a 19-year-old,” said Yana.
This is a major feat for Wilson as she works towards potentially securing her LPGA Tour card for the 2026 season. Yana is not only proud of her golf game, but also how strong her mental game has progressed over the course of her rookie season and showcased that very well in Sunday’s final round.
Wilson mentioned, “I learned that it was pretty freaking cool to, you know, have a triple and then come back with eight birdies. I’ve never once done that in my life, and I haven’t had a triple in forever, so it was actually pretty nice to see how well I could bounce back.”
As the Official Qualifying Tour for the LPGA heads into a two-week break, Yana Wilson and the Epson Tour will next travel to Prattville, Alabama, for the 8th playing of the Guardian Championship at RTJ Golf Trail at Capitol Hill, Senator Course from September 12-14.
Press release by: Carly Haines, Digital Content Producer Epson Tour.
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