Just when you thought Juliana Hung had broken all the records at the IOA Championship, she broke two more during her final round. Hung is playing in her sixth Epson Tour event and now has a piece of history to go along with her trophy.
The 22-year-old broke the Epson Tour 54-hole scoring record set in 2019 by Fernanda Lira and later matched by Alexa Pano in 2022 and Gabi Ruffels in 2023 at 19-under par. Hung turned in rounds of 64-64-67 to beat the record by two shots, at 21-under total. She also shattered the IOA Championship scoring record by 7-shots on the way to her first career Epson Tour victory, a record that stood since 2013.
"My friends were telling me that the lowest score is 18 under on Epson and they told me to try and break it," said Hung. "I wasn't really thinking about it. You can't really think of the result so much. You just have to focus on what you're doing and I'm just glad that is what I did all week."
However, the day started a little different than her score might indicate. Hung started steady making two pars in her first two holes before making her highest score of the tournament on the third hole. A double bogey on her third hole of the day resulted in a six going on her scorecard for the first time all week. A moment that would rattle many players did not affect the rookie. On the next hole, Hung rolled in an eagle to get the two strokes back immediately, showing the field and everyone watching that this was her tournament to win. A birdie later on the front nine resulted in Hung making the turn with a 1-under 35, but the back nine is where she has really dominated the first two days, and today was another example of why.
The Chinese Taipei native started her back nine with a birdie, following it up with five pars. Hung has dominated the last three holes at Tukwet Canyon, making birdie or better on every hole the first two days, and the final round was no different. The newest Epson Tour champion finished birdie-birdie-birdie to close out the tournament, playing the last three holes in 10-under par for the week. Now, heading into the next three-week stretch on the Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA, there is a new name that everyone should look out for.
"I think the only time I was nervous in this tournament was the first tee shot on day one," said Hung. "I mean, that double. It was unexpected. I was kind of like, oh, I don't know where that came from, but I just kept telling myself to, you know, stay calm and just keep doing what I'm doing. And when I bounced back with that eagle, I was like, okay, yeah. I'm good."
Trying to hunt down Hung all day was Fiona Xu, who put together a very impressive showing in her own right. With rounds of 68-69-67 for the week, Xu finished at 12-under par for the tournament, which would have been good enough to win in most years at the IOA Championship. Xu put on pressure early, making six birdies in her first 11 holes, but ran out of steam on the back nine, making bogeys on 13 and 15. Although it was not a win for the 19-year-old, her resilience and positive mindset throughout the tournament are truly admirable.
"I think this week overall my putting was really good and also my approach game was good," said Xu. "I was mostly around like 12ft. So that really helped with making a lot of birdies. And then my putting within 12ft was going really well. I think overall, this week was my A game. My driving was really consistent off of the tee and then didn't really make any big mistakes."
The Epson Tour heads to Tucson, AZ next week for the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic (May 2-4) where Gigi Stoll will look to defend her title at Sewailo Golf Club. The stage is set for another thrilling competition.
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