Clariss Guce, Abegail Arevalo and Pauline de Rosario will try their luck against Epson Tour’s best in the Circling Raven Championship starting Friday in Worley, Idaho.
Looking for their first title in the tour in a long while, the Filipinos will go up against a top field in the $225,000 tournament that includes defending champion Jillian Hollis who won via two shots.
Last year, Hollis rolled in her final putt to become a three-time champion of the Epson Tour, beating out Robyn Choi and the newest LPGA Tour champion, Alexa Pano.
When she tees it up for her first round at Circling Raven this year, she will look to become the first defending champion of the tournaments currently on the Epson Tour since Marilyn Lovander won in 1994 and 1995 at the Twin Bridges Championship.
“I really like the idea of defending a tournament,” Hollis said.
“I lost in a playoff in a tournament we don’t have any more that was in Decatur. The next year I made it one of my goals to go back and win that tournament, and I did. So, I think there is something to playing well at a course and place you like. Hopefully, I can do the same thing this year.”
A T23 finish at the Island Resort Championship got her going on the right track. Hollis followed that up with a tie for 12th at the French Lick Resort Charity Classic and started moving up the Epson Tour’s Official Money List.
Hollis, 26, was a member of the LPGA Tour in 2020 and 2021 before losing full status in 2022. A win would not only make Hollis the first defending champion of a current event in almost 30 years on the Epson Tour, but it would also bump her to just outside the top 10 in the Race for the Card.
