Guce, Ardina make promising starts

Clariss Guce and Dottie Ardina made solid starts at the Epson Tour Championship, carding 3-under-par 68 and 2-under 69, respectively, in Thursday’s opening round at Indian Wells.

Guce sits five shots behind Thailand’s Cholcheva Wongras, who seized the first-round lead with a sizzling 8-under 63 on the newly renovated Players Course.

Wongras, a 2026 rookie from Chiang Mai, Thailand, overcame an opening-hole bogey on the par-5 first with nine birdies to grab the outright lead.

The Thai standout is already assured of a 2027 LPGA Tour card after securing a top-15 finish in the season-long Race for the Card. She also won the Reliance Matrix Championship earlier this season, where she set the Epson Tour’s 72-hole scoring record and matched the tour’s 18-hole record with a 61.

Wongras saved one of her best moments for No. 17, recovering from a wayward tee shot by getting up and down from a bunker to within inches of the hole.

American Reagan Zibilski was second at 6-under 65, while defending champion Anne Chen opened with a 66 for third.

Chen, who won last year’s championship in a five-hole sudden-death playoff, is outside the automatic-card cutoff in the Race for the Card and needs a strong week to move back into the top 35 or top 15.

Four players — Haylee Harford Sanchez, Madison Young, Gianna Clemente and Kaleigh Telfer — shared fourth at 67.

The firm, wind-affected greens provided a demanding test, with Clemente describing the revamped layout as challenging but fair.

Guce and Ardina will look to build on their under-par opening rounds as they continue their bid for a strong finish in the Epson Tour’s season finale.