After the morning wave of the Dream First Bank Charity Classic wrapped up, fans found some familiar names near the top of the leaderboard. Epson Tour veteran Kum-Kang Park leads the way with a 6-under 66, but it's Australia's Cassie Porter and Georgia's Madison Young who we'll want to pay attention to.
Just three weeks ago, at the beginning of the four-week Midwest stretch, Porter took home her first Epson Tour victory at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship. The win catapulted the 21-year-old into the top 5 in the Race for the Card standings, where she's stayed since then. Today, the Aussie fired an opening 3-under 69 at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course, putting herself in a share of fifth and in contention to become the first athlete to win twice in 2024.
"It's a tough tour, so I think that would be an honor," said Porter. "Obviously, Gabi (Ruffles) did it three times last year, so as an Aussie and trying to follow in another Aussie's footsteps, I think that would be pretty special. But I'm trying not to think about it, to be honest. Winning two times helps with the Race for the Card, but at the end of the day, we're just playing golf. It's another day; hopefully, I can continue the form."
Young also put herself in a good spot to take home her second trophy in 2024. The 27-year-old won the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic in May, her first career title. The Kennesaw State University alumna is one spot behind Porter in the Race for the Card rankings and shares fifth place with the Aussie in Garden City, Kans., making for an interesting 36 holes to play this weekend.
Porter and Young are just 199.045 and 243.118 points, respectively, behind the current Race for the Card leader, Fiona Xu, with 1,031.500 points. With Xu not in the field this week, a win for either competitor would guarantee the top spot and allow them to look at the remaining eight tournaments with a calmer set of eyes.
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