North Carolina State University Athletics
Lauren Olivares Leon Earns LPGA Status
9/21/2026 4:16:00 PM | Women's Golf
RALEIGH – Former NC State women's golfer Lauren Olivares Leon (2021-25) has clinched her LPGA card for the 2027 season. Olivares Leon is currently on the Epson Tour and has received enough points to earn LPGA status through next season.
Olivares Leon is the fourth NC State women's golfer to earn LPGA status and first in the Darby Sligh era.
After a stellar career with the Wolfpack, Olivares Leon went on to LPGA Q-School last fall, where she made it to the final stage to clinch Epson Tour status. The top 15 players in the Epson Tour Race for the Card standings earn LPGA status for the next season. With one more tournament to play, the Epson Tour Championship, Olivares Leon has already clinched enough points to join the highly-touted professional tour.
Olivares Leon ranks No. 2 on the Epson Tour Race for the Card standings with 2,189.442 points. She won the Great Lakes Championship at the Highlands at 12-under par for her first career win. Olivares Leon has also tallied 11 top-10 showings without a single missed cut through her entire rookie season. The full results through her rookie season can be found HERE.
At NC State, Olivares Leon was an individual medalist in three tournaments and finished with 10 career top-10 finishes. She was an All-ACC Women's Golf Team recipient during her junior season when she shot a 72.18 scoring average in 2023-24, the then-single-season stroke average. She holds the NCAA record for lowest round (60, -11) at the Cougar Classic, which she accomplished as a junior and became the first woman in collegiate golf to shoot a 60. During her last year in Raleigh, she earned an invitation to play at the Augusta National Women's Amateur, an event in which 72 amateurs across the world get invited.
The Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells on Oct. 1-4 is the final event of the tour this season. The 2027 LPGA Tour will kick off at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions from Feb. 1-7, 2027 in Orlando, Florida.
HISTORY OF NC STATE WOMEN'S GOLFERS IN LPGA
- Brittany Marchand (2010-14) - Earned LPGA Tour status in 2018 via the Symetra Tour (now Epson Tour) Race for the Card finish in 2017
- Lauren Doughtie (2005-09) - Earned LPGA Tour status for the 2013 season
- Augusta James (2011-15) - Earned LPGA Tour status in 2016 after finishing in the top 45 at LPGA Qualifying School; earned conditional LPGA Tour status for the 2017 season
- Briana Vega (2002-04) - did not earn LPGA status but competed in two LPGA Tour events as a sponsor exemption
