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HARBOR SPRINGS – When Epson Tour rookie Lauren Olivares of Mexico first arrived to play in the Great Lakes Championship at The Highlands, she spied the practice range that stretches directly up a ski hill near the main lodge.
“I was like, what is that? I didn’t know. I’ve never skied before,” she said.
She does golf especially well, though, and she made a five-foot birdie putt in a one-hole sudden death playoff on dramatic No. 18 of the Heather Course to top Kaleiya Romero of California Sunday and win the second Great Lakes Championship at The Highlands.
It was her first Epson Tour win, made possible by a closing 6-under 66 to land at 12-under 204 in a tie with Romero, who also shot a final 66.
Olivares, 22 and from Guanajuato, earned $37,500 for the victory and it vaulted her to No. 2 in the Race for the Card where the top 15 at the close of the season receive full LPGA playing status in 2027.
In the playoff, both players had birdie chances on the par 4 that features a daring second shot over a large pond. Romero just missed a 15-footer from the fringe of the green, and then Olivares rolled in the winning putt.
“I think my game has been in pretty good shape, and I was just waiting for the week to be my week,” she said. “I think (this win) puts me in a great place for the rest of the season. I’m so happy to be in the place I am and just having fun.”
Olivares bogeyed the second hole, but had three consecutive birdies starting at hole 6, and then made four consecutive birdies on holes 12 through 15.
“I was hitting it close and making the putts,” she said. “I think it’s an amazing golf course. The weather was amazing. It was my week this time.”
Romero made it to her 66 and the playoff with a stunning birdie run, making eight consecutive birdies on holes 8 through 15. One of her two bogeys, though, came on No. 18 in regulation play and dropped her from the solo lead into the playoff spot with Olivares.
Four golfers tied for second at 10-under; Carla Bernat Escuder of Spain, who shot 66, Mirabel Ting of Malaysia, who shot 68, Amari Avery of California, who shot 68, and the leader through the first two rounds, Jennifer Elliott of Australia, who shot 73.
Sarah White, the Grand Rapids native who is BOYNE Golf ambassador on the LPGA Epson Tour, shot a closing 73 for 213 and a tie for 37th.
“I just couldn’t get the putts to drop today, couldn’t find where the ski slope was on a couple of them,” she said. “Overall, I played pretty well. The game plan stayed the same. I’m happy to be back making cuts, and I’m always happy to be at The Highlands and home in Michigan.”
White appreciated the ovation from the fans around hole 18 when she walked up to the final hole and was announced as the BOYNE ambassador.
“Oh, I’m so proud to be part of Boyne,” she said. “I mean, they’re all like family here. It’s funny, they all know me by name, even if I don’t know them. I had a couple of employees out there saying they were told to follow me. It’s just really fun to come out and have a community, a family like this supporting you. It’s really, truly, an honor.”
White, 28, married and now living in Texas, is playing in Michigan for five consecutive events, including the LPGA Dow Championship at Midland Country Club, the Great Lakes Championship, another Epson Tour tournament at the Island Resort Championship in Harris of the Upper Peninsula, and the Michigan Women’s Open at Crystal Mountain, June 30-July 1.
“It’s my Michigan Tour,” she said. “I love playing in Michigan. Michigan golf and BOYNE Golf, it’s so much better than anywhere else in the world.”
DID YOU KNOW? Great Lakes Champion Lauren Olivares played collegiately at North Carolina State and won three college tournaments. She also was the first female NCAA golfer to shoot 60 in a tournament in 2023 (Cougar Classic at Yeamans Hall Club in South Carolina)
