After an exhilarating final round and two-hole playoff, Savannah Vilaubi walked away from the Otter Creek Championship as a two-time Epson Tour winner. She defeated Yahui Zhang with a 12-footer for birdie on the second extra hole to win for the first time since the 2023 Copper Rock Championship.
Vilaubi, whose final round featured four birdies and three bogeys, needed to save par on the 18th hole to force a playoff with the 30-year-old Zhang.
“After missing the birdie on 18 during the regular round I was like, okay, let’s gear up for another playoff. Obviously, I’m no stranger to those. As much as we don’t want a playoff, I was very grateful for the opportunity. Pressure is a privilege. Playoffs are a privilege. It started with that mindset.”
In the playoff, Vilaubi hit her key approach with her three-wood on the second playoff hole.
“I hit a really good three-wood, truly my best of the tournament, and it was right in the throat. I didn’t make my greatest chip up there, but I was so sure that I was going to make this putt. I’ve been making them from that distance all week and I trusted my speed and my line, kept my head down and saw it go in. It was exciting, and I’m so happy to be on the other side of it.”
Vilaubi felt like the difference between the Copper Rock Championship playoff in 2023 and this one was her emotional management. Vilaubi, a graduate of The University of California-Riverside, has had a rough start to the year, making just four cuts in eight starts and shooting a first-round 88 at the U.S. Women’s Open in May. Despite the losses and difficulties, she grinding and it finally paid dividends.
“I’ve been speaking a lot about process, and this whole year has felt like one giant process. It started with a couple of made putts at courses that I’ve notoriously struggled at. But I hit a rough patch and didn’t feel like I was marrying the physical and the mental game. To have them all come together, and especially after such a blow-up round at the U.S. Open, it feels so good.”
With the win, Vilaubi moves to 15th in the Race for the Card standings and hopes to keep the momentum going, to ultimately earn her LPGA Tour card at the Epson Tour Championship in October.
The Otter Creek Championship was one of two new tournaments added to the 2024 Epson Tour schedule and one of five with a $300,000 purse or more, making it one of the top events in this year’s record-breaking Epson Tour season.
