Women’s professional golf tournament makes debut at Golf Club of Avon
Germany’s Jordan Fischer hits the ball out of the bunker in the first round of the HartfordHealth Women’s Championship on Thursday at The Golf Club of Avon.
AVON, July 23, 2026 – It was the first day of the Hartford HealthCare Women’s championship golf tournament at The Golf Club of Avon with an international field of more than 140 players on the course.
Malyasoa’s Mirabel Ting, a rookie on the Epson Tour – the developmental tour of the LPGA, has a share of the first round lead with American Megha Ganne, a recent Stanford University graduate to helped the Cardinal win the NCAA Division I championship in June.
Both shot a five-under-par 66 with Ting getting six birdies on the day while Ganne had four birdies and an eagle on 18.
“I would say my putting [was big today],” Ting said. “I was putting really well all morning and hitting shots close helps. I hit the fairway today. I only missed one fairway, and I hit 16 greens. So, there was a lot of good, but there’s also a lot to work on. I wouldn’t really dwell on the round today.”
“I love playing golf in the Northeast.” Ganne said. “I’m not too far from home, so I like the style of golf course, and I think it just takes really good ball striking and keeping yourself below the hole and staying patient on these greens, which I think I did well today. I don’t find it super-scorable, so I think just taking the birdies when they come is something that I did well.”
Japan’s Yurika Tanida is third with a four-under-par 67 with four other players tied at three-under par with scores of 68.
“It was a good course,” said Spain’s Carla Bernat Escuder, who shot a two-under 69 with a pair of birdies. “The greens are a little more firm and fast so that was good. The golf course is like insane. The people who came out today were pretty nice. It’s a pretty, pretty course. It’s nice to play.”
The second round begins Friday at 7 a.m. The top 60 golfers plus ties will advance to play on Saturday and Sunday.
Jennifer Rosenberg chips to the green on the ninth hole at Thursday’s first round of the Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship at The Golf Club of Avon.
One-day general admission tickets are $15 each or $35 for a four-day pass. Children age 18 and under are free along with Avon residents and children and family members from First Tee CT. Parking is at Avon Middle School and a shuttle will bring you to the club and back to your vehicle.
It’s the fourth year for this tournament. The first three years were at Great River Golf Club in Milford.
One of the reasons for moving to Avon was to be closer to the headquarters for Hartford HealthCare and Hartford Steam Boiler (a Munich Re company) — two of the tournament’s major sponsors, according to tournament director Patrick O’Connor.
“The golf course here is incredible,” O’Connor said. “The greens here are 10 out of 10. I haven’t heard a single bad thing about them. Not that the greens at Great River were bad but these are pristine.”
O’Connor expects the course to challenge the golfers.
Jillian Hollis hits out of the sand trap at the 18th hole in Thursday’s first round of the Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship in Avon.
“I think what is really unique about this course is that you can hit the center of the fairway and it’s not necessarily a reward for a great player because of the slopes and undulations,” he said. “You have to hit it to the correct spot in the fairway to set up your next shot, which I think is a really good challenge.”
The layout of the course was another benefit to play at The Golf Club of Avon,” O’Connor said.
“We’re doing this interview at the clubhouse and we can see four, five, six, seven holes and I think that’s really exciting for professional golf,” he said.
Hartford HealthCare announced a three-year sponsorship of the event through 2028 earlier this year and O’Connor said the event will be in Avon for the next thee years.
Most of the competitors are from the United States (76) but there are also golfers from Canada (7), Chinese Taipei (7), Philippines (6), China (6) and Australia (5).
The top 15 money winners at the end of the Epson Tour season gain membership on the LPGA Tour for the next season. The Epson Tour was once known as the LPGA Futures tour.
The daily Porch Patio pass for Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday is $50 per day or one can purchase the four-day Porch Patio pass for $100. The daily VIP hospitality pass is $100 or $250 for the four-day VIP hospitality pass.
Content from the Epson Tour included in this story.
Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship
At Avon
First round scores at The Golf Club of Avon, par 71. Top 20 plus ties after one round.
| Golfers | RI | Total |
| Mirabel Ting, Malaysia | 66 | -5 |
| Megha Ganne, USA | 66 | -5 |
| Yurika Tanida, Japan | 67 | -4 |
| Kary Hollenbaugh, USA | 68 | -3 |
| Gurleen Kaur, USA | 68 | -3 |
| Camille Boyd, USA | 68 | -3 |
| Christine Wang, USA | 68 | -3 |
| Caroline Canales, USA | 69 | -2 |
| Julia Gregg, USA | 69 | -2 |
| Julia Misemer, USA | 69 | -2 |
| Lauren Peter, USA | 69 | -2 |
| Siyan Chen, China | 69 | -2 |
| Carla Bernat Escuder, Spain | 69 | -2 |
| Tzu-Yi Chang, Taipei | 69 | -2 |
| Jensen Castle, USA | 70 | -1 |
| Riana Mission, USA | 70 | -1 |
| Megan Schofill, USA | 70 | -1 |
| Xiaowen Yu, China | 70 | -1 |
| Kathleen Scavo, USA | 70 | -1 |
| Jennifer Elliott, Australia | 70 | -1 |
| Caitlin Peirce, Australia | 70 | -1 |
| Elina Sinz, USA | 70 | -1 |
| Kaleigh Telfer, RSA | 70 | -1 |
| Lauren Wearn, USA | 70 | -1 |