Isabella Fierro Grinds Out History at the 2026 Atlantic Beach Classic

Isabella Fierro after winning the 2026 Atlantic Beach Classic (Photo:  Isaiah Bell/Epson Tour)

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — Somewhere between the 12th and 15th holes on Saturday, Isabella Fierro’s hands started shaking. She told her caddie, Juani Lebbad. His response, by her account, was the kind of thing you want to hear from someone standing in the fairway with a tournament on the line: This is what we practice for.

Fierro took that and ran. The 25-year-old Mexican closed with a 4-under 67 at Atlantic Beach Country Club to win the 2026 Atlantic Beach Classic presented by Access Golf at 13-under par — the new 54-hole tournament record by five shots — and collect her second career Epson Tour title. The win also plants her firmly at No. 1 in the early Race for the Card standings.

This is not a golf course that gives much away. At just over 6,000 yards it plays short on paper, but the greens punish anything offline and the Atlantic wind turns club selection into a negotiation. Scoring averages dropped from 73.24 in Round 1 to 70.71 on Saturday, which tells you the field found its footing — but also that the players who handled the pressure best were the ones climbing the board.

Fierro entered the final round sitting one stroke off the pace, and she moved in front quickly. A birdie on the opening hole set the tone, even if a bogey on the par-4 2nd briefly interrupted it. She righted things with back-to-back birdies on holes three and six, making the turn at 2-under. The back nine was where things tightened. She wasn’t making everything she looked at — she described a string of on-line putts that kept stopping short — but the par-saving work held her together when the birdies weren’t coming. Then she drained consecutive birdies on 14 and 15, and added another on the 17th to put the tournament out of reach. “I just think that’s what a golf competition should be like,” she said afterward, “kind of grinding it out.”

Having her mother in the gallery didn’t hurt. Fierro credited family and caddie equally for keeping her grounded when the nerves surfaced.

The most dramatic movement on Saturday came from Maria Fassi, who began the day in a tie for 10th at 3-under and proceeded to shoot a tournament-best 6-under 65. The University of Arkansas alumna made back-to-back birdies on three and four, absorbed a bogey on eight, and then went on a five-birdie tear on the back nine that included three straight on holes 12, 13, and 14. She finished at 9-under, tied for second — her best career result on the Epson Tour. Fierro watched from the course and had nothing but warmth for her compatriot: “She’s the GOAT. She’s played the Olympics; she has done absolutely everything a professional golfer can dream of.”

Kaitlyn Papp Budde also finished T2 at 9-under, carding a 2-under final round that was more of a ping-pong affair — birdies traded for bogeys throughout — but she held on. It’s a career-best Epson Tour result for the Texas native, whose résumé already includes a spot in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur and nine career top-10s on tour. She called Atlantic Beach “probably one of the toughest tracks that will play out here during the season,” which makes the finish sting a little less and mean a little more.

Annabelle Pancake-Webb, the 36-hole leader, ran into the wall that a lot of front-runners find at this course on Sunday. She shot a 1-over 72 — four birdies, five bogeys — and slipped into the three-way tie for second, still a respectable result for a player who only joined the Epson Tour last season.

The round-of-the-day award belongs to Caitlin Peirce. The Australian found out she was in the first group roughly 25 minutes before her tee time — not exactly the standard pre-round routine. She leaned on her caddie Steph, a veteran of the tour circuit, to keep things from unraveling. “It just made it more comfortable and breezy,” Peirce said. That ease showed. She came in tied for 27th and went out and posted a 7-under 64 — one off the 18-hole course record set the day prior — making eight birdies against a single bogey. She was quiet early, giving herself chances on the front nine without converting, then caught fire on the back, stringing birdies together on 10-11, 14-15, and 17-18 to rocket into a tie for seventh. It’s her first career Epson Tour top-10, and it follows a stretch of strong results back home in Australia. “To continue it over here is always the next challenge,” she said, “so it’s nice to see that at least.”

Kate Smith-Stroh deserves a mention, too. The former LPGA rookie was 1-over through 10 on a day when the course was scoring. She played the next eight holes in four birdies and an eagle to finish T5 at 8-under. “I was a little defeated,” she admitted. “I’m glad the patience paid off.”

The Epson Tour now heads to Longwood for the IOA Golf Classic, March 13-15. Fierro goes there with the trophy, the record, and at least temporarily, the top of the Race for the Card. The season is three days old.

2026 Atlantic Beach Classic — Final Leaderboard