The third stop of the 2026 Epson Tour West Coast stretch is officially underway at the second rendition of the Reliance Matrix Championship presented by Epson. The field of 132 athletes were gifted picture-perfect conditions for round one at Spanish Trail Country Club, in Las Vegas, Nev., on Thursday.

Carla Bernat Escuder is an Epson Tour rookie looking to clinch her first professional win to begin the 2026 Epson Tour season. The 22-year-old started off very strong on her opening nine, the course’s back nine with two eagles and two birdies. The Spaniard was heating up with an eagle on the par-5 11th, to start her first round. Bernat Escuder continued the strong momentum by dropping putts on holes 13 and 15. The 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur Champion teed up on No. 18 to make her second eagle of the round, heading to her final nine holes 6-under par.

“I think I was very good with the control of my distance and just being disciplined, said Bernat Escuder. “I knew how far I was hitting my long woods and my hybrid, so that can really help me. Also, this golf course is quite soft compared to last week, so where you hit it stays, and I like that, so it was good.”

The Kansas State University alumna sunk deeper into the red rounding the turn with birdies on holes one, three, four and six. Bernat Escuder felt the nerves heading into her final hole of the day, the par-4 ninth with the chance to beat the 18-hole tournament scoring record and Carla’s personal record. However, the nerves got the best of the young rookie, and she faltered with a double-bogey to sign for an incredible 8-under par round of 64.

“I mean, I just finished like five minutes ago, expressed Bernat Escuder. “I think that will really hurt me, but I mean generally I'm hitting the ball well. I'm driving it well. I just need to be able to control those nerves that I get because I put pressure on myself. I really wanted to break my record and yeah, I care about the tournament, but for me being able to see an improvement of my game, it's very important. I'm very happy and just have to keep working so I can do this in the next three days.”

Another player taking advantage of Spanish Trail Country Club was Pauline Del Rosario. The Epson Tour veteran opened with a birdie on No. 1 and followed with sinking three more putts on holes four, five and six. The Philippines native was firing putts from all round town, making the turn at 5-under and continued the momentum with birdies on 10 and 11.

Finding one more birdie on the back nine, Del Rosario gave it right back with an unfortunate bogey on No. 14 to sign for a 7-under, 65.

“It's a pretty straightforward course, said Del Rosario. “Just having your drives in play and having your irons giving you the best chances on the green. I feel like that's been working for me. My iron game was pretty good, and my putting complimented it really well.”

Mariel Galdiano is a 27-year-old who has started this season on a good note, securing 3rd and 2nd place finishes at the IOA Golf Classic and Orlando Health Championship, respectively. Galdiano currently sits at No. 4 on the Race for the Card leaderboard. The Epson Tour veteran fired a 7-under 65 in round one, highlighted by a 5-under opening nine.

“I'd say ball striking, definitely my irons, I was hitting them well, hitting them close, said Galdiano. “A little shaky at the end, I had like two missed fairways on my last two holes, getting old, my lower back is stiff. But I managed to scrape away part in the last two holes, so that was nice. I played LPGA in Cancun last weekend, it was really hot, so I think that prepared me well for here. The greens are rolling well. I'm just feeling good being back on Epson, feeling more confident in myself. I'm kind of building on what I had started and hopefully can finish strong as well.”

The UCLA alumna was dialed on her opening nine, sinking three consecutive birdie putts on holes one through three. Rounding the turn her fine-tuned game was on full display with an eagle on the par-5 11th. Galdiano sits one shot back of 18-hole leader, Carla Bernat Escuder and is in a tie for second with Pauline Del Rosario and Cholcheva Wongras.

Fellow rookie Cholcheva Wongras signed for a bogey-free 7-under, 65. The Thailand native posted the lowest round of her Epson Tour professional career to sit in a tie for second heading into the second round.

The pack tightens quickly, with six athletes at 6-under, sitting in a tie for fifth, setting up an intense battle heading into day two.

Make sure to check out what 18-hole leader, Carla Bernat Escuder does as she plans to tee off for round two at 7:44 a.m. local time Friday morning. The Spaniard is looking to achieve the feat of breaking her personal and the tournament scoring record.

“I want to break it tomorrow then, mentioned Bernat Escuder. “I mean, I just need to keep doing a little bit of what I've done like read putts and try to have good speed, and I mean having a caddy helps. I haven't had a caddy in a while, so I brought my caddy that I had at The Ford Championship. I think it really takes that worrying about taking my clubs and other thing away so that maybe helped me too.”

The Reliance Matrix Championship presented by Epson continues to deliver drama and opportunity for these rising stars chasing LPGA dreams. Follow along with live scoring here.

Carla Bernat Escuder Leads the Reliance Matrix Championship presented by Epson after Round One

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