WORLEY, Idaho — Former Georgia All-American Jillian Hollis shot 18-under 198 to win the Epson Tour’s Circling Raven Championship in Worley, Idaho, on Sunday. Hollis, who was in a four-way tie atop the leaderboard entering the the final round, fired an 8-under effort on Sunday to finish two strokes better than the field and also break the tournament scoring record in the process.
“I’m feeling great,” Hollis said. “I feel like I’m dreaming.”
Hollis carded tallies of 4-under 68 and 6-under 66 in the first two rounds and was tied with Robyn Choi, Hyo Joon Jan and Jessica Welch entering Sunday. She broke free from the quintet by covering the first 8 holes on 6-under.
Hollis began her loop with a trio of birdies before giving one of those strokes back with her lone bogey of the day at No. 4. Three more birdies at No. 5, No. 7 and No. 8. She clinched the victory with birdies at No. 14, No. 15 and No. 17.
Hollis bettered the tournament’s 54-hole scoring record by two strokes. Peiyun Chien originally held the record at 16-under in 2021.
“That’s awesome,” said Hollis. “That’s so great. It was getable today. I was enjoying myself and wasn’t counting and thinking I need to make another birdie. It felt really good out there, like all of my hard work was finally showing.”
Hollis was a two-time winner on the Epson Tour in 2019 en route to graduating to the LPGA Tour. She struggled with the jump and made some tough decisions regarding her career. Since returning to the Epson Tour, Hollis has once again found the love for the game she once had.
“It’s been a lot of work,” said Hollis. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. I wasn’t having fun on tour, so at the beginning of this year, I said I’m not going to do this anymore. I’m changing my life a bit and changing my attitude.”
“My goal this year was to be healthy and have fun,” said Hollis. “I put so much pressure on myself the last two years and then had an injury for most of 2021. To come full circle, it’s really cool. I’m so grateful for today.”
With the win, Hollis vaulted to No. 8 on the Epson Tour money list for the 2022 season. The top-10 finishers on the Tour automatically move to the LPGA Tour.
Former Georgia teammate Bailey Tardy also enjoyed a solid weekend. Tardy finished at 6-under 210 to tie for 30th. She has now made the cut in seven tournaments this season, with a best finish of fourth at the Carolina Golf Classic in June.