Leah John went wire-to-wire to win the Epson Tour’s Four Winds Invitational in South Bend, Ind., and that makes it sound easy. It was anything but.
The 25-year-old Vancouver native battled her nerves, her opponents and the golf course in the final round before prevailing by one shot for her first professional victory.
“It’s super special,” John said in her winner’s interview. “It’s just nice to have a day like this, to represent all the hard work and commitments that have helped me along the way.”
John, who plays out of Marine Drive Golf Club, grabbed the lead with a course-record nine-under 63 in the opening round and never relinquished it. She led by three heading into Sunday’s final round, where she bent but did not break.
The final day began just the way she hoped it would not, with a bogey on the opening hole. Her lead was cut to a single stroke through four holes, but John then rattled off three straight birdies and looked to be in great shape. However, after bogeying the ninth and 10th holes and tripling the 11th, her lead was again just a single shot.
A birdie on the 16th hole proved to be the difference as John posted a two-over 74 to finish at nine-under, one shot ahead of Americans Melanie Green and Jennifer Chang.
“I was super excited to play with Melanie today, so I was just looking forward to the day and learning from her experiences, and just prioritizing joy, sticking to my game plan and just seeing where the day takes me,” said John, a two-time winner of the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship. “I was ready for anything that came.”
John earned $33,750 for the win, which vaulted her 77 spots to No. 22 on the Epson Tour’s points list. The top 15 players at the end of the season earn LPGA Tour status for 2026 and suddenly that is an achievable goal for John.
The Epson Tour is on a one-week break and resumes Aug. 15-17 for the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic in Pendleton, Ore.
Click HERE for complete final scoring.