01꿈의 무대 먼저 밟는 엡손 투어 유망주
2026 엡손 투어(Epson Tour) 졸업생 자격을 확보한 애너벨 팬케이크 웹(Annabelle Pancake-Webb)이 LPGA 투어 커리어를 조기에 시작한다. 팬케이크 웹은 이번 '더 아니카(The ANNIKA)' 대회 출전을 확정지으며 본격적인 정규 투어 적응에 나선다.
엡손 투어를 거쳐 LPGA 투어 진출권을 획득한 팬케이크 웹은 뛰어난 기량을 바탕으로 졸업생 명단에 이름을 올렸다. 이번 '더 아니카' 출전은 정식 합류에 앞서 세계 최정상급 선수들과 미리 호흡을 맞추는 귀중한 기회가 될 전망이다.
새로운 도전에 나서는 팬케이크 웹이 LPGA 투어 조기 데뷔전인 '더 아니카'에서 어떠한 활약을 펼치며 가능성을 입증할지 골프 팬들의 관심이 집중되고 있다.
02Original (English) — LPGA
Carly Haines is a former collegiate golfer at the University of Louisville, where she earned a BSBA in Marketing and an MBA in Innovation. She currently serves as a Marketing and Partnerships Manager for the Epson Tour.
Annabelle Pancake-Webb doesn't officially become an LPGA Tour rookie until 2027. This week, she gets a head start.
The 2026 Epson Tour winner tees it up at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican as a sponsor invitation, joining a 108-player field at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, for one of the final events of the LPGA Tour season. The tournament runs Nov. 12-15, with a $3.25 million purse and proceeds benefiting the ANNIKA Foundation.
For Pancake-Webb, the invitation carries extra meaning. She grew up in Zionsville, Indiana, the hometown of title sponsor Gainbridge.
“Growing up in Zionsville, this feels full circle to participate in The ANNIKA,” Pancake-Webb said when the invitation was announced in October. “I’m super thankful to Gainbridge for believing in me.”
Golf runs deep in her family. Her mother, Libby (Akers) Pancake, is in the Indiana High School Golf Hall of Fame and won the Indiana Women’s State Amateur in 1985. Her father, Tony Pancake, is Director of Golf at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana. Annabelle added her own name to that state amateur trophy twice, in 2019 and 2021.
After a standout career at Clemson University, where she was a two-time All-ACC selection and set the program’s season stroke-average record (71.27) as a senior, Pancake-Webb turned to the Epson Tour.
Her 2026 season was a breakthrough. She made 19 starts, posted eight top-10 finishes and earned her first Epson Tour win at the Greater Toledo Classic in July. She finished No. 4 in the season-long Race for the Card, locking up full LPGA Tour membership for 2027 at the Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, Calif.
Now she gets a taste of what’s ahead. The ANNIKA field is led by world No. 1 and three-time champion of The ANNIKA, Nelly Korda, who is chasing a fourth title, along with defending champion Linn Grant and a group of top-ranked players including Haeran Ryu, Lottie Woad and Charley Hull.
“I can’t wait to play against the world’s best at The ANNIKA in November,” Pancake-Webb said.
It’s a familiar step on the Road to the LPGA: earn the card on the Epson Tour, then get a first look at the next level. For Pancake-Webb, that first look comes at an event with her hometown’s name on it.