Relief for Walsh as she secures LPGA card chance after nail-biting finish in Malaga
Lauren Walsh and her caddie, pictured during the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de España. Picture; Tristan Jones/LET
Lauren Walsh secured a spot at this week’s LPGA Q-Series by just 2.52 ranking points after a nail-biting final day at the season-ending Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España.
The Castlewarden star (25) needed to remain in the top 10 in the LET’s Order of Merit to qualify for this week’s battle for 25 LPGA cards in Alabama.
A final round 74 looked to have cost her tenth place as Canadian teenager Anna Huang and French star Perrine Delacour leapfrogged her in the projected standings as they headed down the stretch in Malaga.
But Huang bogeyed the 15th and 17th to slip back to 11th in the tournament and 11th in the Order of Merit while Delacour bogeyed four of her last six holes to end up 12th in the points list following her five-way tie for third behind Nastasia Nadaud of France.
When the final points were tallied, Walsh’s tie for 47th on one-over at Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf saw her remain 10th in the season-long race by just 2.52 points.
As well as a ticket to the LPGA Q-Series, the Carton House touring professional also earned a spot in next year’s AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes for finishing in the top-15 in the Order of Merit.
She racked up seven top 10 finishes in 24 starts, including a joint runner-up finish in the Swiss Ladies Open.
But it was also an excellent season for rookies Anna Foster and Sara Byrne, who retained full LET status awarded to the top 70 in the Order of Merit.
Elm Park talent Foster closed with a level par 72 to finish 34th on two-under and a brilliant 42nd in the points list, while Douglas’ Byrne finished 69th after she shot 74 to tie for 56th on three-over in Malaga.
French star Nadaud impressively claimed her maiden title when she fired a superb 66 to come from five shots behind Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab and win by four strokes from Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley on 16 under.
She also claimed third place in the Order of Merit, worth a €25,000 bonus, as Singapore’s Shannon Tan held off Mimi Rhodes to win the season-long title.
Tan shot 73 to finish 16th on seven under, and while Rhodes was seventh on 10 under after a 70, she needed solo second to win the Order of Merit and had to settle for a €50,000 bonus as the Singapore star took home an extra €75,000 as European number one.
As Walsh heads to Alabama to battle for her LPGA card, Olivia Mehaffey, Canice Screene and amateurs Olivia Hunt and Aine Donegan tee it up in Pre-Quaifying for the Lalla Aicha Qualifying School in Morocco from December 10.
She will be hoping to join Annabel Wilson, who ended up 83rd in the Order of Merit, at the Final Stage at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech from December 16-20.
Meanwhile, LIV Golf’s David Puig followed in the footsteps of Seve Ballesteros when he became the second Spanish winner of the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
The Fireballs team member (23) closed with a bogey-free, five-under 66 to win by two shots from China’s Wenyi Ding on 18-under to secure his maiden DP World Tour title in just his 15th start.
On the Sunshine Tour, The K Club’s Liam Grehan tied for 31st in the Fitch and Leedes PGA Championship at St Francis Links in the Eastern Cape.
He closed with a level par 72 to finish 11 strokes behind South Africa’s Deon Germishuys on three-under.
