Lauren Walsh is loving her first season on the Ladies European Tour so much that she tells everyone that she is living the dream and she would love to make her dream come true with a maiden professional victory before the season ends.
The Castlewarden woman has enjoyed an impressive debut campaign, highlighted by back-to-back third place finishes in Switzerland and London which helped her to 13th in the Order of Merit and now people are beginning to stand up and take notice of her.
Thursday’s ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open will be the start of a three event swing where Walsh has an opportunity to play towards her goal of earning a card on the LPGA Tour next year. A maiden professional start in next week’s AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews and a KPMG Women’s Irish Open debut at Carton House also await her during this period.
“Three strong fields coming up and I will have great support at all three of them so it’s great. I am looking forward to testing my game and I showed earlier in the year, playing well in London if I keep doing what I’m doing I will be in a pretty good spot,” said Walsh who often has her sister Clodagh or father James as her caddie during LET events.
“It’s nice to be a touch closer to home and having that support is a huge thing on Tour. I don’t get that all year round so it motivates you as well to really make a couple of extra birdies over the next few weeks.
“A win is still on the horizon, would love to get one across the line in the tournaments I have left in the year. Keep enjoying it and I am going back to Q-School so hopefully earn a LPGA Tour card. I have enjoyed my time on the LET but I would love to get out and compete against the best in the world on the LPGA.
“Love to get a win on the LET so if I could do that and secure status in the States next year that would be great,” she added.
Walsh already has major championship experience to boot having made the cut at the AIG Women’s Open as an amateur in Carnoustie three years ago and she is relishing the chance of making her first major start as a professional at the Home of Golf in St Andrews and she is determined to savour it as a reward for her good play this season.
“To get my spot in the Open field through the LET order of merit stands to how well I have played this year and to know I have earned my spot is a nice feeling so going into it I know I can hang with everyone there,” said the 2023 Wake Forest student scholar athlete of the year.
“Made the cut there in 2021 and played my way into the field this year, going in pretty confident. I always enjoyed links golf it brings out the creative side in the golfer and I have played a lot of links golf in the two weeks I have been off back at home so it should be a good week.
“No better place to play my first major as a professional than at St Andrews so I am really looking forward to it.”
For the Kildare woman, a crucial part of the season beckons. A Ladies European Tour win is still very much on her mind while she is exempt into stage two of LPGA Tour Q-School. But it’s all part of the journey for Walsh whose job certainly does not feel like work.
“I’ve just been doing my own thing and learning about life on tour, taking lessons from everything. Figuring out my scheduling and I have loved every opportunity so far, taking little things away, progressing along it has been good. Me and my coach Shane have seen each other more than I would have previously so it has been a steady progression. I love life on tour, I am living my dream.”
Walsh gets her Scottish Open campaign at Dundonald Links underway alongside Moriya Jutanugarn and Peiyun Chien while Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow return from Olympic duty in Paris.
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