Lauren Walsh produced a final-round, one-under 71 to secure her third top-five finish of the 2025 LET campaign at the Hulencourt Women’s Open in Belgium, as Wales’ Darcey Harry ran out a three-stroke victor.
The Carton House touring pro began the final day four shots adrift of India’s Avani Prashanth, and a birdie on the first and another on eight got her to the turn at -2 and with victory very much on her mind even though Harry had leapfrogged Prashanth and would soon take a three-stroke lead into the back nine.
Another Walsh birdie on 13 narrowed the gap, but when she carded back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15 and Harry eagled the par-5 13th herself, it was game over for the Irish woman as far as victory was concerned.
She parred her way home to secure a share of fifth on -7, with Harry finishing on -13, three ahead of Frenchwoman Natasha Nadaud who took solo second.
“I don’t even know what to say right now”, said the rookie. “I’m so excited. I didn’t think I’d ever picture myself winning on the LET, so it’s so nice to know I’ve finally done it.”
Despite showing a lack of nerves on course, she admitted she was definitely full of them.
“I think the last putt was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life.”
Commenting on her final round she said: “I started off with a bogey, but there’s lots of birdie chances out there as the course condition is so good. If you’re hitting good shots, you get rewarded, and I hit a few good putts today.
“I think I came out today to try and get a good score, so I wanted to prove to myself I could continue with another good show on the course. I wasn’t really thinking about the leaderboard which I think really helped me today.”
Sara Byrne, who missed the cut in her last three LET starts, had an up and down final round that eventually resulted in a level-par 72 for a -4 tally and a share of 15th.
A solitary birdie with three bogeys on the front side was definitely not the start she’d envisioned, but reeling off four birdies in a five-hole stretch starting on the 10th, she propelled herself up the leaderboard and had a LET top-10 within her sights before two dropped shots on the way home saw her slip back.
Both Walsh and Byrne are entered in next week’s Tippsport Czech Ladies Open, where they’ll be joined by Canice Screene and Olivia Mehaffey, with the KPMG Women’s Irish Open at Carton House coming fast on the horizon.
To register for tickets for the showpiece event in Irish women’s golf which takes place from the week starting June 30th, click here.
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