Walsh and Byrne with different agendas at LET finale

Ronan MacNamara
|
|

Sara Byrne (Photo: Tristan Jones/LET)

Ronan MacNamara

Feature Interviews

Latest Stories

Lauren Walsh, Anna Foster and Sara Byrne are in action at the final event of the Ladies European Tour season as Malaga hosts the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España at Real Club Guadalhorce Golf.

Walsh and Byrne have their own respective card agendas while Elm Park’s Anna Foster had long consolidated her position for next season and might fancy a free roll of the dice at a maiden LET victory and taking the winnings from the €700,000 prize pool.

The top 10 on the LET Order of Merit at the conclusion of the tournament will earn themselves a spot at the Final Stage of LPGA Q-Series – currently Walsh occupies the tenth and final spot in just her second season on the Ladies European Tour.

The Castlewarden woman has registered six top-10s this season including multiple brushes with victory which has propelled her into position.

Walsh had a week to forget at the LPGA Pre-Qualifier earlier this year and thus missed out on a spot at the Q-Series finale but a solid week here should see her get a second bite of the cherry as she looks to join Leona Maguire stateside.

“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,” said Walsh who earned a career-high paycheque of €56,000 at the Wistron Open.

“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.”

There’s more than just an opportunity to make it on the LPGA Tour. Spots in the AIG Women’s Open and Evian Championship would also be secured with a top-10 Order of Merit finish.

Meanwhile, there is also the battle on the bubble with the top 70 in the Order of Merit securing full playing rights for the 2026 season.

The globetrotting Byrne has prioritised the LET over the autumn and boosted her card retention hopes with a fifth place finish in Switzerland.

Out of eighteen events, the Dromoland Castle woman also has two top-15 finishes and a top-25 but found consistency tough to come by as she balanced time on the Epson Tour as well – the LPGA Tour’s secondary circuit.

But after a late season upturn in form, Byrne is ranked 67th in the order of merit before a ball is hit in anger, meaning her hopes of retaining full status on the LET for next year is still in her hands.

Stay ahead of the game. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest Irish Golfer news straight to your inbox!

More News

Leave a comment


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy & Terms of Service apply.