Less than 48 hours after fulfilling her childhood dreams and playing her way onto the LPGA Tour, Lauren Walsh is still coming to terms with the achievement and if she needed any reminders, they’re coming thick and fast.
“I don’t think my phone’s ever blown up this much in my life,” she chuckled. “I felt like every time I put the phone down, another 50 notifications were popping up. Not just for me. I know my parents’ phones have been blowing up, too. Family, friends, neighbours, everybody’s reaching out from all over the country and all over the world, too.”
Walsh had arrived home from the LPGA Q-Series Final Stage in Alabama the day before, and discovered that, since no TV cameras were present, the internet refreshing around her native Kildare had been in overdrive with the litany of supporters and well-wishers on the edge of their seats as she gradually moved up the leaderboard and ultimately earned her LPGA Tour stripes with a stroke to spare.
“I think I was probably the least stressed of everyone,” she explained. “Like, I was in control. I was hitting the golf shots. But for everybody else watching from afar, I know it was a stressful couple hours.
“But it’s so special to feel all of that support from everyone.”
With the talent levels in professional golf, the margins are extremely fine and the importance of grinding over every shot was exemplified by the fact that the 26-year-old held onto the 10th place in the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit rankings by a mere three-and-a-half points – she recorded 1,449.51 points for context – and that gained her access to the Final Stage of the LPGA Q-Series.
And the majority of those 1,449.51 points were accumulated after a mid-season break.
“I took a little break in August and went away on holidays, just took a little bit of time off golf,” she explained. “You know, our season is so intense, and we play so many tournaments, but I came back from Spain feeling very refreshed, really excited to get back into golf.
“I had a solid week in America at the Aramco, and then once I came back to Europe – that stretch of Switzerland, Spain, France, – I finished second in Switzerland, fifth in Spain, and then I shot six-under in France. I had a lot of positives in that three week stretch, which gave me a lot of confidence coming into the final stretch of the season.
“To be honest, like nothing really changed in those weeks, but a couple of extra putts drop, you get a little bit more confidence in yourself. You start shooting lower scores back-to-back, which is great, but just seeing it all come together was confidence in itself for me.”
Though 2025 was just her second season as a pro, the experience she gained in her maiden campaign made her a natural leader for the strong Irish contingent who came onto the LET as rookies this year, with Sara Byrne, Anna Foster and Annabel Wilson all singing her praises for the advice she dished out throughout the season.
She’ll be back to being a rookie again when she enters the LPGA fray next year, but she insists that she’ll not be fazed by it.
“I think a lot of it remains the same,” she said. “The golf courses will be different, but golf is still the same. My 14 clubs are the same. That’s how I approached my rookie season on the LET and it’ll be the same on the LPGA.
“I’ve built a really great team around me – my coaches, my family, and the support from Forefront too. So just because they’re different venues, it doesn’t change much for me.”
Having attended Wake Forest University in the United States, helping them to a first ever NCAA Division I Women’s title in 2023, she’s no stranger to golf in the United States, and is friendly with many of the LPGA Tour players and familiar with many others. Plus, five of the 10 players at the top of the LET rankings joined her in securing LPGA Tour cards at the Q-Series Final, so she’ll be in good company.
But the LPGA Tour is the pinnacle of women’s golf, and she’s excited to be taking on the best players in the world on a regular basis.
“Obviously that’s where the best players in the world are playing so it’s very exciting,” she said. “Over the last couple years, I got to play in the [AIG Women’s] Open and the Scottish Open, so I think the LET has prepared me really well. I’ve been playing on a really competitive tour for the last two years and I’ve learned how to compete and contend and shoot low scores which is what you need to do on the LPGA.”
During her rookie season, her accuracy off the tee and on approach were her main strengths, but she attributes an improved short game and more consistency with her putter as being the key elements that saw her among the leading players on the LET this year.
“I’m a good ball striker,” she explained. “I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, and I’ve always ranked quite highly in those stats. Over the last offseason, Shane [O’Grady, Walsh’s coach] and I really worked hard on my putting, changed my putter grip, and then ultimately, my short game has gotten a lot better.
“My scrambling rates have really improved, which I think has given me confidence in itself. It’s helped my par-5 scoring and it’s also reduced the amount of bogeys I make because now, missing a green is not a problem. I walk up, I know I’m gonna get up and down. So, it’s been a big confidence builder in my game.”
While a maiden professional victory still eludes her, she is confident that it’s only a matter of time before she starts adding them to her resumé, and that her final eight holes in Alabama – which she played in four-under, under severe pressure, and with her LPGA Tour hopes on the line – will be an experience that she can draw on when she next finds herself in contention.
And with a win or two on the LPGA Tour, she would be knocking on the door for Solheim Cup selection which she admits has been a dream of hers ever since attending the 2011 Solheim Cup at Killeen Castle.
“Yeah, like playing on the LPGA, playing a Solheim Cup has been a goal and a dream of mine as well,” she smiled. “When the time is right, a win will come along, I guess. For me, it’s all about controlling what I can control, enjoying what I’m doing. And if that all works out, the win will come.
“I’ve had a lot of close calls, played well at times to get myself into contention. So yeah, my time will come, I’m not concerned about that.
“You know, everything happens for a reason. And the golf I played down the stretch this past week in Alabama, shooting four-under on my last eight holes, someday that will hopefully help me win a tournament.”
Now, with the golf clubs packed away, she’s looking forward to a bit of well-earned down time, but with the opportunity that lies ahead, thoughts of teeing it up with the game’s elite on a weekly basis will never be far from her mind.
“Excited? Yes, I absolutely can’t wait,” she beamed. “I’m excited for a little bit of time off now over Christmas, but I’ll be ready to go come the new year.”
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