It’s been a whirlwind few days for Agathe Laisne who tees up as the new Ladies European Tour (LET) Order of Merit leader in Cape Town this week following a marathon playoff victory on Sunday.
The Frenchwoman outlasted home favourite Casandra Alexander and Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley over five extra holes at the Joburg Ladies Open to claim a second victory of 2026.
“A lot of people told me that I looked very relaxed, having a good time, but inside I was very stressed,” Laisne said on the dramatic finish. “I think the crowd helped me because they would clap and cheer a lot. It was very, very loud and I enjoyed that. It helped me have a good time along with my caddie. Making that final putt was very intense but I’m super happy I got the win.”
With the win at Randpark Golf Club, Laisne overtook Alexander at the top of the season-standings moving to 1,297.50 points for the campaign. It it an exceptional period of form which the 26-year-old has been yearning for.
“I’ve been working really hard for a long time now and it’s all starting to click altogether,” Laisne said, who also finished T2 at the Women’s Australian Open in Adelaide. “But there’s been a lot of work over many years which has led to this. You know, golf is a weird game, sometimes it comes altogether and sometimes it doesn’t. I couldn’t tell you why.”
Despite leading the LET Order of Merit once again, Laisne is continuing to stay focused and take one tournament at a time. She also now sits third on the LET Solheim Cup Points List – trailing only Charley Hull and Chiara Tamburlini – following the sensational start to 2026.
“I don’t have a goal perfectly set for the season,” the Frenchwoman said. “I just want to do the best that I can and go as far as I can. I’ll see how it goes. In golf you have to focus on everything to get your game going, but putting has been really good this year. I’ve been working on hitting as many fairways and greens as possible.”
As for this week, Laisne, also a two-time winner on the LET Access Series (LETAS), tees up in the 33rd edition of the Investec SA Women’s Open at Royal Cape Golf Club. She will play alongside Canada’s Anna Huang and Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino in round one getting underway at 08:20 local time.
“I still have that winning feeling coming into this week,” Laisne said on the task at hand. “It’s hard to celebrate when you’ve got another week coming up right after… I’ve been very tired so I’ve been taking a lot of naps! I’m just trying to focus on this week, manage the course and find out the best strategy here.”
Watch the Investec SA Women’s Open live and keep up to date with all the action from the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook | #InvestecSAWomensOpen.
