After taking a near two-month break the Ladies European Tour (LET) returns in February for an exciting new season which sees stops at 19 countries across five different continents.
Last year’s record-breaking schedule saw a mighty expansion of the LET’s illustrious winner’s circle as 11 champions tasted silverware for the very first time.
This circle included an incredible assemble of stars, from Carmen Alonso securing her first title after 19 years on Tour to Trichat Cheenglab breaking through in the Netherlands en route to winning the Race to Costa del Sol and Rookie of the Year double.
So who will be next to join this circle and hoist maiden gold on Tour? From veterans to rising stars, here are 10 players who could be next to become a first-time LET winner…
Cara Gainer
2023 proved to be a breakthrough year for Cara Gainer as the English talent enjoyed her best year to date finishing 16th in the Race to Costa del Sol.
Forever the fierce competitor, Gainer will still feel a sense of disappointment she was not able to secure a maiden win on top of such success, as she finished fourth, third, and runner-up all within the space of a month last summer – the latter an agonising playoff defeat to Kristyna Napoleaova at the Amundi German Masters.
Admitting she has ‘unfinished business‘ heading into 2024, a now fully fit Gainer (the 28-year-old had a wrist injury back in September) looks perfectly poised to go one better and secure a maiden LET win.
Gabriella Cowley
From one Englishwoman to another, Gabriella Cowley also went just as close as her compatriot in 2023 as she too missed out on a first win through the finest of margins losing to Alexa Pano in a playoff at the ISPS Handa World Invitational.
Ending the year 13th in the season long standings – her best result to date – thanks to seven top-10 finishes, Cowley will continue knocking on the door in 2024 and should claim a victory can she replicate her Northern Ireland and Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed form.
Sara Kjellker
Bar her Rookie of the Year rivals Cheenglab and Alexandra Försterling, no player hit better form from August onwards in 2023 than Sweden’s Sara Kjellker.
After an up-and-down start to the season, the 25-year-old found her groove beginning at the La Sella Open as she placed inside the top-10 before recording four top-five finishes in two months to close out the year.
Having learnt plenty from those near misses, and with a successful rookie season now under her belt, expect to see Kjellker in contention throughout 2024 as she goes in pursuit of a maiden win.
Nicole Garcia
The ever-present Nicole Garcia will be embarking on her eleventh season on the LET in 2024, and the South African’s game is in as great a shape as ever to finally land that long-awaited first-time win.
An Aramco Team Series specialist with two victories as captain on her resume, Garcia remains hungry for individual silverware having finished runner-up at the Lalla Meryem Cup in 2015 and third on five occasions since – two of which coming in her homeland of South Africa.
The 34-year-old ended last year 27th in the Race to Costa del Sol but will no doubt feel she can improve on her standings as she chases a win in 2024.
Casandra Alexander
Sticking with the super South Africans, one of Garcia’s compatriots looking to beat her to that much-desired first win is Casandra Alexander.
Last year proved to be a mixed bag of results for Alexander, who starred in the Aramco Team Series events once again winning a third team title in Singapore and finishing runner-up with her squad in Florida.
Individually, the South African would record nine top-15 finishes throughout 2023 to finish 44th in the season-long standings before having surgery on her ankle last month.
At 24-years-old, Alexander’s best years remain well ahead of her and with an explosive long-game and determined mindset, 2024 could well be the year we see Cass break into the winner’s circle.
A Rookie…
2023 yielded four rookie winners during an exciting season (Cheenglab, Försterling, Patricia Isabel Schmidt and Aline Krauter), so expect to see some first year graduates once again lift silverware in 2024 as they look to make an instant impact.
Quality pervades the class of 2024 with successful amateurs like Annabell Fuller, Shannon Tan, Nataliya Guseva and Lauren Walsh joining established professionals such as Aunchisa Utama, Fernanda Lira, Teresa Toscano and Jung Min Hong.
The six graduates from the LET Access Series (LETAS) will also be eager to follow Schmidt in winning less than a year on from making the step up, a sextet which includes Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini, winner of last year’s flagship Rose Ladies Series event.
Kirsten Rudgeley
One of our 10 young stars to watch in 2024, Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley enjoyed a successful debut season last time out finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year race and 30th in the Race to Costa del Sol.
Leading for two days of competition in the final event of the season – the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España where she finished T4 – the 22-year-old proved she can compete against world class opposition and will now be keen to kick on and add professional silverware to her impressive amateur resume.
Laura Fuenfstueck
After a 12-month injury layoff, Germany’s Laura Fuenfstueck rediscovered her best form midway through 2023 recording two top-20 finishes either side of a nail biting playoff defeat to Nuria Iturrioz at the La Sella Open.
Boosted by an exceptional performance in Spain, Fuenfstueck would finish T11 in Switzerland after a final round 65 (-6) before placing T4 at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France and tasting Aramco Team Series success in Hong Kong.
While the 29-year-old’s form dipped slightly in the final few events of the season, a healthy break and recent engagement places Fuenfstueck in the perfect mental space to kick on and join the winner’s circle in 2024.
Emma Spitz
Following a prolific amateur career, one which saw her compete at both the Junior Ryder Cup and PING Junior Solheim Cup, become the first Austrian to win The R&A’s Girls Amateur Championship, and finish third at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, Emma Spitz enjoyed a mixed rookie season on Tour recording nine top-20 finishes to end the year 53rd in the Race to Costa del Sol.
But having showed glimpses of her world class potential – most notably in Belgium when she won the U.S. Women’s Open Qualifier – the 23-year-old’s breakthrough moment is undoubtedly a matter of when, not if, as she looks to follow in Christine Wolf’s footsteps and become the LET’s next Austrian winner.
Chloe Williams
Last but not least, after a strong finish to 2023 Wales’ Chloe Williams will also be hoping she can capitalise on her best ever run of form and join the winner’s circle in 2024.
The 28-year-old risked losing her card midway through 2023, but after a change in mindset and some hard graft Williams came back fighting in August, finishing T10 in Northern Ireland before contending in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Mallorca where she fell agonisingly short of a maiden victory.
No doubt spurred on by the revival, and having enjoyed her best run of results since joining the LET in 2020, Williams will now be eager to kick on in 2024 and become her nation’s sixth winner on Tour (Helen Wadsworth, Becky Brewerton, Lydia Hall, Becky Morgan and Amy Boulden the other five).
The 2024 LET season gets underway at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open on February 8. Follow all the action throughout the year on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #RaiseOurGame
