With the pressure on, Germany’s Olivia Cowan and France’s Camille Chevalier produced clutch performances at the Ladies European Tour (LET) season-finale in Spain both finishing inside the top-10 to secure full playing rights for 2026.
Both LET winners sat outside the top-70 Order of Merit bubble heading into the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España presented by Oysho, with Cowan placed 79th and Chevalier 76th. The top-70 following the conclusion of the competition would secure Category 4 status for next season.
With Thailand’s Aunchisa Utama sitting in 70th, Chevalier mounted on the pressure from the get-go carding rounds of 70-69 over the first two days to sit inside the top-20. The 31-year-old followed this up with another set of 70-69 rounds over the weekend to secure a T7 finish – her best result of the 2025 season.
Thanks to the finish, Chevalier, a one-time LET winner, was able to leapfrog Utama into 67th on the LET Order of Merit as the Thai star ended the week T25 at Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf.
“It was very good,” the Frenchwoman said. “I gave myself a lot of chances which was nice. I’m happy I was able to play very chill [despite the pressure]. I was just trying to pretend I was just playing with my buddies which helped. I knew today was very important and I did it.
“I’ve been playing really good recently, so I knew I had to do the same thing. The environment didn’t matter. Luckily I played with great players this week which also helped. I’m excited for next year, hopefully I can continue and have a lot of fun.”
Cowan meanwhile got off to a shaky start playing her first 26 holes in two-over par to leave it all to do. Then, the German proved why she is a winner on Tour playing her next 10 holes in four-under par before shooting 68-67 over the weekend. She would eventually record a T3 finish as France’s Nastasia Nadaud claimed victory.
“I got off to a really solid start on Sunday,” Cowan said. “I was three-under through four and played really nicely. I had a couple ropey shots but managed to get them back on track. I hit it really nice over the weekend after hitting the range on Friday and figuring a few things out.”
Biding her time between Europe and the LPGA Tour, the 29-year-old was only competing in her eighth LET event of the year in Spain. Her best result heading into the season-finale was a T4 finish at the PIF London Championship.
Thanks to the clutch showing in Malaga, Cowan was able to soar up the Order of Merit into 56th spot, securing a full LET card for 2026.
“Obviously I was coming here to try and win,” the German said, whose sole victory on the circuit came at the 2022 Hero Women’s Indian Open. “But if not, having a good week to move up the rankings was my goal. It gives me a better chance for next year. It was the final event of the year so I just wanted to really enjoy it.”
Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino (64th), Hong Kong’s Ginnie Ding (68th) and Ireland’s Sara Byrne (69th) also did enough to retain full playing rights for next season. The final Order of Merit table, topped by Singapore’s Shannon Tan, can be found here.
