- Manon De Roey birdies final hole to pip Cara Gainer to the title in New South Wales
- Belgian claims third LET win and jumps to second in 2025 Order of Merit
Manon De Roey made a clutch birdie at the 18th hole of the Australian Women’s Classic to clinch the title and become a three-time Ladies European Tour (LET) winner.
On a nervy final day, the Belgian kept her cool late on dialling in an excellent approach to seven-feet at the par-4 18th before sealing the putt for LET victory number three.
Signing for a round of 69 (-1) on Sunday, De Roey pipped England’s Cara Gainer to the trophy with a winning score of nine-under par.
“It feels amazing!” De Roey said. “I love coming to Australia. I’ve been coming here since 2017. Coffs Harbour especially, I have a great host that I stay with. The course was in unbelievable condition after all the rain they had. I’m really happy.
“I was very nervous over the final putt. There were no leaderboards out on the course so I asked my caddie [Maria Beautell] to check for me. I wanted to know if I had to hit it soft to get it up there or hit it hard to try and make the putt. She told me Cara [Gainer] was in at eight-under so I knew I had to make it. It felt amazing.”
Trailing Australia’s Sarah Kemp by two shots prior to the start of play, De Roey started well birdying the par-4 3rd as Thai teenager Cholcheva Wongras made a charge elsewhere.
This was followed by a dropped shot at the 5th before the 6th proved a decisive turning point – De Roey bogeying the par-5 as Kemp hit it out of bounds to card a double-bogey.
One group ahead, Wongras – just 17-years-old – found herself in the outright lead thanks to back-to-back chip-ins.
De Roey responded with a birdie at the 7th to level things up leaving things wide open heading into the back-nine.
Both Wongras and Kemp were unable to respond dropping a pair of shots each as De Roey kept steady carding eight pars in a row.
With Gainer in the clubhouse lead on eight-under par after a pair of excellent birdies at the 17th and 18th, it all came down to the final hole. De Roey would rip her drive down the middle before dialling in an excellent 54-degree wedge to seven-feet. Under pressure she then rolled in the birdie to clinch the title.
“It was a bit more windy today compared to the other days,” De Roey explained. “But I feel like the wind is my friend so I used that to my advantage and tried to stay patient all day. I had two bogeys and was down about it but I knew I had a lot of holes left so just kept pushing.
“I’m looking forward to next week and my year on the LPGA Tour. It really boosts my confidence. I’m staying here in Coffs tonight so I’m sure there will be some celebrations!”
The victory is De Roey’s third on the LET after she won the 2022 Aramco Team Series – Bangkok title and 2024 Investec SA Women’s Open.
In solo second finished Gainer on eight-under par after her hot finish. Wongras – a star in the making – finished the week in third on seven-under par. Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjall fired a 66 (-4) to share fourth alongside Kemp on six-under par. The home favourite returned to action this week for the first time since breaking her leg seven months ago. An incredible comeback story.
Wales’ Darcey Harry, Austria’s Emma Spitz, Australia’s Grace Kim and Czech Republic’s Sara Kouskova finished the 54-hole tournament in a tie for sixth on five-under par.
In the 2025 LET Order of Merit, De Roey collects 500 points and jumps into second spot behind 325.14 points behind Gainer.
Next up the LET continues its co-sanctioned Aussie swing with the WPGA Tour heading south to Wollongong for the Ford NSW Women’s Open.
