Meghan MacLaren is back near the top of the leaderboard on the Ladies European Tour (LET) at the Australian Women’s Classic.
The English star produced rounds of 68-67 in the first two days of action at Magenta Shores Golf & Country Club to be in a share of second place on nine-under-par at the 36-hole mark.
It was a flawless day on the course for MacLaren who fired a bogey-free second round rolling in birdies on the second, sixth, 11th, 13th and 17th holes.
“It felt like it was hot, but I played really nicely today, and I’ve just done what I needed to do the last two days,” said MacLaren. “I cleaned up whenever I haven’t hit some good shots and have taken advantage of some of the good stuff.
“Ever since I first came out here, the people are amazing. I feel like they’ve just taken me as one of their own. I feel really comfortable here, even though it’s so far away. It’s got a lot of the culture that I like, and the coffee has to be up there.
“I feel really excited. It’s funny, those last four or five holes, obviously a few of the cameras came out and that’s what you play for. You get the adrenaline, I flew the green basically on 17, which hasn’t happened for a while. You want to be able to execute when the feelings are like that. None of us are out here to just be average.
“Everybody wants to be the one that steps up when the pressure is on. There’s no guarantee that I can do it. There’s no guarantee that anybody can do it but seeing how you handle the pressure is what it’s all about.”
MacLaren, who earned her full LET card back at Q-School in December, has been open about her struggles with her game.
The three-time LET winner admitted she hit ‘rock bottom’ in 2025 and reflected on the Ford Women’s NSW Open in 2024, which was also held at Magenta Shores.
She explained: “We’re standing here now and two years ago, I was sat 15 yards down here after the first round and I just cried my eyes out because I just felt so lost. I was struggling so badly. I shouldn’t have been out here that year. It’s been a long road since then, but since just before Q-School, I realised that golf-wise I’m back where I feel like I can be.
“I trust in my game again, and it was just the case of mentally then going out and believing that I can do it and trusting my ability. I showed signs of that at Q-School and I feel like I wasted so much golf over the last couple of years and now I’m out here and I don’t want to waste a single day. Mentally, that’s all I’m trying to do every single day.
“It took a year for me mentally to trust it again. There were still some really low points last year. I played really well in Ireland last year, and that was one of the first times it was like I can play good golf and I am still a good golfer.
“Mentally, I had to take a pretty big step to really go, no I’m not out here to just be average. I don’t want that. I’ve never wanted that. That was what really hurt me whenever I was struggling because I would make a bit of progress, but then you’re not happy to make the cut, but it’s a relief. I’ve made the cut and that’s not what I want, so this is what I feel like I’m capable of and I want to just keep pushing on.”
Australia is a special place for the 31-year-old with all three of her LET victories taking place Down Under.
MacLaren won the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Women’s NSW Open, as well as the 2022 Australian Women’s Classic – Bonville.
As the only former champion of the tournament playing this week, the English star recognises that her triumph gets mentioned more but believes she has evolved since those wins.
“It feels like a long time ago,” she continued. “Bonville was 2022, but even that’s four years ago! I was chatting the other night about this because when I’m out here, it’s the only time really it gets referenced.
“You’re a past champion here, a past champion of that tournament, whereas so much time has passed that it’s not relevant in the golfing world. I still know that I’m a tournament winner and that’s a big thing. I know I can get over the line. I know I’ve achieved stuff, but I’m a completely different person now.
“I’m a different golfer as well, but I like to think that I’ve still got some of those qualities that made me a winner then. If I can apply that to how I’m playing now and the difference in my game now, then hopefully that’s a good thing for me.”
Heading into the weekend, MacLaren will be watched by her parents, who have managed to make the trip to Australia, and is hoping to enjoy the final two rounds.
She added: “My parents are here, which is nice. They’ve managed to get in yesterday morning. I will spend some time with them. We’ve got a great group of people that I’m staying with including Lydia [Hall], who had a hole-in-one. I won’t have any drinks, but I feel like there might be a few drinks tonight. I’m just going to enjoy it and get ready for tomorrow.”
MacLaren tees it up in the final group of the Australian Women’s Classic at 12.10 pm (local time) alongside Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab and Australia’s Kelsey Bennett.
Watch the final two rounds live and follow all the action from the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram and X and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube.
