Esme Hamilton recorded the best result of her rookie year on the Ladies European Tour (LET) with a T2 finish at last week’s Tipsport Czech Ladies Open.
The 25-year-old produced rounds of 66-66-69 to end the week with a score of 15-under-par alongside Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes.
It was the best result on the LET for the rookie, who jumped up to 36th in the LET Order of Merit and seventh in the Rookie of the Year rankings.
“I still feel like I’ve not fully processed it all with travelling straight to this event, but it’s obviously very exciting and has given me an opportunity this season to potentially stay on LET,” said Hamilton.
“In terms of that, it’s slightly crazy to think about and I definitely would have jumped at this type of result and never expected that of myself in my first year. But in some ways also I’m not surprised that it’s happened with how I’ve worked over the last few years, and I feel like I’ve really put the effort in, so I’m very grateful that it’s happened when it has.
“I was totally fine with playing some LETAS too this year as well as LET. I still feel like there are areas of my game in general that I need to develop, and I think LETAS is a brilliant place to do that. This result certainly provides a whole different opportunity this year, which is exciting.”
It was a new experience last week for Hamilton with her being in the final group on the final day in Czechia.
The English player didn’t have many nerves and had the mindset of enjoying herself on the golf course, rather than putting pressure on herself.
She continued: “I think me and my caddy Alex were just chatting away, and on LET it is always familiar faces that are doing the media and everyone’s so friendly that I didn’t feel phased during the final round.
“My mindset was to enjoy it and see what happens and I know that some rookies would have a very different mindset, but that’s what worked for me as a player and a person. I think that took some of the pressure off the final group atmosphere.
“It was unbelievable. I was surprised by some of the people that messaged, but I was more surprised at the volume of messages I got. My parents were up in Scotland with my Scottish family and they were all saying they were buzzing, but they were trying to not let on too much how buzzing they were.
“It’s always nice that your family is a constant through the ups and downs and it’s really nice that they get this happy moment as well. That means a lot to me and I’m obviously very thankful to everyone else that I know that has messaged me.”
Hamilton will be teeing it up in the 2025 Amundi German Masters taking place from 26-29 June at Green Eagle Golf Courses in Hamburg.
A field of 132 players will be tackling the North Course in a 72-hole stroke play competition and the LET rookie knows you have to play well in all areas of your game this week.
She explained: “It’s going to be gusty, so fairways and greens are definitely going to be important. With the gusts, you are going to miss some greens, so absolutely missing in the right places and then making the up-and-downs.
“Pretty much every aspect of your game is going to be important because with the wind and lag-putting, you’re going to end up further away. I think it will be a test with the water on tee shots, the rough on tee shots, water at the greens. Every aspect of your game needs to be on. It’s exciting to come off the back of last week and to come into this week.”
World number 21 Esther Henseleit is in town this week playing at the Amundi German Masters for the first time since 2022.
It was an exciting moment for Hamilton in the practice days when she was able to see the German star on site.
She added: “I saw Esther in the player’s lounge yesterday, so seeing someone who played in the Solheim Cup is pretty cool. I can still fangirl. It obviously raises the playing field for us, which is great learning and a great experience.”
Hamilton will tee it up in the first round of the Amundi German Masters at 12.41 pm (local time) alongside Germany’s Laura Fuenfstueck and Switzerland’s Kim Metraux.
Follow all the action throughout on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #AmundiGermanMasters.
