2024 has been the year of Chiara Tamburlini with the Swiss star recording three victories en route to winning the Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year double.
After graduating from the LET Access Series (LETAS) Tamburlini hit the ground running with a third place finish at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open. Since the, the 24-year-old never looked back winning her first tournament at the Joburg Ladies Open in dominant fashion, following this up with victories at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France and Wistron Ladies Open.
On top of this, Tamburlini recorded seven more top-10 finishes and became the first player in history to captain her side to back-to-back Team victories at the Aramco Team Series Presented by PIF (at Shenzhen and Riyadh).
Wrapping up the Order of Merit with one tournament remaining – becoming the first Swiss player in history to do so – Tamburlini reflects on her surreal 2024 and discusses what is next…
“My expectations at the start of the year were not crazy high. Before Kenya I had never played an LET event before. I had never even played as an amateur on an invite. I remember going to Kenya and being so nervous because I wasn’t sure if this would be completely different. I wasn’t sure if all the people I knew from college and amateur golf would be the same people.
“In Kenya, the first person I saw was Alexandra Försterling, and she said, ‘oh my god, it’s so good to see you!’ That was really good emotionally to know that people were still as friendly as I had remembered. In Kenya my goal was just to make the cut. I had a really good week and finished third, so that was the moment I knew I deserved to be there. Even though I got my card through LET Access, it was still good to confirm that you belong there.
“The overall goal at the beginning of the season was to keep my card. I didn’t want to have too high expectations. I felt like keeping my card was a reasonable, yet not an easy goal.
“I would say the pressure increased a little bit [after winning in Joburg]. I wanted to prove that wasn’t a one-time thing. I wanted to get that feeling again. There are always things you can improve on and that’s what I focused on. Even if you play well, there’s always small tweaks to improve. That was my motivation. Trying to become a better golfer.
“At the beginning [the newfound fame] was definitely a weird but special sensation. I think I managed to stick to what I know works for me. I’m still the same person and I feel not much has changed off the golf course. I found that comforting, to be true to myself. I know I still need to put in the work and keep trying to improve.
“I did still miss quite a few cuts this year. Some of the pressure got to me at times, wanting to catch up when you’re not quite having your week. I had to learn to be ok with what might be a mediocre week. That’s definitely something that I’m still learning.
“I was very devastated in Italy, for example. I felt like, ‘oh my god, my world is ending.’ I missed a couple more cuts after that but I learned it’s part of the game. You’ll have good weeks and you’ll have bad weeks. In India I appreciated being able to reset [after missing the cut] and have some time with my coaches – going back to basics.
“Winning is an exception. You lose more than you win. You have to take small wins as well. Sometimes wins are having a good attitude. I’ve learned that even when you have a bad week, you’ll still be able to learn.
“The week after the AIG Women’s Open we played in Ireland. I had a really good final round and finished fourth. That’s when I first took the lead in the Order of Merit. And to be honest, that’s the time when winning it became the goal. Before that, it hadn’t really been the goal. It was obviously somewhere in the back of my mind. But not actively. After Ireland that definitely became the goal.
“The team win in China was incredible. We then went to Taiwan the week after and I was really tired. The pro-am was cancelled because of rain so I didn’t practice. So I had two days to myself that week and only one practice round leading up to it. I think that was a blessing. I knew my game was in a good spot. Usually I would be stressing if I knew I couldn’t practice. I was trying to back myself with the success the weeks prior and I was hungry to win again. I wanted to play well and I wanted to go low.
“It’s a little bit surreal. I’ve been looking up to these people [other Order of Merit winners] all my life. Carlota Ciganda, I don’t even know how many Solheim Cups she’s played! So to be one name alongside her and alongside them, it feels unreal. I never thought I would be in this position. I’m just trying to enjoy it, soak it all in and carry on the momentum into next year.
“It’s interesting. Earlier in the year we were in Riyadh [at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International]. I remember going to the driving range and first person in front of me was Lexi Thompson. I was so star-struck. I couldn’t believe I was playing in the same field with all these incredible players. I was very intimidated.
“It’s funny to see how far I’ve come. I feel more comfortable now and have the self-belief that I belong here. I now know that if I have a good week I can compete with them. It’s a cool feeling.
“It feels very special for Switzerland as well. I think in the last couple of years, especially on the women’s side, the quality has risen with the likes of Albane [Valenzuela], Morgane and Kim [Metraux]. They have really done a good job of raising the level, expectations, and possibilities. It makes me proud to me able to move Swiss golf forward. It’s done so much for me and I’ve been with Swiss golf since I was 13-years-old. I wouldn’t be here without them. To be able to set new milestones and have young girls from Switzerland think big – I hope I can be an inspiration to them.
“I’ll be going to LPGA Q-Series in December. But It will be important to sit down and enjoy the season first. Next year is going to be a new year, but I’m definitely going to try and carry forward the momentum.
“Making it to LPGA is the goal and establishing myself there. Similar to this year for the LET. Then on the LET, I’m going to try and do as well as I can. Win tournaments and stay true to myself. Hopefully I get to play in some of the Majors again and will try to improve there. And have fun while I do it, because I think that has been a key ingredient to my success this year.”
