Ireland’s Lauren Walsh fired a flawless round of 67 (-5) to clinch her LPGA Tour card for 2026 at Q-Series in Alabama.
The 25-year-old secured her spot at the LPGA’s Final Qualifying thanks to finishing 10th in the Ladies European Tour (LET) Order of Merit at the conclusion of the final event in Spain.
However, that final day of competition was anything but straightforward for Walsh despite heading into the week in 10th place on the rankings.
She ended the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España presented by Oysho in T47 with a total of one-over-par, but with Canada’s Anna Huang close behind and France’s Perrine Delacour on a charge, it was a nervous wait.
When she finished her final round, it was projected that Walsh would finish 12th and miss out on a spot at Final Qualifying.
But a bogey on the last for Huang and two bogeys in the final two holes for Delacour meant Walsh secured 10th spot in the Order of Merit just three points ahead of the young Canadian and was already at Malaga airport when she found out.
“[About Spain] It was honestly, an even more stressful couple of hours than today was,” said Walsh. “It went back and forth for a long time. I was projected 10th then I was projected 12th and 11th, so it was all up in the air.
“I was absolutely delighted to get in this week. I knew all I needed was a chance, and that’s what I did. I got on a plane on Monday and flew over. It was a quick turnaround, but I was just really happy to be able to have the opportunity to play this week and obviously I played really nicely, so I’m over the moon.
“I actually think it was a good thing for me. Sometimes, Q-Series is so stressful, and there’s a lot going on that it was nice to come around with such a quick turnaround and just come over, have two practice days, and go.
“I didn’t have too much time to think about it or to think about the week or the result or anything, so to move on quickly was great. The first day probably worked in my favour, it gave me a bit of a rest day. We’ve had a busy couple of weeks and flying all the way over here. It gave me a little bit of a rest for that first day, which is nice.”
Walsh began with a round of 74 (+3) on the Falls Course at RTJ at Magnolia Grove in Alabama but improved every day after that.
She produced a 70 (-2) on day two at the Crossings Course before a 69 (-2) and finally her 67 (-5) which included birdies on 16 and 17 to end the week in T17 and become a rookie on the LPGA Tour in 2026.
“It’s been a dream of mine for a very, very long time. Little Lauren would be very proud,” she added. “I want to celebrate this right now and we’ll look forward to next year in a couple of weeks.”
Walsh joined the LET in 2024 having finished with Category 16 status at the Final Qualifier of Lalla Aicha Q-School.
Since then, the Irishwoman has gone on to record 11 top-10 finishes – including seven during the 2025 season – and a best result of T2 at the 2025 VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open.
“The LET has been absolutely amazing the last two years,” she explained. “It’s taught me so much. It’s taught me how to travel, how to stay on top of all of that. We have a very strong tour over there now.
“By the results this week, there are so many of us in contention here. It’s taught me how to be in contention, how to play different style golf courses, and it’s also given me a bunch of friends, and amazing memories. It’s been such a help to get me to this point.”
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