A historic number of Irish players will have full status on the Ladies European Tour next year after three players – Dubliner Anna Foster, Armagh’s Annabel Wilson and Cork’s Sara Byrne – all safely negotiated the 90-hole, five-round marathon of the final qualifying tournament in Marrakesh, Morocco.
All three have earned Category 12 status for the season ahead as they head into their rookie year in 2025: Ecuador’s Daniela Daraquea claimed the top qualifying spot on 24-under-par 339 but Foster’s 69 for 346 (tied-6th), Wilson’s 69 for 348 (tied-8th) and Byrne’s 69 for 351 (15th) gave them full playing rights.
Foster, Wilson and Byrne will get into a large number of LET tournaments next season – including the KPMG Irish Women’s Open at Carton House on July 3rd to 6th, 2025 – in joining Solheim Cup player Leona Maguire (although primarily focused on the LPGA Tour in the USA) and Lauren Walsh (who had a brilliant rookie season on the LET in finishing 18th on the order of merit).
“We knew this was coming for a couple of years, that there was a big bunch of us ready to get out there on tour. So to finally have a big contingent of us out on tour makes it all the sweeter really,” said Byrne, who – with Walsh – also has a full Epson Tour card (the secondary circuit in the USA) for next season.
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Canice Screen, the Irish Women’s Close amateur championship, finished in tied-36th to miss out on a full tour card (awarded to the top-20 and ties) but is entitled to Category 16 membership should she opt to turn professional.
Irish golf’s claiming of three tour cards at the final Q-School is a remarkable feat (both France and Sweden managed two each), with Foster – a graduate of Auburn University who played her amateur golf at Elm Park – leading the way with a strong card that should enable her to map out her rookie schedule, which starts back in Morocco in February with the Lalla Meryem Cup.
Wilson, from Lurgan who graduated from UCLA, has recovered brilliantly from an ACL injury which affected her in 2023 and can also map out a strong itinerary, while Byrne – from Douglas and a graduate of the University of Miami – has the prospect of juggling life on the LET and Epson Tour.
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