'A dream come true' - Kildare's Lauren Walsh plays her way onto the LPGA Tour for 2026

Kill native Lauren Walsh has become the latest Irish addition to the LPGA Tour as she joins a small and illustrious group of Irish golfers. The Irish names with LPGA and PGA Tour cards is a short list and in 2026 Walsh will play alongside the game’s best, including compatriots Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow.

“I am absolutely over the moon. It’s a dream come true, I have been working towards this since I was a little girl, so for it to all come together this week has been so special. I have had an amazing two years on the LET (Ladies European Tour) and to be able to progress now to the LPGA is just phenomenal,” Walsh said.

“I don’t think my phone has ever blown up this much in my life. Family, friends, neighbours have all been reaching out to me from all over the country and all over the world too so it’s so special to feel all that support.”

Ireland’s latest LPGA golfer began her journey in Castlewarden Golf Club, Co. Kildare and she produced a -5 (67) in the final round of the Q-Series Final LPGA Qualifying Stage at Magnolia Grove course in Alabama to earn her tour card for next season.

“Going into the week, it was such a whirlwind coming from Spain. I didn’t have much time to think about it at all. My coach flew over as well so he was there with me preparing Tuesday and Wednesday, which was really good. We had a good two days of practice, got to see both courses, and felt really good about my game so I was all firing to go on Wednesday.”

Walsh was outside the crucial top 25 spot that she needed to earn her tour card throughout most of the final qualifying day, but navigated a bogey free final round, which included five birdies, four of which came in the closing eight holes as the Kildare woman surged herself into those all important top spots.

She added, “Mentally I felt really good all week. I was hitting the ball really nicely and, tee to green,  it is probably the best that I have played all year. I knew I just had to stay patient out there and keep giving myself chances. Me and my caddy were looking at it like ‘13 more holes, 13 more chances’. I had a couple of soft bogeys the first day but I was playing well so I knew I could fight back the next three days and on two tougher golf courses. I knew I was capable of shooting under par on both.”

The 25 year-old has had a mightily impressive year and ranked 10th in this season’s LET and has amassed €360,000 since turning professional just over two years ago. 

Growing up in Kill, Walsh was a part of a huge sporting household and was a part of her local GAA club before golf took centre stage full-time and brought her to where she stands today.

“I played a lot of camogie and football growing up and was super competitive in that. I have to thank my sister for a lot of this, she introduced me to golf and I tagged along with her and her friends. Anything Clodagh did, I wanted to do better,” she laughed. “We both got into it, were always practicing together and it was great to have that. There was always that competitiveness growing up and we went out on the Irish circuit and played Interpros together. (In terms of sport) once I started playing for Ireland, it was always going to be golf.”

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