[Photo: Tristan Jones/Ladies European Tour]
Agathe Laisne has become only the second Frenchwoman to win the Women’s NSW Open, delivering a stunning final-round 65 to claim a one-stroke victory at Wollongong Golf Club.
The 26-year-old carded a six-under par final round to finish 16-under for the tournament, edging out Thailand’s April Angurasaranee and Korean amateur Soomin Oh, who finished at 15-under.
RELATED: 50 years after her first LPGA victory, Jan Stephenson’s glamour still masks a ferocious fighter
The victory is Laisne’s first on both the WPGA Tour of Australasia and the Ladies European Tour, having previously claimed titles on the LET Access Series as an amateur in 2020 and on the Epson Tour in 2023. She joins compatriot Joanna Klatten as a name etched on the Jan Stephenson Trophy, which was presented to her by three-time major champion Jan Stephenson at the conclusion of play.
Teenager Oh claimed the leading amateur honours after a remarkable final round that briefly looked like it might be enough to take the main title.
“I knew nothing out there. Nothing. I just tried to make as many birdies as I could,” Laisne said after her win.
“I felt the pressure because I knew people were around watching us, so it could have been me, could have been someone else. I didn’t know. So I tried to make the best shots I could, even with all the pressure I had.”
It was far from a straightforward week for Laisne, who opened with a one-over par 72 during heavy rain on Thursday morning before play was suspended for the entire afternoon. She reflected on the difficult conditions with good humour.
“Round one, we had a lot of water. I was soaked,” she said. “I had never seen that before. My shoes had water in them – I could pour water out of them. So I think plus-one was OK. I think it was worth a four-under in good conditions, so I was pretty happy with it.”
With play suspended on Thursday, Laisne completed both her second and third rounds on Saturday, moving to within two strokes of the lead heading into the final day.
Off the course, Laisne credited her host family for helping her navigate the disrupted week.
“My host family was great. We had a lot of bonding time – they have three kids, so we had fun, and I tried to think about something else. My host got me through it, and my caddie was really good in that last round. Massive credit to them.”
Today’s final round delivered on the drama. Laisne moved into an early share of the lead with birdies at the second and third holes, but found herself chasing for much of the afternoon as 17-year-old Oh produced a stunning run of eight birdies in 11 holes from the fourth.
Laisne trailed by three with six holes to play, but she refused to give up. An eagle at the par-5 13th brought her back to 15-under, and a fifth birdie of the day at the 17th – a putt that hung on the edge before dropping – moved her back to the top of the leaderboard alongside Oh at 16-under after the Korean dropped a shot at the 16th.
“The putt on 17 was great, and it dropped at the very end, so that was a relief,” Laisne said of what many would call the pivotal moment of her round.
Just as Laisne teed off on the par-5 18th, Oh carded a bogey after hitting her approach over the green, dropping into a share of the clubhouse lead with Angurasaranee at 15-under. With the pressure suddenly lifted, Laisne laid up, hit her approach to the heart of the green, and two-putted from 30 feet to seal the title.
Asked how it felt to win so far from home, Laisne was characteristically direct.
“It’s great. I came for nothing, so it’s good – because the flight was like nine hours, then 11 hours. So I’m glad I can win here.”
When asked where the victory ranks in her career, she didn’t hesitate: “Maybe No.1.”
England’s Charlotte Heath finished fourth at 13-under, while Sarah Kemp ended the week as the leading Australian in a share of fifth at 12-under.
