Malaysia’s Liyana Azizan Durisic has written her name into golf history, claiming the 2026 Women’s World Sand Greens Championship at Holbrook Returned Servicemen’s Golf Club with a commanding performance that she has already declared the finest of her young professional career.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Pink greens, harsh bounces and criminal crows – my week at the World Sand Greens Championship
Just two years after turning professional, the 23-year-old Iowa State University product delivered a final round of seven birdies to seal the title at five-under-par and two shots clear, although the margin was anything but comfortable when it mattered most.
The leaderboard shifted throughout the final day, with Korea’s Hyeji Yang holding the lead for much of the round. Durisic stayed patient, and her birdies on the 16th and 17th holes thrust her to the top, though she had no idea. Welsh veteran and 2024 champion Lydia Hall made one last push, draining an eagle on the 17th to cut the gap to a single shot. But an untimely bogey on the 18th ended Hall’s challenge, and the title was Durisic’s.
“I didn’t even know it up until the last hole, really,” Durisic admitted with a laugh. “We weren’t watching the scores at all.”
Asked what drove her performance, Durisic was refreshingly clear-eyed about the pillars of her round.
“My drives were on-point. I was in play, and my putting was really well today. My approaches were getting a little bit closer than they had been. Everything pretty much went well.”
Seven birdies on the notoriously unpredictable sand greens of Holbrook is no small feat, and Durisic acknowledged the unique challenge the surface presents, one she felt she’d cracked – at least for the day. Having played a different course in last year’s event, she found Holbrook’s greens a distinct test, but one that ultimately suited her game.
“We played a different venue last year, and coming here is different; it’s a different sandy green. But it worked out really, really well, and it was easy to play. So yeah, pretty happy with how it went today.”
“It’s anyone’s game, really. It’s unpredictable. But for today, I think I figured it out pretty well,” she added.
For Durisic, this victory carries weight far beyond the trophy. When asked where it ranks among her wins, she didn’t hesitate.
“No.1. It’s sand greens; you wouldn’t really expect much of it. But the week turned out really well.”
She came to Holbrook with modest ambitions – a top-10 finish, perhaps a slight improvement on her eighth-place result in 2025. A win wasn’t even on her radar. Coming into Australia, there were other events where she’d felt a title was within reach.
“I would have liked to win Wagga Wagga or Sand Greens, there was a pretty good chance for any of us there. But to end the season like this? It’s just great.”
There was an extra layer of meaning to winning on Australian soil. Durisic, who holds a personal connection to our country through her Australian father, was candid about her affection for the place.
“I love Australia. It’s probably the only country where I don’t feel like I need to rush home. My dad’s Aussie, so technically I’m half-Aussie. It’s been great, and I’m leaving in two days, so I think it’s a good way to end the season.”
Beyond the result, Durisic spoke warmly about the camaraderie on the course.
“One of my playing partners, Rhianna Lewis, circled my birdies in hearts on the card. I thought that was really cute. Apparently she does it for everyone, and I think that’s great. It was such a show of support. The girls I played with were playing really well, too. It was just really nice to play with a great group.”
Korea’s Nayeon Eum gave the crowd something else to cheer about, draining a hole-in-one on the 14th in one of the standout moments of the day.
With the WPGA Tour of Australasia season now wrapped up, Durisic has a well-deserved rest on the horizon before returning to competition on the Malaysian Tour, with a trip to Thailand for the Thai LPGA also in the pipeline.
