Lauren Walsh (born 11 September 2000) is an Irish professional golfer and Ladies European Tour player. She won the 2023 NCAA Division I women's golf championship with Wake Forest.
| Lauren Walsh | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Born | September 11, 2000 Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Height | 176 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  Ireland | ||
| Residence | Kill, County Kildare, Ireland | ||
| Career | |||
| College | Wake Forest University | ||
| Turned professional | 2023 | ||
| Current tour(s) | Ladies European Tour (jouned 2024) | ||
| Former tour(s) | LET Access Series (jouned 2023) | ||
| Best results in LPGA major championships | |||
| Chevron Championship | DNP | ||
| Women's PGA C'ship | DNP | ||
| U.S. Women's Open | DNP | ||
| Women's British Open | T42: 2021 | ||
| Evian Championship | DNP | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Early life and amateur career
editWalsh was born in Dublin and grew up in Kill, County Kildare. She started playing golf at age 10 together with her older sister at their local club Castlewarden. At 16, she joined Irish Girls National team and represented Ireland at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and the World Junior Girls Championship in Canada.[1]
Walsh attended Wake Forest University 2019–2023 and played with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons women's golf team. As a senior, she was First Team All-American, named to the All-ACC Team, and Wake Forest Scholar Athlete of the Year.[2] She was the best performer on the winning 2023 NCAA Division I women's golf championship team, where she was undefeated in match play and finished tied seventh in stroke play, four strokes behind winner Rose Zhang.[2]
In 2019, she was semi-finalist at the Irish Women's Amateur Close Championship and tied for 8th at the ISPS Handa World Invitational, a professional event. By virtue of being the highest ranked women in the World Amateur Golf Ranking from Great Britain and Ireland, she was one of six amateurs in the 2021 Women's British Open at Carnoustie Golf Links, where she made the cut.[3] After the Atlantic Coast Conference canceled the 2020 college golf season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Walsh signed up for the Women's Griffin Amateur and the Sunshine State Amateur, and won both back-to-back.[4]
Professional career
editWalsh graduated from university in May 2023 and turned professional in July. She competed in five LET Access Series events and recorded four top-10 finishes, including a runner-up finish in the Trust Golf Links Series event at Ramside Hall. She joined the 2024 Ladies European Tour (LET) after earning category 16 status at LET Q-School in December. After a good start, she was able to improve to category 10 at the first reshuffle.[5]
In her rookie LET season, Walsh recorded a solo fourth place in the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian Resort Golf Club in France.[6]
Amateur wins
edit- 2017 East Leinster Girls Championship, Connacht Girls Open Championship
- 2018 Connacht Women & Girls Senior Championship
- 2020 Women's Griffin Amateur, Sunshine State Amateur
Source:[7]
Results in LPGA majors
edit| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevron Championship | ||||
| U.S. Women's Open | ||||
| Women's PGA Championship | ||||
| The Evian Championship | ||||
| Women's British Open | T42 | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Team appearances
editAmateur
- Girls Home Internationals (representing Ireland): 2017
- European Girls' Team Championship (representing Ireland): 2017
- World Junior Girls Championship (representing Ireland): 2017, 2018
- Summer Youth Olympics (representing Ireland): 2018
- Women's Home Internationals (representing Ireland): 2018, 2019, 2021
- European Ladies' Team Championship (representing Ireland): 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
- Arnold Palmer Cup (representing the International team): 2021, 2023
- Curtis Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2021, 2022
- Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Ireland): 2022
- Women's and Men's Home Internationals (representing Ireland): 2022
Source:[7]
References
edit- ^ Callaghan, Tommy. "Castlewarden golfer and Kill native, Lauren Walsh, to represent Ireland". Leinster Leader. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Women's Golf Roster". Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Race for the Smyth Salver". AIG Women's Open. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Migliaccio, Emilia (18 August 2021). "Lauren Walsh goes from bitter Augusta disappointment to Open exhilaration". NBC Sports. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Keogh, Brian (20 December 2023). "Glass half full as Walsh and Mehaffey agonisingly miss out at LET Q-School". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Lauren Walsh continues to shine in rookie season". Irish Golfer. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Lauren Walsh". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
External links
edit- Lauren Walsh at the Ladies European Tour official site
- Lauren Walsh at the Women's World Golf Rankings official site