Belgium’s Manon De Roey sunk a clutch birdie at the 18th to win her third LET title in a closely contested Australian Women’s Classic at Coffs Harbour Golf Club.
De Roey, who began the final round two shots off the pace, started the day strong with an early birdie on the par-4 3rd and kept the pressure on overnight leader, Australia’s Sarah Kemp, who went on to suffer a costly double-bogey on the 6th after her ball went out of bounds. De Roey, who bogeyed the same hole, capitalized the hole after with a birdie to tie with Thailand’s 17-year-old contender Cholcheva Wongras.
De Roey moved steadily on with eight consecutive pars as Kemp and Wongras each dropped two shots to fall away.
England’s Cara Gainer entered the lead with two birdies on the last two holes, but it came down to the final 18th for De Roey who required a birdie to overhaul Gainer. But the Belgian took the pressure in stride with a clutch birdie to finish with a final-round 69 and claim a tight one-shot victory.
“It feels amazing!” the 33-year-old winner said. “I love coming to Australia. I’ve been coming here since 2017. Coffs Harbour especially, I have a great host that I stay with. The course was in unbelievable condition after all the rain they had. I’m really happy.
“I was very nervous over the final putt. There were no leaderboards out on the course so I asked my caddie [Maria Beautell] to check for me. I wanted to know if I had to hit it soft to get it up there or hit it hard to try and make the putt. She told me Cara [Gainer] was in at eight-under so I knew I had to make it. It felt amazing.”
De Roey’s previous two LET wins came at the 2024 Investec SA Women’s Open and the 2022 Aramco Team Series – Bangkok title.
“I’m looking forward to next week and my year on the LPGA Tour. It really boosts my confidence. I’m staying here in Coffs tonight so I’m sure there will be some celebrations!”
Gainer finished solo second with Wongras in third a shot further back at 7 under. Kemp shared fourth place alongside Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjall at 6 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the Ladies European Tour schedule is the Ford Women’s NSW Open taking place between 20-23 March at Wollongong Golf Club in Australia.