Spain’s Carolina Chacarra claimed a first Ladies European Tour (LET) title in just her third start thanks to a three-shot victory at the Hulencourt Women’s Open, cementing her as the first rookie winner of 2026.
After a frustrating third-round 73, the Spaniard entered Sunday’s final round in Belgium two shots behind overnight leader Kelsey Bennett. However, the Australian faltered down the stretch, while Chacarra kept her card clean with a bogey-free round to charge into contention. She birdied the 2nd and 5th holes to take the lead early as Bennett bogeyed the 4th to fall behind.
Following another dropped shot from Bennett at the 12th, Chacarra extended her advantage to three with her third birdie of the day at the 13th. Her lead seemed steady until Bennett mounted a late charge, going birdie-bogey-birdie from the 14th to the 16th to close within one shot of Chacarra. However, her final-round 73 was no match for Chacarra’s 68, as the Spaniard birdied the penultimate hole before closing with a par to seal victory on 12 under.
“The day went great and I’m so happy,” the 23-year-old rookie said afterwards. “No bogeys, some nice birdies, everything was great. My caddie [Ivan] talked about it at the beginning of the round about sticking to my process. We gave ourselves lots of chances on the back-nine.
“I was definitely nervous, especially the last three holes. I had a little bit of adrenaline so I was telling my caddie we needed to take some metres off the yardage. But it was great. My goal was just to enjoy the week and try to get into the Scottish Open. So to win is amazing and I’m very happy.”
Chacarra now sits second in the Rookie of the Year standings and has secured spots in both the ISPS Handa Scottish Open and this month’s final major, the AIG Women’s Open. Her win also comes just weeks after her brother, Eugenio, enjoyed his own success on the DP World Tour, claiming consecutive titles at the KLM Open and Italian Open.
“It’s been a great few weeks,” Chacarra said. “Life is treating us amazing. My brother is my inspiration and to see him win gave me lots of momentum to keep going and try to win myself. I’m very happy. I’m super excited for the next month. It definitely changes my calendar but it’s always great to play a Major. I’m very excited and can’t wait to be there.”
Two shots adrift of Bennett’s second place finish, India’s Aditi Ashok finished in third on 7 under while Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux and England’s Bronte Law both rounded off the top 5 with a share of 4th on 4 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the Ladies European Tour schedule is the The Amundi Evian Championship taking place between 9th-12th July at Evian Resort Golf Club in France.