Welcome to this week’s Golf Insider, everyone!
Have we all recovered from the Solheim Cup? Still working on it? That’s okay. Me too.
But professional golf doesn’t stop. You know what also doesn’t stop? The weather. At a rain-soaked La Sella Open, 24-year-old rookie Charlotte Heath clinched her first Ladies European Tour victory. But she had to endure onslaughts from both the rain and her competition to get it done.
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From Sept. 17-20, binary weather conditions in Denia, Alicante, Spain pestered the field at the La Sella Open. Heavy rain and storms shifted to bright and warm sun, but thunderclouds returned to suspend play several times throughout the week. Because of this, the tournament was reduced to 54 holes.
On the first day, play was suspended for two and a half hours. At 5 p.m. local time, players returned to the course. When the first round was complete, Heath found herself amongst a large group of players to post 4-under-par 68. But the Englishwoman really separated herself from the pack after the second round.
Heath climbed to a four-shot lead after Friday’s second round, posting a stunning 7-under-par 65. Yet again, there was a lengthy delay due to dangerous weather in the area earlier in the day. This one hour and 40 minute suspension delayed the round so much that they ran out of daylight to complete it. Play was suspended due to darkness, and the second round was set to be completed on Saturday. Luckily, Heath was in the early wave of tee times, so she was able to complete her round on Friday.
The 24-year-old rocketed off to a hot start, carding three birdies in her first three holes. After three pars, she birdied her last three holes on the front nine to go out with a 30 (-6). Heath then notched a birdie and an eagle on the 11th and 12th holes, but back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes dampened her hopes of carding the course record.
“I just played boring golf. Fairways and greens,” Heath said in a post-round interview with the LET on Sept. 18.
“The greens are good so you can roll in some putts. I hit it pretty close and had a nice eagle that was a kick-in, so that’s always nice. I went on a stretch where I don’t think I hit it outside ten feet, really, so that makes it a lot easier.”
Boring golf is quite often the best-scoring golf. Heath was genuinely in a flow state, seeking pin after pin and very rarely missing a putt. I think those two nervous bogeys near the end of her round were proof of her humanity.
On Saturday, more weather-ridden chaos ensued. The second round started up again at 3 p.m. local time on Saturday, prompting tournament officials to make the decision to shorten the tournament to 54 holes. With how much weather the course was getting and would continue to get, it was a difficult but logical decision.
Sunday came, and with it, the best weather of the week. And that’s saying something. Although the sun was shining, wind gusts still posed a challenge to the field, especially to Heath. Also, since Heath didn’t have to finish her second round on Saturday, she went a whole day without playing golf. It has to be jarring to have your competitive mindset interrupted in a pretty atypical way. Perhaps this is why it took Heath even more mental energy to hang on to her lead during the final round. But she credits her caddy for keeping her steady throughout that challenging final round.
“It was incredible having Alex [Long] on the bag. He kept me so calm and just reminded me that I’d played good golf all week. When the pressure is on, negative thoughts can creep in, so I’m very, very happy to get it done,” Heath said.
“You probably didn’t want to be in my head on that golf course today. I was thinking I was going to shank it, hook it, pull it … you never know. Alex kept the ship steady all day.”
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Before Heath’s win was evident, though, the competitors were lurking. Heath’s fellow compatriot Alice Hewson was putting together a solid final round to climb the leaderboard. Italy’s Alessandra Fanali was on the charge as well. Both Fanali and Hewson came in to set the clubhouse lead at 8-under-par.
Hewson and Fanali’s charges were happening groups ahead of Heath, who played in the final tee time of the day. With the advantage, Heath stepped up to the last tee box at a tournament total of 9-under-par. By that last hole, Heath’s playing partners Helen Briem and Shannon Tan had dropped down the leaderboard. That particular battle was finished; it was now an almost invisible battle with those players in the clubhouse that Heath had to face. Even so, she wasn’t concerned with where she was on that crowded leaderboard.
“I had no idea where I stood and I think [my caddy] Alex knew I didn’t want to know,” Heath said.
“I saw after nine holes that it was getting tight, but that was the only time I looked at a scoreboard.”
It may have been due to this willful ignorance that Heath was able to return to the “boring golf” she showcased the previous round. On the par-5 18th hole, Heath piped a drive into the fairway. (She hit 7-7 fairways on her final-round back nine.) After pitching out of a difficult lie to around nine feet, she rolled in her birdie putt to climb to 10-under-par, sealing her victory by two strokes.
Heath battled just about everything you could face to get her hands on her first LET trophy. To make a birdie on the last hole after such an up-and-down round showed incredible poise. This rookie proved she’s here to stay.
Next week, we’ll be back in touch with the LPGA Tour to get ready for The ANNIKA. See you then, golf fans.
This week in women’s golf
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20 years of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
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Nelly Korda headlines early commitments for The ANNIKA
LPGA stars gather in Corning to launch new era of The Classic
WTGL News
Three key matchups to get excited for in 2026 WTGL season
LET News
Heath holds nerve to capture maiden LET victory at La Sella Open
LET heads to Buccellati Ladies Italian Open
Home hopefuls ready to embrace Buccellati Italian Open spotlight
Epson Tour News
Still chasing something bigger: Lauren Olivares clinches her LPGA Tour card
LCAP grad Kary Hollenbaugh wins first Epson Tour title in sudden-death playoff
Reliance Matrix to sponsor junior golf clinic at 2026 Epson Tour Championship
NCAA News
Kentucky, Cathryn Brown win Bettie Lou Evans Invitational
Iowa State, Alexandra Vidal win Schooner Fall Classic
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Five at The IX: Kary Hollenbaugh wins first professional title at the Epson Tour’s Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout
On Sunday, Sept. 20, Kary Hollenbaugh captured her first Epson Tour title and first pro win at the 2026 Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout. She defeated Juniper Jang and Kate Smith-Stroh on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. Here are some snippets from Hollenbaugh’s post-win press conference.
Q: You birdied four of your last five holes to get to 6-under, then had to go to a three-way playoff. What were your emotions on your original 18th hole, and then when you found out you had to play a playoff?
KARY HOLLENBAUGH: I think I kind of knew what I had to do — make eagle or birdie on 18 to give myself a chance. I was able to hit a good drive in the fairway, and that was step one. Then it was about getting on the green and giving myself a putt for eagle. I just tried to stick with the shot ahead of me going into the playoff. I haven’t played in a lot of playoffs before, but I know that if I commit to my shots and stay with the shot ahead of me, I’ll be fine. I think I did a really good job committing to every shot and giving myself chances.
Q: You’re an Ohio State graduate, and you’ve only played about half of this Epson Tour season coming right out of college. Did you think you’d not only win this early, but contend as well?
HOLLENBAUGH: No — after my senior season in college, I didn’t have my best year, but Coach [Therese] Hession helped me a lot over the summer. She recruited me to Ohio State, and she’s been awesome, helping me with my swing and my mental game. Working with her and gaining more confidence on the course has been really helpful, and I had a good finish in South Bend. I think that kick-started my game back into gear. Jeremy caddied for me there and again last week, so having him on the bag has helped too—he’s a great caddie and we just have fun.
Q: For the playoff, what were you thinking mentally, and did having played a few playoffs before in amateur golf give you any confidence?
HOLLENBAUGH: I’ve only been in about two playoffs before, so I don’t have a lot of experience with that. But I think it comes down to knowing how to win and knowing you can only control the shot ahead of you. I hit a few balls on the range — I didn’t want to get too into my swing or overthink it, so I just stayed relaxed and treated it like we were starting another round. I knew the hole was birdieable and that a birdie would probably tie, so my mindset was just to hit my first shot in the fairway and get the next one on the green.
Q: This is a really difficult golf course, probably one of the hardest we play on the Epson Tour schedule. What confidence does winning here, at a place this tough, give you heading into the last event of the season?
HOLLENBAUGH: Tougher courses definitely separate the field more, so it’s been good to see my game trending well here. I didn’t hit it my best at all this week, but I managed my misses — I hit one in the water and still made bogey on the first round. It’s about missing it in the right spots and giving yourself chances to get up and down, and then when you do have a good number in for a wedge shot, that’s when you can attack. I birdied the last three holes in the first round, and today I had good numbers in and was able to birdie the last three holes again, which was nice—just taking advantage of the opportunities.
Q: What do you think a younger Kary would say to you right now if she knew you had won?
HOLLENBAUGH: She’d be shocked, honestly, but I think she’d say that all the hard work I’ve put in is definitely paying off. I’ve been a slow grower with my golf game — I was never a standout junior golfer — but constantly putting in the work and trusting in my game and myself is what’s helped me get to where I am today.
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