Golfer Sara Byrne secures her Tour Card for 2026

Sara Byrne rounded off her season on a positive note in Spain last weekend when she secured a top 70 finish on the Ladies European Tour. 

That was enough the secure her playing status for her second year as a touring professional.

Byrne started the year with playing rights on the LET, but also had a full card for the Epsom Tour, the LPGA’s secondary tour. 

She played seven events in the first half of the season, making three cuts and recording one top twenty finish. 

She prioritised the LET where she had a few good results, and she was rewarded over the weekend with a card for next year.

After a long season taking in close to 30 events visiting 11 countries, Byrne headed into the final event hoping to claim a tour card for next year. Sara went into the tour championship knowing that she was in a strong position. 

She was 67th in the order of merit at the start of the week, with the top 70 getting full cards for next season. Byrne opened with two rounds of 72, and that level par return saw her enter the weekend in a projected position of 68. 

The Dromoland Castle touring professional had another steady round on Saturday and carded 15 pars when she signed for a one over par 73.

Everything was still going to plan on Sunday but her round was nearly derailed by two bogies and a double on the back nine. 

Byrne bounced back with a birdie to get back on track, and when the final scores were returned she found herself with a card for 2026.

The €2,695 in prize money may just about cover her costs for the week in Spain, but having won over €66,000 this season it was an impressive rookie season. 

The result now means that Byrne can put the tour bag away for a few weeks, avoiding the need to go to Q school in Morocco in two weeks time.

Castlewarden’s Lauren Walsh also had a good weekend, she held onto her 10th place on the order of merit by the smallest of margins, and as a top ten finisher, she now qualifies for the LPGA Q Series as well as the AIG Women’s Open

Sara Bryne had a strong finish to her season, making four cuts in her last five events. 

The most important of those was the Swiss Ladies Open where she finished in 5th place and took home over €10,000. 

The was her biggest individual cheque, but she also did well in the PIF London and Aramco Houston team events where she won over €23,000 between the two.

The Douglas member is a touring professional for Dromoland Castle, the Clare resort were one if the first commercial backers to come on board. Byrne finished as the highest ranked amateur in 2023 when Dromoland hosted the KPMG Women’s Irish Open. She is also supported by Crane Logistics, Novellus Finance, OFX and Lexus Cork.

Byrne was a member of the Golf Ireland Professional panel for 2026, receiving €33,000 towards her costs. With seven events in the US, and travel to over a dozen other countries over the course of the season, playing on tour is not cheap. 

Luckily for Byrne, she should qualify for the Sport Ireland funding scheme again in 2026.

While the LET schedule for 2006 hasn’t been released yet, it’s likely that the tour will visit the Middle East, Australia and South Africa in the early months of the year. After that it will be a return to Europe in May.

One event that has been confirmed is the KPMG Women’s Irish Open which moves to the K Club’s Palmer South course. 

Tickets for the event are already on sale and there is a 10% on all tickets purchased during December.

The revived Ladies European Tour event was held at Dromoland Castle in 2022 and 2023, before moving to Carton House in ’24 and ’25, and once again, it will be among the highlights of the 2026 LET schedule when The K Club plays host and Leona Maguire is once again one of the star attractions as she competes on home soil alongside other home favourites and some of the biggest names on the LET. 

The KPMG takes place in late August, with the Amgen Irish Open taking place a week later in Doonbeg. Killeen Castle is set to host the Hotel Planner Irish Challenge for a second year, with the Women’s Irish Challenge taking place in Malahide Golf Club.