Kelsey Bennett won the 2026 Australian Women’s Classic for her first career victory on the Ladies European Tour. She defeated Meghan MacLaren by four strokes to secure her victory.
Bennett started the final day with a one-stroke lead. On the front nine, she shot 37(+1) while dealing with heavy rain and wind. She made three consecutive bogeys starting on hole six that lost her the lead.
Making the turn, Bennett was tied on top of the leaderboard with Caley McGinty at 11-under. Bennett took control of the tournament with back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes to extend her lead to three. Her only bogey on the back nine came on the 18th hole, but even that didn’t stop her from winning in her home country.
With this victory, Bennet moves to the top of the LET Order of Merit and secures a spot in the AIG Women’s Open. She had this to say about the nerves coming into the final round: “I was a lot more nervous the whole round last week than I was today. I was actually really stoked when I woke up and the conditions were really tough because I knew it was going to be anyone’s. I knew if I hung in there well, it was mine for the taking, so that was good. But yeah, I was a little shaky over that last putt, not going to lie!”
The Ladies European Tour stays in Australia for next week’s event, the Women’s Australian Open. While last year’s champion, Jiyai Shin, is not in the field, Minjee Lee and Hannah Green are competing in hopes of hoisting a trophy on home soil.
