England’s Meghan McLaren has won the 2018 Women’s NSW Open at Coffs Harbour Golf Club.
On a day when several challengers made good starts, the 23-year-old held her nerve and didn’t look like relinquishing her lead at any stage, going on to win by two shots from a trio of golfers: Silvia Baron of Spain, Marta Engzleuis of Norway and Casey Danielson of the United States.
MacLaren was elated with the win.
“This is the best I’ve played for a long, long time,” she said. “All parts of my game were good. To go out there today and to still feel in control of my ball striking and all of that, it gave me a little bit of margin for error towards the end.”
The Women’s NSW Open is the 23-year-old’s maiden Ladies European Tour title and when asked about the victory, MacLaren was over the moon.
“It feels incredible to be a tour winner. I didn’t think those words would be coming out of my mouth so soon. I played well in the few events that I played last year but you’ve got to be patient. It can take some players years before they get over the line. To do it now gives me a lot of confidence.”
MacLaren joins a select group of golfers to win the NSW Open, including former world No.1 players, Dame Laura Davies (2008) and Lydia Ko (2012). When MacLaren was told of the company she now keeps, she was shocked.
“Oh wow! I had no idea. That’s incredible.”
