We’re used to writing about the millions that Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Tom McKibbin earn throughout the course of a year, but it was a lucrative week several of Irish golf’s supporting cast members.
The LET’s Wistron Ladies Open in Taiwan may have been reduced to 36 holes after torrential rain wreaked havoc, but Lauren Walsh – the sole Irish woman in the field – wasn’t complaining. A solo third-place finish brought with it a cheque for more than €56,000, the largest of her professional career to date.
It also lifts her into the top 10 in the LET Order of Merit which, should she hold on to it through the final two events, carries significant reward of its own.
At the Clutch Pro Tour Championship, Mark Power claimed his first professional victory in style, closing out a seven-under final-round to edge Alex Maguire into second. Power collected £15,000, while Maguire earned £10,000, but it was the £3,224.43 earned by James Sugrue that was more consequential.
The Mallow man’s T5 finish was enough to secure third place in the Clutch Pro Order of Merit and earn promotion to the HotelPlanner Tour for 2026, potentially carrying much more value than the first-place prize money.
This followed hot on the heels of Ronan Mullarney performing a similar feat in earning promotion from the Alps Tour the week prior, so Sugrue is not the only Irishman celebrating promotion to the HotelPlanner Tour.
On the PGA Tour, Michael Brennan, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, stormed to victory in the Bank of Utah Championship.
In a three-win season on the PGA Tour Americas – the third tier of the PGA Tour – Brennan had earned a total of $247,389 in the year to date, but he’s just won more than four time that amount and secured a full PGA Tour card in the process.
Not a bad week’s work.
