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SINGAPORE \u2013 Singaporean golfer Shannon Tan is proud to end her season with a \u201cspecial\u201d achievement after adding the Order of Merit (OOM) title on the Ladies European Tour (LET) to her resume on Nov 30.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot to me personally. When I started the season, I wasn\u2019t focused on chasing the Order of Merit, my goal was simply to keep improving and put myself in contention more often,\u201d said the 21-year-old, after emerging from a tight battle with Britain\u2019s Mimi Rhodes to decide the season\u2019s best player on the tour. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo to end the year this way is really special. Being the first Singaporean to achieve this makes it even more meaningful. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud to represent Singapore on this stage and I hope it shows young players back home that it\u2019s possible to dream big with hard work, belief and the right support. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf this inspires even one more junior golfer to pick up a club, that would be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Singapore Golf Association chief executive Joshua\u00a0Ho said: \u201cWe are delighted to extend our congratulations to Shannon… It has been a fabulous weekend for Singapore golf with James Leow securing his breakthrough on the Asian Development Tour and Shannon now winning the season-long Order of Merit in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are confident such achievements by our Singaporean golfers will continue to inspire and raise the popularity of golf\u00a0in\u00a0Singapore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Going into the final tournament of the season, Tan had led her rival by 219.26 points in the OOM race. Rhodes needed to beat the Singaporean and finish in the top three to have a chance of winning the title.<\/p>\n
The battle went down to the wire at the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open at the Real Guadalhorce Golf Club in Malaga on Nov 30, with Tan shooting a one-over 73 to end tied-16th with a seven-under 281 after four rounds.<\/p>\n
Her roller-coaster round included three birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey on the 12th, before she steadied the ship with six consecutive pars.<\/p>\n
Despite a strong start with four birdies in her first 12 holes, Rhodes\u2019 charge was undone by bogeys on the 14th and 18th holes as she carded a 70 for a 10-under 278 total and a joint-seventh finish.<\/p>\n
France\u2019s Nastasia Nadaud fired a scorching 66 to end top with a 16-under total of 272 and beat Australia\u2019s Kirsten Rudgeley (69) by four shots. Australian Kelsey Bennett (66), Germany\u2019s Olivia Cowan (67), Norway\u2019s Dorthea Forbrigd (68) and France\u2019s Perrine Delacour (73) were joint-third.<\/p>\n
In the OOM title race, Rhodes, 23, had started the season strongly, securing three wins \u2013 Women\u2019s New South Wales Open, Joburg Ladies Open and Dutch Ladies Open \u2013 in the space of two months. <\/p>\n
Tan\u2019s victories at the German Masters in June and Women\u2019s Indian Open in October, besides six other top-10 finishes, lifted her to the top of the standings. <\/p>\n
Said Tan: \u201cMimi has had an incredible season, winning three times, and having someone play at that level definitely pushed me. <\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost every week, it felt like we were both up there and that motivated me to want to be better. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it was never about trying to beat her, it was about staying competitive and putting myself in positions to win. But knowing she was always right there absolutely kept me focused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tan had finished sixth on the OOM in her maiden 2024 season and was the first Singaporean to win on the LET, with a debut victory at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open in February.<\/p>\n
Although she did not win again last season, four other top-10 finishes helped her finish with \u20ac191,807.61 (S$288,000) in prize money. <\/p>\n
She is also the first golfer from the Republic to compete at an Olympics (Paris 2024) and the first local female golfer to make the cut at a Major (Women\u2019s British Open at St Andrews in 2024).<\/p>\n
Both Tan and Rhodes will next head to the Magnolia Grove Golf Course in Alabama from Dec 4 to 8 as the top-10 finishers on the OOM gain direct entry to the final\u00a0stage\u00a0of the\u00a0LPGA\u00a0qualifying\u00a0school, where the top 25 and tied golfers receive LPGA Tour cards for 2026.<\/p>\n
Tan did not secure an LPGA Tour spot after she missed the cut at the final qualifying stage in 2024. <\/p>\n
When asked what it would mean to compete in the LPGA, she said: \u201cI grew up watching the LPGA and playing on that tour is a dream for so many of us out here. To earn that opportunity this early in my career would be incredible.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don\u2019t want to put too much pressure on myself. Whether it happens this year or sometime in the future, I just want to keep growing and building on the foundation I\u2019ve created.\u201d<\/p>\n