Carolina Chacarra follows brother Eugenio's success with maiden LET triumph

Spain's Carolina Chacarra produced a superb final-round display to capture her first Ladies European Tour title at the Hulencourt Women's Open, becoming the first rookie winner of the 2026 season in only her third LET appearance.

Starting Sunday's final round two shots behind Australia's Kelsey Bennett, Chacarra turned the tournament on its head with a flawless four-under-par 68. 

The 23-year-old's bogey-free effort saw her finish on 12-under par, three shots clear of Bennett at Hulencourt Golf Club in Belgium.

"It's been an amazing day and I'm so happy," said Chacarra after lifting the trophy.

"I didn't make a bogey, rolled in some nice birdies and everything came together. My caddie, Ivan, reminded me before we started to stay committed to my process, and that's exactly what we did. We created plenty of opportunities on the back nine.

"I was definitely nervous over the closing stretch, especially on the final three holes. I had so much adrenaline that I kept telling my caddie we needed to take a little distance off the yardages. My goal this week was simply to enjoy myself and hopefully earn a place in the Scottish Open, so to end up winning is incredible."

The victory is a career-changing one for the Spanish rookie. 

As well as moving up to second in the LET Rookie of the Year standings behind American Anna Morgan, Chacarra also secures starts in both the ISPS Handa Scottish Open and the AIG Women's Open later this summer.

Her success also continues what has been a remarkable few weeks for the Chacarra family. 

Older brother Eugenio recently claimed consecutive DP World Tour victories at the KLM Open and Italian Open, and Carolina admitted his success inspired her own breakthrough.

"It's been an unbelievable few weeks for our family," she said.

"My brother has always been a huge inspiration. Watching him win gave me so much confidence to keep believing I could do the same. I'm thrilled. This win changes my schedule completely, but getting the chance to play another Major is something I've dreamed about."

Chacarra wasted little time applying pressure during the final round. She opened with birdies at the par-three second and par-three fifth, while Bennett slipped back with a bogey at the fourth, handing the Spaniard the outright lead.

The momentum continued after the turn. 

Bennett's hopes took another hit when she found thick fescue from the tee on the 12th and dropped another shot, before Chacarra produced one of the shots of the day with a superb approach into the par-five 13th to set up another birdie and stretch her advantage to three.

Bennett refused to go away, producing a spectacular chip-in birdie at the 16th to briefly reduce the deficit to one. 

But Chacarra responded like a champion, knocking in a clutch birdie at the par-three 17th before safely negotiating the last with a two-putt par to complete a memorable three-shot victory.

Bennett signed for a final-round 73 to finish runner-up for the second time this season. 

The Australian, who won the Australian Women's Classic earlier this year, also narrowly missed out at the Lalla Meryem Cup in May.

India's Aditi Ashok enjoyed an encouraging return to Ladies European Tour competition, finishing alone in third on seven-under after a closing two-under 70. 

The former Olympian used the event as preparation for next week's Amundi Evian Championship and heads to France with valuable momentum.

Switzerland's Morgane Metraux and England's Bronte Law shared fourth place on four-under after both closed with rounds of 70, marking their best finishes of the 2026 campaign.

England's Hannah Screen produced one of the rounds of the day, firing a brilliant six-under 66 with her father on the bag to finish sixth on three-under. 

South Africa's Nadia van der Westhuizen, American Brianna Navarrosa, Australia's Kirsten Rudgeley, India's Diksha Dagar and Finland's Noora Komulainen shared seventh place on two-under.

In the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit, South Africa's Casandra Alexander continues to lead with 1,777.65 points, while France's Agathe Laisne remains second. Bennett strengthens her position in third following another runner-up finish, while Chacarra jumps to 24th after collecting 500 points for her maiden LET victory.

The Ladies European Tour now heads to France for the fourth Major of the season, the Amundi Evian Championship, which gets underway on Thursday at the picturesque Evian Resort on the shores of Lake Geneva.