Leonie Harm wins in Germany: Dramatic LET final at the German Masters

Dramatic finale to an exciting competition: In a highly exciting race for the title of the Amundi German Masters powered by VcG 2026, Leonie Harm celebrates her first Tour title in her 97th start on the Ladies European Tour in her home country of all places. In the only LET event in Germany on the challenging North Course of the Green Eagle Golf Courses, the 28-year-old overtook Casandra Alexander from South Africa with two birdies on the 17th and 18th holes and a round of 69 to celebrate victory on ten under Par - the second triumph for a German golfer at the Amundi German Masters powered by VcG after Alexandra Försterling in 2024. Third place was shared by the two Germans Alexandra Försterling and Chiara Noja with Canadian teenager Anna Huang.

"I'm a bit emotionally overwhelmed right now," Leonie Harm revealed immediately after her triumph. "I'm absolutely delighted to have made it over the line here in Germany after coming so close once before in 2022 - and to do it in front of these spectators, who all made it onto the course here on Sunday, makes it a very special feeling. I'm really pleased that it worked out at this wonderful tournament in Germany."

Leonie Harm fights her way back

It is the temporary highlight of an impressive career for Leonie Harm, who fought for her life as a 15-year-old after a terrible accident, later rose to become one of the best German golfers of her generation, caused a sensation in 2022 with second place at the premiere of the Amundi German Masters powered by VcG and finally thought about quitting in 2024 because the results failed to materialize. But Harm got back on track and crowned her impressive comeback with one of the most prestigious LET titles on one of the outstanding courses in European professional golf.

"It was a great tournament, a great round, and we had a few Germans in with a chance of winning - it was a fantastic stage," said Harm. "The fact that so many people came out is great for women's golf in general and especially for women's golf in Germany."

LET star Alexander makes it exciting

Alexander, who had made her way to Winsen (Luhe) for the first time this LET season with four second places and two other top ten finishes, played herself into a frenzy in the final round and was suddenly in the lead at ten under Par after 15 holes played. "I didn't expect to finish so far ahead," said the 26-year-old from Johannesburg, who had started the final round in tenth place, seven shots behind. "On the 16th tee, I asked Doug [Pirie, her caddie, the ed.] what was going on because suddenly there were more people around us and the cameras appeared." Thanks to a 67 in the final round, Alexander once again finished second and took the lead in the LET Order of Merit.

Alexandra Försterling, who went into the final round as the leader, fell behind early on after a triple Bogey on the first hole and only got back into the title race late on before she was finally out of the running with a shot into the water on the 17th. In the end, she still managed a strong third place on seven under Par. "It was pretty unfortunate today. I had a lot of bad luck, especially on the first hole, something I've rarely experienced. As a result, I was three shots over par after the first hole and had to make up for it," explained Försterling. "Overall, however, I actually did quite well. Of course I'm happy with a share of third place, but it still feels a bit like I could have done better."

The support from the spectators was definitely positive. "It was nice to see how many people were there and cheered me on," added the winner of the 2024 edition. "I'm very grateful for that. I hope there will be even more next year."

Chiara Noja also played her first tournament of the year after a long injury break in her home country of all places, finishing in an excellent third place - just three strokes behind the winner. "I'm proud of myself. I fought hard. My putting wasn't ideal today, but I still gave it my best shot. I'm obviously very happy for Leonie," said the 20-year-old. "The whole week was wonderful. It was also good for me mentally to come back and play solid golf over several days. But now I'm already looking forward to next week, when the action continues straight away."

She was also delighted with the atmosphere on the North Course: "The atmosphere here in Germany was really great. I don't think I've ever seen so many spectators here before. The fans were incredibly friendly and it was great fun to play in front of them. I always tried to stay positive, even if not everything went perfectly, and overall it was just a really nice experience."

Henseleit: "It's a lot of fun"

Esther Henseleit finished the event in her home city of Hamburg in seventh place after leading the field at the halfway stage. "I just didn't make many Birdies on the last two days. I actually played very solidly today too, but I never really got going. I hope that I can play here again next year and then get another chance."

In addition to the good result, the 27-year-old is taking many fond memories with her. "It's a lot of fun to play in front of so many spectators who support you with every shot. It's something very special at a home tournament. I hit a lot of good shots this week and am happy with my game overall," said the world number 45.

In addition to Harm, Noja, Försterling and Henseleit, Laura Fünfstück (-4, T10), Helen Briem (-1, T20), Sophie Witt (+1, T25), Celina Sattelkau (+1, T25), Verena Gimmy (+2, T32) and Sophie Hausmann (+8, T53) also finished in the points for Germany.

"We are incredibly happy with this tournament week - despite all the external circumstances, we experienced spectacular sport and a great spectator response. Above all the successes, of course, is the strong German performance that inspired golfing Germany. Congratulations to the fantastic winner Leonie Harm," says Tournament Director Dirk Glittenberg, Managing Director of the organizer U.COM Event. "We have created something special here that we all want to develop further together. We firmly believe in this location, this event and the future of women's golf in Germany - we are really looking forward to the next step in 2027."

"The quality of play shown by Germany's best female golfers this year was impressive. The many spectators on site were a great testament to the appeal of the tournament. For Amundi as title sponsor, it is important to establish Hamburg as the stage for the Amundi German Masters and first-class professional golf and to continue to give the players visibility. We are already looking forward to 2027," says Daniel Reitz, Chief Marketing Officer at Amundi Germany.

Positive conclusion on the German Masters 2026

"The Amundi German Masters has impressively underlined how positively German women's golf is developing. Our thanks go to the LET, Amundi, the VcG, U.COM and the many helpers who made this event possible. It was particularly pleasing that our players maintained their position in the top group throughout the weekend and provided great excitement. Several Germans in the top ten and real chances of winning right up to the end show the quality of our development. It's all the better that this performance was rewarded with a German success in the end. A victory in front of a home crowd is a great confirmation of the path we have taken. Such tournaments are enormously important for our talents in Golf Team Germany," says Achim Battermann, Deputy President of the German Golf Association.

"This year's Amundi German Masters has once again shown how well international women's golf fits in with Green Eagle Golf Courses and the Nord Course in particular," says Michael Blesch, founder, owner and golf course designer of Green Eagle Golf Courses. "The fact that we were also able to experience a German victory this year makes this tournament week particularly emotional. It was great to see how positively the players, fans and partners responded to the event and the special atmosphere that was created on the entire course. With the first-class quality of the North Course, our new training facility THE RANGE and the facilities of the entire course, Green Eagle Golf Courses offers ideal conditions for top international sport. A big thank you goes to our greenkeeping team, all our employees and our partner U.COM Event, who have worked so hard to make this event possible at the highest level."

(Text: Starke and Pfeiffer)