Esther Henseleit makes LET History in Kenya

Germany’s Esther Henseleit became only the third player in LET history to capture both the Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year titles in 2019, following on from England’s Dame Laura Davies in 1985 and Carlota Ciganda of Spain, in 2012, who have both gone on to forge phenomenally successful international careers.

Victory in the inaugural Magical Kenya Ladies Open presented by Safaricom’s M-Pesa saw the 20-year-old from Hamburg leapfrog Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord to become the first German player to top the rankings.

Henseleit posted eight birdies in a course record eight under par 64 over the Baobab Course at Vipingo Ridge to earn her first LET title on the final day of the 2019 LET season.

Henseleit said: “To close the season with a win is the best feeling I could imagine. To be the Order of Merit winner and Rookie of the Year is just unbelievable.”

Henseleit, who finished third at LET Qualifying School 12 months earlier and turned professional with a handicap of +7.1, began the season with few expectations.

However, she delivered a win and eight further top-10s, including four second place finishes, in the Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic, La Reserva de Sotogrande Invitational, Ladies European Thailand Championship and Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open.

She said: “I didn’t know how good I was and if my game was good enough to compete on the LET. Now I know that I’m good enough to win and I really want to do that again.”

With LPGA status in 2020, Henseleit began her campaign at the ISPS Handa Vic Open and ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, where she made the cut. She then played in the LET’s Geoff King Motors Australian Ladies Classic Bonville, where she tied for 11^th place.

Being so young and full of energy (she turned 21 in January), Henseleit intends to play in as many tournaments as possible this year. As well as doing well in the majors, her main goals are to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games and Solheim Cup.