Staff WriterIf you were looking for a coming-of-age moment at this year’s La Sella Open, you got it in spades. Sixteen-year-old Canadian Anna Huang didn’t just tiptoe into the winner’s circle—she marched in like she’d been there all along, claiming her first Ladies European Tour title by a jaw-dropping seven shots over France’s Nastasia Nadaud.
After four days of unflappable golf, Huang tapped in a birdie on the 18th to close at 20-under par, and for a second you wondered if she even knew what she’d done. Then came teammate Shannon Tan, ambushing her on the green with two bottles of water like it was Formula One on a hot day, and the teenager’s grin finally caught up with reality.
This wasn’t just a win—it was the biggest margin on the LET all season and the lowest score in the three-year history of the La Sella Open. It also fired her up the Order of Merit standings, leaping from 50th to 22nd in one fell swoop.
“It’s super special being able to win this at 16; it’s so insane because I never believed that this would ever happen, but I’m so proud of myself,” Huang said, still dripping.
“I was really focused on the present and the moment, so the scores weren’t really a distraction to me. At the beginning of the season I didn’t have a tour card so being able to win is insane.”
If that wasn’t enough, she had her father lugging the bag all week—a family subplot that made the story even sweeter. “It’s super special to have my dad on the bag because he’s caddied for me ever since I started golf,” she said.
Holding Her Nerve
Heading into Sunday, Huang led by three but faced the inevitable push from Nadaud, who birdied her opening two holes to trim the gap to one.
Just as the Frenchwoman threatened to turn the finale into a duel, bogeys on the 8th and 14th snuffed out her charge.
Huang, meanwhile, swatted away her own mistakes with back-to-back birdies, as cool as a mountain lake.
Nadaud was magnanimous in defeat: “Anna just played such solid golf since the beginning of the week so she deserved that; It’s really cool for her. If I knew I would finish second at the beginning of the week, I’d sign up for that immediately, but it’s just a bit sad to shoot over par on the last day.”
A Strong Field Behind Her
Australia’s Maddison Hinson-Tolchard claimed her best LET finish in third at 3-under, edging Singapore’s Shannon Tan, who continues to make noise in the Order of Merit race.
Ireland’s Lauren Walsh, fresh from her runner-up spot at the Swiss Open, logged another top five, while Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini added yet another top-10—the 16th of her season, no less.
Back in action after a year away, Czech player Jana Melichova clawed her way into the top 10, while Order of Merit leader Mimi Rhodes finished just outside, tied for 11th at six-under in her debut at the Costa Blanca resort. Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz carried home-soil hopes with the best local finish, and amateur Carolina Lopez-Chacarra impressed with a tie for 26th in her LET debut.
A Tournament Making Its Mark
It’s not just the golf that’s setting the La Sella Open apart. Crowned Tournament of the Year in 2023 and Best Player Services in 2024, the event has quickly earned a reputation as one of the gems on the LET calendar.
With a €1,000,000 purse—the largest for women’s golf in Spain and one of the heftiest in Europe—it’s no wonder the game’s rising stars are circling Denia on their maps.
And if this week is anything to go by, the La Sella Golf Resort may just be remembered as the place where Anna Huang began writing her story.
At 16, she’s not just knocking on the door of greatness—she’s already stepped through it.
