Andy DevaneyCharlotte Naughton wins European Ladies’ Amateur honours at Allerum Golfklubb in Sweden, completing a wire-to-wire victory that also sends the 18-year-old England Women’s Squad player to the AIG Women’s Open. Rounds of 69, 72, 67 and 72 carried her to eight under par, two shots clear of home favourite Meja Örtengren.
The final total looks tidy enough. The closing stretch was anything but. Naughton built a four-shot advantage, dropped two shots at the 17th and then answered with a title-clinching birdie at the last. Golf has an impolite habit of waiting until the engraving appears straightforward before producing one final complication.
How Did Charlotte Naughton Win the European Ladies’ Amateur?
Charlotte Naughton won the 2026 European Ladies’ Amateur by leading after every round at Allerum Golfklubb. Her scores of 69, 72, 67 and 72 took her to eight under par, two ahead of Meja Örtengren. The decisive final round included birdies at the fourth, fifth, 10th and 18th holes.
Her opening 69 put her in command, while a level-par second round kept her at the head of the field. A five-under 67 on day three then gave Naughton the platform from which to control the final round rather than chase it.
That distinction matters. Leading a championship from the front brings a particular kind of discomfort: every dropped shot is visible, every challenge arrives with a name attached and the golfer behind has the freedom to attack.
Naughton appeared to have handled that burden by the turn. Birdies at the fourth and fifth gave her early separation, and a long birdie at the 10th kept the momentum moving in the correct direction.
“I’m over the moon,” said Naughton. “I’ve put a lot of work in ahead of this event and I played so well.”
A Nervous Finish and a Decisive Final Birdie
Naughton reached the final two holes four shots clear of Örtengren. At that stage, the championship was firmly in her hands, although the 17th briefly attempted to remove it.
A double bogey halved her advantage and transformed the final hole from a procession into one last examination. Naughton’s response was telling. Rather than carrying the mistake onto the next tee, she made birdie at the par-five 18th to complete the victory.
The closing hole had been especially productive throughout the championship. Naughton played it in five under par across her four rounds, making it both a statistical strength and, when the pressure was at its sharpest, a reliable escape route.
“I didn’t have the best of starts, I was definitely nervous, but I managed to stay calm and that was my goal today,” added Naughton. “17 was a big mistake, but I tried to stay calm down the last. I’m really happy.”
The mistake will occupy a small corner of the scorecard. The response will be remembered rather longer.
Charlotte Naughton Earns an AIG Women’s Open Place
The title brings an immediate and significant reward: a place in the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Anne’s.
Naughton will therefore move from elite amateur golf into the final women’s major of the season, where the scale of the stage, the crowds and the strength of the field will provide another measure of her progress.
She is also due to compete in the LPGA’s Canadian Women’s Open, having earned an exemption through her victory at the 2025 World Junior Girls Golf Championship in Canada.
The two appearances offer valuable exposure to top-level professional tournament golf without altering the achievement already secured in Sweden. Naughton arrived at Allerum with a growing reputation. She leaves as a European champion.
An English Name Joins a Distinguished Roll of Honour
The European Ladies’ Amateur was established in 1986 and has previously been won by several players who later became prominent figures in European professional golf.
Former champions include European Solheim Cup players Carlota Ciganda, Caroline Hedwall, Bronte Law and Céline Boutier.
Naughton becomes the fifth Englishwoman to win the championship. She follows Joanne Morley, who took the title in 1992; Emma Duggleby in 2000; Law in 2016; and Alice Hewson in 2019.
Such lists should not be treated as guarantees. Golf careers are rarely considerate enough to follow a clean historical pattern. They do, however, provide useful context for the standard of player required to win this championship and the company Naughton has now joined.
Who Is Charlotte Naughton?
Charlotte Naughton is an 18-year-old England Women’s Squad golfer from Longhirst Hall whose recent amateur record includes major individual titles and appearances in leading international team competitions.
Her European Ladies’ Amateur victory extends a run of results that began gathering serious momentum at the 2025 German Girls’ International Amateur. Naughton became the first English golfer to win that event.
She has also won the Lawson Trophy in three consecutive years from 2024 to 2026. The trophy is awarded to the leading under-18 player at the St Rule Trophy.
At the 2025 World Junior Girls Golf Championship in Canada, Naughton claimed the individual title and secured the exemption that will take her into the LPGA’s Canadian Women’s Open.
She followed that success by winning the individual competition at the 2026 Junior Orange Bowl, setting a four-round tournament record of 10 under par.
Her team experience includes representing Europe in the 2025 Junior Ryder Cup and appearing as the youngest member of the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup team.
Those achievements explain why the result in Sweden should not be treated as a sudden appearance from nowhere. Naughton’s progress has been building across individual stroke play, junior championships and international team golf.
From Allerum to Royal Lytham
The next challenge will be altogether different. At Royal Lytham & St Anne’s, Naughton will trade the familiar rhythms of amateur championship golf for the environment of a major.
There will be no need to manufacture expectations. Her place in the field is already the reward for four disciplined rounds in Sweden and for the composure she recovered after the 17th threatened to turn a convincing victory into a considerably more stressful afternoon.
Naughton’s European title was built over 72 holes, but its defining moment came in the space between one damaging mistake and the next tee. She reached the final hole with the championship still to win and made birdie. Royal Lytham now awaits, along with a much larger audience eager to see where that calm finish might lead.
