The 2026 Women’s World Sand Greens Championship tees off this Sunday at a brand-new host venue, the Holbrook Returned Servicemen’s Golf Club, as one of Australian golf’s most distinctive events continues to grow.

Set in the heart of the Murray Region, the club is renowned for its superb course condition and celebrated for its warm, community atmosphere. It is the perfect backdrop for an event that has become a genuine celebration of country golf at its finest.

A $125,000 prize purse is on the line across two days of 36-hole stroke play, co-sanctioned by the WPGA Tour of Australasia, with the final round broadcast on Kayo TV, bringing the unique spectacle of sand greens golf to a national audience. Best of all, spectators are invited to attend free of charge, offering a rare opportunity to walk the fairways alongside world-class athletes and enjoy an up-close view of the action.

For the uninitiated, sand greens golf is as authentically Australian as the game gets. Rather than grass putting surfaces, players putt on carefully prepared sand, which must be raked before each putt to create a smooth line to the hole. It demands a completely different touch, adaptability, and mental fortitude, qualities that tend to separate the very best from the rest. The format has a wonderful levelling effect, making it one of the most compelling formats in professional women’s golf.

With players confirmed from 15 countries, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, Wales, Scotland, Thailand, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the USA, this is a truly international field. From hardened WPGA and Ladies European Tour professionals to emerging domestic talent, the depth of competition promises two thrilling days of golf.

If there is one name on the lips of every player this week, it’s Lydia Hall. The Welsh veteran is a former World Sand Greens champion and arrives in Holbrook in the form of her career, having claimed a four-shot victory at the Vic Open at 13th Beach Golf Links earlier this season to secure another WPGA Tour of Australasia title.

Few stories in Australian golf have captivated fans more this season than the rise of Hannah Reeves. The 23-year-old Queenslander turned professional in late 2025 and immediately made her presence felt, winning the Ford Women’s NSW Open Regional Qualifier at Mollymook before backing up with victories at Wagga Wagga and Dubbo, three wins from her first three professional starts. She enters the championship ranked second on the Order of Merit and is a genuine title contender on home soil.

Cholcheva Wongras of Thailand brings the highest exemption status in the field, entering as the reigning WPGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit champion. The Thai star also arrives with unfinished business, having finished runner-up at last year’s championship, she will be hungry to go one better on the sand greens of Holbrook and claim the title that narrowly eluded her.

Scotland’s Kelsey MacDonald is a seasoned campaigner who arrives in form, having fired a course-record 64 at Sanctuary Cove during the WPGA Championship last week, and Argentina’s Magdalena Simmermacher is another compelling entry, arriving on the back of an encouraging run at the Women’s Australian Open at Kooyonga Golf Club just two weeks ago, where she finished inside the top ten.

Round one will tee off around 9 AM this Sunday.

Live scoring and updates can be found at golfnsw.org.au and via @GolfNSW across social media.