Three-time season winner, Mexico’s Fernanda Lira has taken an unconventional path to becoming one of our rising stars in women’s golf.
At 30, the Mexican is coming off a career-defining season on the LET Access Series (LETAS), where she captured three titles, won two playoffs and secured her full LET playing rights for 2026. Lira is heading back to where she belongs after a disappointing rookie season on the LET in 2024.
Before she begins her next chapter, Lira joined LETAS Chat to reflect on the wild, emotional, and transformative year that propelled her back to the top tier. Listen to the full episode here.
It was a steady start to the season for the 30-year-old, but after a top five at the Vasteras Open, Lira found her game to clinch two successive victories at the Islantilla Open and the Q-Tour Himmerland Championship. The Islantilla Open was the highest winning margin this year of six strokes.
At the Hauts de France Pas de Calais Lira joined the exclusive hat-trick club by defeating Iceland’s Ragga Kristinsdottir in a three-hole playoff, a win that cemented Lira’s LET card.
“I am proud of my year on LETAS. This must be one of the most spontaneous years I’ve ever had. From last-minute travel plans to scrambling for flights, it’s been a season full of surprises.
“I hadn’t been very successful with playoffs previously,” she said. “This year to win two out of two… it was really nice to see how I’ve changed as a player.”
Lira’s journey into golf didn’t start on a driving range or with a famous coach. It started with the Nintendo.
As a six-year-old in Mexico City, Fernanda and her brother became obsessed with Mario Golf. The game sparked their curiosity about the real sport, so they went to their mother with a simple request that they wanted to play golf.
Her mum, who had no background in the game, took them to a local practice range. Before long golf became a familyactivity with Lira’s father also taking up the sport.
Lira was 15, when she started to dream of playing professional golf, when she travelled to the UK to play the Duke of York tournament at Royal Troon.
Cold, wind, rain and even hail greeted her. Instead of scaring her off, it lit her up.
Lira recalled: “I remember thinking I want to learn how to play in this. It was so much fun, even though I didn’t really have a good time on the course. I started to get serious and dream of college golf after that”
The Mexican went on to earn a place at the University of Central Arkansas, where she played college golf and studied Marketing. Her impact was immediate winning Freshman of the Year and winning two big college tournaments in 2015.
Following her time at University, Lira moved onto the Epson Tour and made her mark there winning the 2021 Firekeepers Casino Hotel Championship.
Yet in 2023 Lira made a pivotal decision to chase opportunities in Europe. Encouraged by friends who raved about the LET and LET Access Series, she entered LET Q-School.
But she didn’t just sneak through she made a statement. At Q-School, Lira fired an opening round of 11-under-par and went on to finish 5th overall, earning LET status comfortably.
Speaking about the decision to move to Europe, Lira said: “I stopped being excited for some of the tournaments in the U.S and it kind of made me question if I even wanted to keep playing golf, or was it just like my environment or what was going on?
“So, I wanted the chance to maybe play in Kenya and then see. I just kind of had a hunch.”
Even when the 2024 season brought more struggle than success on LET, it was still one of Lira’s favourite years in her career.
“I think in Europe there’s more to see,” she explained. “If you’re not playing great, you’ve got outlets. In the U.S., it was easier to get stuck in a negative bubble.”
Despite being in the running for the top spot on the LETAS Order of Merit, Lira made the emotional choice to skip the final event of the season.
“I was really feeling homesick as I hadn’t been home since April or May.”
With her card already locked up, she prioritised returning to Mexico, seeing her parents, grandparents and friends.
It was a rare moment of putting personal wellbeing ahead of rankings—and it paid off. She still finished the year second on the Order of Merit.
“I decided I’m going to use that money to prepare for next season. It was a shorter season than others but more tense.”
As she prepares for her return to the LET, Lira carries renewed confidence as she’s moved from 868 to 399 in the Rolex Rankings.
Lira’s eyes are set firmly on the future, including a long-term dream: qualifying for the 2028 Olympics and representing her country at the 2026 Central American Games.
Her journey, from Mario Golf to the LET has been anything but standard.
Now with three LETAS titles behind her, Fernanda Lira is exactly where she belongs, back on the LET and ready to write her next chapter.
Learn more about Fernanda Lira on this week’s episode of LETAS Chat.
