England's Mimi Rhodes was narrowly beaten to the 2025 Ladies European Tour Order of Merit by Shannon Tan at the season-ending Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana on Sunday.
Rhodes went into the final event of the season knowing she needed a top-three finish to have any chance of ending the year as Ladies European Tour's No 1, but she ultimately finished in a tie for seventh after finishing on 10 under for the tournament.
That meant Tan became the first Singaporean to win the Order of Merit after finishing the event in 16th on seven under.
The Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana was ultimately won by Nastasia Nadaud of France, who carded a final-round 66 to win by four shots and climb from ninth to third behind Rhodes in the season-long standings.
Tan stuttered across the line with a round that featured two bogeys and a double bogey, but it was enough to stay clear of Rhodes who picked up four birdies and two bogeys on the final day.
"It's been quite a great season this year," said Tan, who won twice on the Tour this season.
"Comparing this year to last year, I think I've improved quite a lot. It being my second year on tour, I've learned quite a lot from last year.
"I don't think this would have happened were it not for all the people who've been there throughout my whole career.
"It means a lot to be the first person from Singapore to win the Order of Merit. Hopefully that gets more juniors back in Singapore to try out golf and hopefully more come through."
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Nadaud was left to celebrate a first tournament win, picking up the £92,000 first prize and a £22,000 bonus for finishing third in the Order of Merit.
The Frenchwoman carded six birdies and an eagle on the final day to win comfortably despite picking up a couple of bogeys on the back nine.
She finished four shots clear of Australia's Kirsten Rudgeley (-12) with four players - Kelsey Bennett, Olivia Cowan, Dorothea Forbrigd and Perrine Delacour - a shot further back in third.
"It's been really intense all week, I'm really happy with the outcome," she said.
"It's been a rollercoaster week and I don't have the words.
"I don't even know what I'm going to do with the prize money. I've got a couple of weeks to think about that."
Watch four different golf events on SportNews this week including the Australian Open, the Nedbank Golf Challenge, the World Champions Cup and the Hero World Challenge. .
