Brianna Navarrosa got off to a dream start in her rookie season with a round of 67 (-6) to lead after day one of the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco.
The American began her round with a birdie blitz of five back-to-back at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, with a further birdie on the 9th hole. An eagle on 15 made it a solid start for her 2025 campaign. She was playing alongside fellow Q-school members Ellinor Sudow and Cecilie Finne-Ipsen who also secured their LET cards in December last year.
“Honestly I just did shot by shot”, said Navarrosa. “There was a point where I was like, I don’t even know what’s really going on. I just know that I’m making my putt, so I just tried to stay present, focus on the shot in hand, and just keep playing.
“I really wanted to take advantage of the weather today with there being no wind,” she continued.
The 20-year-old was born and raised in Southern California but now lives in Paris with her boyfriend.
“One of my dreams was to travel, and being able to do that in the sport that I love is really exciting. To be able to experience new cultures as well, I feel very lucky. I was lucky enough to be invited to next week in Riyadh, so I’m really excited for that. I’ve never been to that part in the world.
“I would say my strengths are definitely accuracy and short game. I’m not a long putter by any means and I’m quite short, so I’m relying on my accuracy and relying on making the putts when it’s needed.
“I’m just going to do what I did today, tomorrow. I know that I play my best golf when I just play like it’s another round of golf. I’m trying to not apply too much pressure, despite being a rookie, and despite having a wonderful first round. I’m just going to play and have fun with it.”
Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino and Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjall are currently in a tie for second place on five under par.
Trivino, who started the day on the 10th tee, had a swing of birdies on five, six, and seven, followed by more on 10, 12, and 13. The 26-year-old only dropped one shot today which was on the 17th hole.
“I feel like I wanted to get into competition to see how I feel”, said the Spainard. “Obviously when we are practicing in the pre-season, you work and you practice but you have to wait for the competition day to actually see how everything is working out, and today turn out well. I think playing with my friend Daniela was also really helpful to start off the season and I had fun. I hit the shots, really good putts, gave myself chances, and took advantage of it.”
During the offseason, Trivino started to learn skateboarding. “I’ve been skateboarding and playing golf so super chill. Trying to take it easy as the year’s quite long,” she said.
Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjall was bogey-free on the first day, with birdies on holes one, eight, 11, 14, and 16, to finish her round on five-under, and sit in second on the leaderboard.
The 24-year-old graduated from LETAS last year, and 2025 marks her rookie season on the LET. Arwefjall was the 2024 LETAS Order of Merit winnerand is looking to build on that momentum into this year.
“It was a very good day. I was hitting a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, giving myself opportunities to score low so it was pretty stable,” said the Swede.
“I feel like I’ve been playing well. First tournament of the year so you never know but it worked out today.
“I usually hit it pretty straight, so I would say this course kind of suits me when it comes to that, so, I guess we’ll see what it’ll bring for the rest of the days.
“I don’t think I’ll go into tomorrow any different. It’s an early tee time, so the course will probably play a little bit longer. I’ll just go out there, have some fun, and play my own game. It was pretty fun. I would say since I wasn’t in any trouble, it kept my nerves more calm so that was nice.”
Three players sit in a share of third place on four-under-par at the end of the first day. Austria’s Sarah Schober, England’s Gabriella Cowley, and Denmark’s Cecilie Finne-Ipsen all fired rounds of 69 (-4).
Schober, fired a hole in one on the sixth hole, to make it a fantastic start and a low overall score for the day.
“It was a 53-meter shot and slightly helped by the wind. It just jumped and then rolled maybe one or two meters, and it was in, which I obviously celebrated a little bit. The conditions out there were pretty much perfect for me, almost no wind, the course in great condition. The greens were rolling very smoothly, and I’m very looking forward to the next two days.”
“It was a good day, obviously played well, and it’s been offseason, so it’s just nice to get back out,” said Cowley. “I’ve changed a couple of things from last year, so it was nice to see that pay off. It’s the first event so it’s been good.
“I’ve played here a couple of times and the course is tough. Probably one of the toughest that we’ll play all year to be honest. I think obviously you have to be on your game and you have to get good shots, so it’s been good.”
Denmark’s Cecilie Finne-Ipsen carried her momentum from Q School into this week, with back-to-back birdies on holes one and two, followed by further birdies on six, nine, and 13.
“The course is in such a great shape and it’s just great to be back out on the grass”, said the 26-year-old. “It’s been awful weather back at home in Denmark, so it’s really nice to be out here and just compete again.
“Some tricky pins out there, but I hit it in the right spots and just making myself a lot of opportunities. I’ve never been here before. Everything’s new.”
Finne-Ipsen, who has her dad on her bag this week, dropped her only shot of the day on the 16th.
It remains a tight leaderboard with seven players in a tie for seventh place on three under-par after day one in Morocco.
This week also marks Germany’s Laura Fuenfstueck 100th appearance on the LET. 2018 marked the 30-year-old’s rookie year where she finished T8 in this tournament.
Ines Laklalech, who finished here in a tie in seventh place last year sits in T14, and is currently the highest in the leaderboard of the five Moroccans in the field.
The second round will begin at 8:30am (local time) tomorrow at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam (Blue Course).
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