The fight to retain full Ladies European Tour (LET) cards is heating up at the halfway stage of the season-ending Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España presented by Oysho, with two stars on the bubble off to terrific starts in Malaga.
Thailand’s Aunchisa Utama arrived in Spain with a target on her back, situated 70th on the Order of Merit with the top-70 come the end of the week earning Category 4 status for 2026.
With several players outside the full card bubble hot on her heels, Utama has so far delivered posting rounds of 72-68 to sit T11 heading into the weekend. Boosted by a magnificent eagle on Thursday, the 34-year-old is currently projected to move up to 68th in the season-standings.
“I’ve made some nice birdies but saved a lot of pars,” Utama said. “Just one bogey today which was perfect. It was a good day. I’m trying not to think about the Order of Merit but I’m very aware of my position. I’m just trying to focus on every shot one at a a time.”
One player making an even more decisive move is France’s Camille Chevalier. The one-time LET winner has it all to do this week arriving in Malaga 76th on the Order of Merit. Rounds of 70-69 have changed all that at it stands, with the 31-year-old sitting T11 and projected to move inside the top-70.
“First of all I’m very happy to be here because the weather is nice,” Chevalier said. “I think my long game has improved a lot over the last few weeks/months. It’s nice because I’m hitting a lot of greens and giving myself a lot of chances. I just need to stay patient.
“I’m not trying to think about the rankings. I just need to play my own game and see what happens. So far I have done that well. I learned over the first two days that I need to be sharp off the tee and stay focused, especially off the tee.”
Competing in front of friends and family, Spaniard Ana Pelaez Trivino also has plenty of pressure on this week sitting 68th on the 2025 Order of Merit. After a shaky start posting a 75 (+3) on home soil, the one-time LET winner bounced back brilliantly on Friday carding a 67 (-5) to soar back up the leaderboard into a comfortable mid-table position.
Elsewhere, April Angurasuranee, still nursing an ankle injury, is continuing to rally to keep her full card. The Thai star, currently 72nd on the Order of Merit, got off to a nervy start carding four bogeys in her opening six holes on Thursday. She would eventually fight back to post a 74 (+2) before following this up with a 69 (-3) in round two. The 21-year-old sits T34 heading into the weekend and has a big 36 holes ahead.
Other players outside the bubble include Australia’s Sarah Kemp (73rd), Denmark’s Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen (74th) and France’s Agathe Sauzon (77th). All three have struggled over the first two days of action at Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf and need to go low this weekend to secure full playing rights for 2026.
The third round of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España presented by Oysho gets underway on Saturday at 9:55am local time.
Watch live and follow all the action throughout the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #OpenDeEspaña.
