Second placed Manon Molle, who played on her home course, Palm Golf Ourika, on Tuesday
After the completion of four rounds at the Final Stage of Lalla Aicha Tour School, 60 players made the cut at two-over-par and will progress to play in the fifth and final round at Palm Golf Ourika in Marrakech on Wednesday.
With 25 full cards being contested for the 2018 Ladies European Tour season, there were exactly 25 players on four-under-par or better after the completion of 72 holes on Tuesday afternoon.
American Casey Danielson fired a fourth round of 72 on the Amelkis Golf Course and continued to lead the qualifiers for the third consecutive day.
She said afterwards: “I don’t feel too great with my round. I think I hit 16 or 17 greens but I had a lot of putts I couldn’t make. I’m pleased with the way I’m hitting it, which is consistent. On the front nine, it was really steady and I had all pars. Then I had two birdies in a row and was feeling good but missed some putts coming in.”
Regarding her approach to the final round, she added: “I’ve been nervous all week, for all of the two weeks actually. I’ll just stay steady. I know I’m hitting the ball really well and just waiting for those putts to drop. I’m just going to try and have some fun. It’s really fun to travel and be so far away from home. I’m just going to enjoy it and have fun with my mum, who’s caddying.”
At 12-under-par, the 22-year-old from Wisconsin is two strokes ahead of Manon Molle from France, who played on home course, Palm Golf Ourika, having relocated to Marrakech three months ago to live with her family, including her brother-in-law, who is the Director of Golf at the venue.
She said: “I think my local knowledge is helping because I know some tricks on this course. I know where to go and where I shouldn’t be going and I know the greens pretty well, so it’s helpful to practice here every day, for sure. I also have a local caddie, Youssef, I’ve known since July.
“Today, my front nine was really rough and I shot one-over, but I birdied 11 and 12 and had an eagle on 15, so that helped me a lot. I just fought through it because I was kind of stressed out and nervous but my back nine was really good. I made the eagle by playing on the left side of the fairway, on the par-3 14th and I had 190 metres to the pin so I hit 3-wood and it rolled to within three metres of the flag. Tomorrow I’ll try not to stress out as much on the first tee and just play my golf.”
Elina Numenpaa of Finland occupies solo third position on eight-under-par and will play in the last group on Wednesday with Danielson and Molle, teeing off at 10.29am local time.
