Lina Belmati played most of her golf on the LET Access Series (LETAS) in 2023 but had to stop halfway through the season due to injury.
The Moroccan player had been struggling with pain while playing and found out she had a tiny fracture in her left hip in August.
Belmati had no choice but to put the golf clubs away for a few months and rest hoping that her injury would heal itself soon.
And now having been able to play again for the past month, the 26-year-old is ready to tee it up in her home country at Lalla Aicha Q-School.
“I have been resting a lot,” she said. “I didn’t have any choice, so I stayed at home for three months. It was difficult to pick up the pace that I was going on LETAS.
“I think I have made a lot of progress this past year and I didn’t want to lose it all so I made an effort this past month to do the most I can. I’m here, I’m at home – it’s nice to play Q-School at home.”
Belmati secured limited status at LET Q-School which was held at La Manga back in December 2021 and has since played a few events on the LET.
The Rabat native played 10 events on LETAS this season which included two top-20 results before she had to take a break.
However, Belmati is thankful for the learning experiences that LETAS has given her and believes playing on the Tour will help her in the future.
She added: “I do everything by myself, I have had a couple of great stories on renting cars and with apartments that I was staying in. It’s really cool to learn that way on LETAS and I think it’s going to be positive for me for the future.”
Coming back from injury isn’t easy and Belmati is making sure not to put any pressure on herself this week.
The Moroccan will tee it up in the first round of the Pre-Qualifier at Noria Golf at 9.52 am local time alongside amateurs Esme Hamilton and Penelope Brown.
Playing in her home country, Belmati is enjoying the comforts that come with that including knowing the weather and the conditions.
She explained: “Q-School was in Morocco before and they left just before I wanted to play! I never had a chance to play it before in Morocco, I’m pretty happy it’s back here.
“It’s different weather, different courses, I play here and train here so it’s similar to what I train in. It’s pretty cool and I’m happy and I’m surrounded by Moroccans that I can talk to in every corner of the golf course.
“I’m going to do my best as always, if it happens then it’s great and if not then it’s okay and I’m going to play another year on LETAS. It’s lovely to be there, I’m just going to do my best and hopefully, I can do it.”
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