Pre-Qualifying for Lalla Aicha Q-School on the Ladies European Tour (LET) is now complete across four different courses in Marrakech, Morocco.
Following three rounds of action at Fairmont Royal Palm Golf & Country Club, Noria Golf Club, PalmGolf Marrakech Ourika and Samanah Golf by Nicklaus, a total of 90 players have made it through to the Final-Qualifier which takes place next week between 16-20 December.
Here is an in-depth look at who has made it through after the third and final round of Pre-Qualifiers in Marrakech…
DONEGAN DOMINANTES AT FAIRMONT
Beginning with Fairmont, Ireland’s Aine Donegan continued where she left off yesterday following up round two’s 66 (-6) with a brilliant 67 (-5). The 2024 Curtis Cup winner finished the Pre-Qualifier with a score of 13-under par, five shots clear of the next best score.
Donegan said: “Everything was pretty solid this week, both golf wise and mentally, I never really got ahead of myself today knowing I had the lead. I just stayed patient and kept thinking about the next shot. I was really happy with how I kept myself together.
“I’ve got to completely forget about this week now. Next week is a totally new tournament across two different courses. I’ll take it shot by shot and one day at a time. It’s a marathon not a sprint and I’ll just try to enjoy it. So far I’ve had a great time. I’ll have some rest tomorrow then get back to it next week.”
Finishing in a tie for second were England’s Jess Baker and Finland’s Katri Bakker. South Africa’s Gabriella Venter finished solo fourth on three-under par with Spain’s Constanza Guerrero fifth.
South African amateur Jordan Rothman bettered yesterday’s score by seven shots to finish sixth alongside Switzerland’s Elena Colombo and English duo Chantal El Chaib and Lianna Bailey.
“I like playing under pressure,” Rothman said. “I just told myself to stay calm and stay focused. The goal was to qualify so it made my game a little easier. I’m unbelievably happy. It was quite the journey to get here. A lot of obstacles so just to be able to make it through means everything.”
A total of 21 players made it through at Fairmont. The full leaderboard can be found here.
SIMMERMACHER TOPS LEADERBOARD AT NORIA
Argentina’s Magdalena Simmermacher produced a final round of 71 (-2) to win the Pre-Qualifier at Noria by one shot. The 29-year-old dropped her only shot of the day on the 17th but rolled in a birdie on the 3rd before back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15 to win with a total of five-under-par.
American Anna Morgan also signed for a final day 71 (-2) to end the week in solo second after a round that included four birdies and two bogeys. India’s Tvesa Malik was third on three-under after a level-par round with a birdie on the fourth and a bogey on the 17th amongst her 16 pars.
On the marathon of Q-School, Malik said: “I’ve realised now that less is more. It’s hard to do that at Q-School, but I’m just trying to pace myself and make sure I’m feeling good for the final rounds of next week. I’ll now do what I need to do to recover but won’t overdo it too much.”
Germany’s Christin Eisenbeiss and USA’s Sarah Kahn finished in a share of fourth place on two-under-par. Overnight leader Victoria Gailey of the USA made it through to the Final-Qualifier after a tough final day which saw her finish in solo sixth.
Chilean amateur Michelle Melandri was seventh with four players in T8. A total of 26 players including six amateurs from Noria made it through to the Final-Qualifier which begins on 16 December. The full leaderboard can be found here.
MOODLEY WINS BY FOUR AT SAMANAH PRE-QUALIFIER
South Africa’s Kaiyuree Moodley fired a final round of 68 (-4) to win the Pre-Qualifier at Samanah. The 24-year-old produced another consistent day in Morocco rolling in five birdies and only dropping one shot on day three to win with a total of 11-under-par.
“Today was a good round, I knew I wanted to shoot level and didn’t have to do anything special, but I wanted to keep the momentum going for next week,” said Moodley. “I took it one shot at a time. I was happy with the pars, I made one bogey again today. I was hitting every fairway and green and made some good putts.
“Q-School for the second time around has been a bit easier, I think I have been more prepared playing a season on the LET. I got lucky that I played in the same Pre-Qualifying course that I did last year. I’m definitely taking a rest, my body is a little bit tired. It’s good to have the same mindset. I got to play in the final stage last year, so I have my notes from last year which helps make Final Stage a little bit easier.”
Jennifer Rosenberg from the USA finished in solo second place after a final round of 66 (-6) which included seven birdies.
“I wasn’t too nervous,” said the American. “I just knew I needed to put up a decent score. Today I couldn’t miss anything. Everything I looked at went in, I laughed at some points. I definitely want to keep the momentum going for next week. I’ve done this Pre-Qualifier two other times now, so the experience definitely helped me but also having an awesome caddie on my bag Johnny Lane.
“I always thought the LET could be awesome to play on and I have a few friends on the Tour and they say great things. I know it would be a great opportunity to play on the LET and being able to travel around the world would be a bonus.”
Iceland’s Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir was third with Nigeria’s Georgia Iziemgbe Oboh in fourth with three players tied for fifth. A total of 21 players made it through to the Final-Qualifier from Samanah including England’s Thaila Kirby, who produced a clutch finish of a birdie and a hole-out eagle to make it on the number.
“I honestly can’t believe it! I hit a really nice shot into the par-3 17th and made birdie, and knowing my situation and where I was on the leaderboard, I was just focused on trying to make another birdie up 18,” said Kirby. “Walking up to the green and seeing the ball already in the hole for eagle was a completely surreal moment. Me and my caddie even joked, walking to the 17th tee, about holing out on 17 or 18 — so for it to actually happen was unbelievable.”
The full leaderboard can be found here.
OURIKA
Finally at PalmGolf Ourika, Thailand’s Kan Bunnabodee topped the standings on 10-under par having lead for all three rounds. Caitlyn Macnab finished in second on seven-under par with Northern Ireland’s Olivia Mehaffey third on five-under par.
“Q-School has been great so far,” Macnab said. “I think playing in the LPGA stages 1 and 2 of Q-Series has helped me settle in and know what to expect. I’m trying to stay very task focused and execute the game plan I have set out for myself. I know that this is a marathon and not a sprint.”
A total of 22 players from PalmGolf Ourika made it through to next week’s Final-Qualifier in Marrakech. This includes Brazilian amateur Lauren Grinberg and Abegail Arevalo of the Philippines who overcame a disastrous 82 (+10) to finish T17 thanks to cards of 70-69.
“I had a pretty good week,” Grinberg said. “Of course I was a little nervous on the first tee, it’s my first time playing Q-School. But I was confident with my game. I had my coach as my caddie so that was really good for me. I tried to enjoy and thankfully it was enough.”
While on her phenomenal turnaround, Arevalo commented: “After my first round I felt really upset because it was a terrible score. But I did my best to get rid of the negative feelings. I called my mental coach right away and told him what happened. But I realised I was so robotic and stiff. It’s very mental. When I told him that, we immediately shifted our perspective. Instead of being upset with the score, we were excited on to the second round.”
The full leaderboard can be found here.
Next week will see the Final-Qualifier take place between 16-20 December at Royal Golf Marrakech & Al Maaden Golf Marrakech. Players will alternate between each course over the first four rounds with the fifth and final round being staged at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech.
You can follow along across our social media pages and YouTube channel: @LETgolf and @LETAccess on Instagram and X, Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #LallaAichaQSchool.
