It is still all to play for at Final Qualifying for Lalla Aicha Q-School in Morocco with Thailand’s Napat Lertsadwattana now leading the way through the halfway stage.
Nicknamed ‘Jenny’, Lertsadwattana went low on Thursday firing a bogey-free 65 (-8) at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech to soar to the top of the leaderboard on nine-under par.
The 24-year-old is teeing up at Ladies European Tour (LET) qualifying school for the first time this week having competed on the Epson Tour for the last two seasons. She holds a one-shot lead with Final Qualifying now reduced to 72 holes following heavy rainfall on Tuesday.
“I think today my putts just dropped,” Lertsadwattana said, who missed out on an LPGA card at Q-Series last week. “I had a talk with my coach yesterday, like a two hour call, and I think it helped because everything was working today. It went really well.
“This year I just thought hmm, I want to go to the LET. It’s actually pretty scary to me because I’ve never played in Europe before. It’s a big change. I know of a lot of the Thai players who have competed on the LET so I thought it would be a good decision for me to come and play golf here.”
Lertsadwattana matched her career-best round with the magnificent 65 (-8) and will return to Royal Golf Marrakech tomorrow.
Four players share second spot on eight-under par, a quartet consisting of Spain’s Julia Lopez Ramirez, Nigeria’s Georgia Oboh, plus English duo Meghan MacLaren and Lauren Horsford.
The former, Lopez Ramirez, is ranked World No 109 and competed on the LPGA Tour in 2025. She is now seeking dual membership with the 2026 Solheim Cup just around the corner.
“I think the LET is definitely growing,” the Spaniard said, who fired a round of 69 (-4) on Thursday at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech. “It’s a great part of the tour [landscape] and I’ve always wanted to have status on both tours. It’s good to have the opportunity to play both and I’m excited to experience the LET.”
Lopez Ramirez carded six birdies on Thursday and recovered well after making a double-bogey on the par-5 7th, her 16th hole, hitting two darts into the 8th and 9th to finish birdie-birdie.
“At this course [Al Maaden], you’re able to hit more drivers and take advantage of it,” she explained. “It’s been a good two days and I’ve played very consistent golf. It’s my first time in Morocco and it’s been awesome. Although I definitely thought it would be hotter!”
Elsewhere, three-time LET winner MacLaren is embracing the grind of Q-School as she tees up in Marrakech for the second year in a row. The English star, caddied by fellow LET winner Becky Brewerton, went bogey-free on Thursday to match yesterday’s score and move to eight-under par.
“It’s been solid and I’m very pleased to get two good scores out in my game,” MacLaren said. “I played really well yesterday and felt in control of things. I stayed up to watch Newcastle play last night so I was a little more tired today! I think all the work I’ve done this year, particularly over these last six weeks, means that I feel like I can be a touch off and still put a score together. I think that’s the thing I’m most pleased about.”
Over at the tree-lined Royal Golf Marrakech, Oboh recovered well after bogeying her second hole, the par-4 11th, to card a 69 (-3).
“Going from Al Maaden to Royal, it’s completely different challenge,” the Nigerian explained. “My mum is caddying this week and then my dad is on the sidelines watching and is coaching me. Really, it’s a blessing to have both of them here and to be able to share this experience with them. We’ve spent years together touring, even before the LET, and coming into this year I’m just grateful to be here.”
Four players share sixth on seven-under par, including Alexandra Swayne from the U.S. Virgin Islands who fired a superb 66 (-7) at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech. She sits T6 on the leaderboard alongside Poland’s Dorota Zalewska, Slovenia’s Ana Belac and USA’s Anna Morgan.
A first-timer at Q-School, Morgan was the only member of this group who tee’d up at Royal Golf Marrakech in round two. She carded a 68 (-4) on Thursday to shoot up into the top-10.
“It’s been good [so far],” the American said. “I feel like I’ve been sick the entire time so I’ve been trying to battle that and. But yeah, I’ve enjoyed it and I’m enjoying Morocco. I feel like I just really enjoy being competitive and playing in tournaments. So I’m just trying to have fun out there and hopefully a good golf follows.”
Nine players round out the top-10 on six-under par. This group includes Spanish trio Harang Lee, Marta Sanz Barrio and Carolina Lopez Chacarra, Isle of Man’s Ana Dawson – who had an albatross yesterday – Australia’s Belinda Ji, Ireland’s Aine Donegan, Northern Ireland’s Olivia Mehaffey, and England’s Caley McGinty.
A redraw has now been done for round three with each side of the field switching courses once again. The third round of Final Qualifying for Lalla Aicha Q-School gets underway on Friday morning at 9:30am local time.
A reminder that the top-20 and ties following the conclusion of 72 holes on Saturday 20 December will earn Category 12 status for the 2026 LET season.
Follow Final Qualifying across our social media pages and YouTube channel: @LETgolf and @LETAccess on Instagram and X, Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube ā #LallaAichaQSchool.
