Fernanda Lira produced a sensational opening round of 62 (-11) at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech to lead the Final Qualifier by three shots.
The Mexican began her round with a birdie on the first before rolling in an eagle on the fourth and then adding another eagle on the seventh.
Immediately after her second eagle, she rolled in three birdies on the trot on holes eight, nine and ten before adding back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 with her final birdie coming on the 16th hole.
The 28-year-old set a women’s course record at Al Maaden with a total of 11-under-par and holds a three-shot lead at the end of the first day.
“I’m very proud of myself,” she said. “Coming into the last two holes, I didn’t know exactly my number or where I was, but I knew I was standing close to -10 which was my previous best score. I wanted to push for those birdies but ended up with two really good pars.
“I putted really well and really enjoyed the course today. I had a lot of fun. Really, I just made all the putts. I had a 15-footer for eagle and the other [eagle] was about 12 feet.
“They were just set up in the perfect spot. All my putts were dropping in. I only two putted once on the front nine and I had a couple of 360s too which dropped. Today, the golf gods blessed me.”
Lira, who will tee it up at Royal Golf de Marrakech in the second round, finished in second place at last week’s Pre-Qualifier which was played at Samanah Golf after a final round of 65 (-7) and she has carried that momentum into this week.
She explained: “Last week in the pre-qualifier I ended up with a seven-under on the final day. I think that fed into today. I knew I was playing good. I know it’s a long way to go but it’s nice to have an 11-under to start.
“I’ll try to do it again when I’m back here again. I have a good set up with my 3-hybrid so tomorrow I’ll stick to that. It looks much tighter, but it opens up after it’s landed.”
Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes and Slovenia’s Ana Belac sit in a share of second place after they both carded rounds of 65 (-8) at Al Maaden.
The duo were each bogey-free, respectively, with Sobron rolling in eight birdies while Belac had six birdies and an eagle on her scorecard.
“My putter was on fire today! I hit good second shots into the par-5s too which was key. My tee shots were good. I’m very happy,” said Sobron.
“I was practicing a lot before this week and came in with a lot of confidence. I’m very happy with my eight-under. [My caddie Alvaro] was very helpful in reading the greens. The same tomorrow. Hit it straight and hole putts.”
Belac explained: “I was very steady today. I didn’t make any mistakes. I didn’t get off to a quick start, was only two-under after the front nine. But I knew there were a lot of birdies out there and I didn’t get impatient.
“It was a nice finish, I went eagle, birdie, and holed out with a wedge on my second last hole. Overall, it was very stress free. I hit the ball off the tee really well and put myself in lots of good spots.
“It’s nice to start out here and post a low score. I’ll just try to survive tomorrow honestly. I’m trying to take it shot by shot. It’s hard to predict what the scores will be with the courses being so different.”
Spain’s Teresa Diez Moliner and Finland’s Linda Osala are in a tie for fourth place on seven-under-par with England’s Amy Taylor one shot further back in sixth place – the trio all played at Al Maaden.
Six players are in a share of seventh place with Aunchisa Utama, Pranavi Urs, Nataliya Guseva, Shannon Tan, Florentyna Parker and Lakareber Abe all on five-under-par.
Thailand’s Utama fired a bogey-free round of 67 (-5) at Royal Golf de Marrakech with her birdies coming on the first, fourth, 16th, 17th and 18th holes.
“It was a good day for me, my putter is finally back! I had a pretty good day out there,” she said. “The putts were key to my score. I would say most of them were five or six feet that I made.
“I would say my approach shots were alright, they were on the green. They weren’t that close to the hole, but they were in a good position, so I was able to make the putts. Luckily this course is similar to ones in Thailand. I kind of like this style of golf course, it’s very nice.
“I have wanted to play on the LET for so long! A couple of years ago I planned with Trichat [Cheenglab] and I was going to apply to Q-School with her last year, but I couldn’t make it. I have come this year.
“I play together with Trichat at home. She is such an inspiration for us. We have four Thai players here this week – it’s a good thing!”
Guseva, who began her round on the 10th hole, had six birdies and only one dropped shot to start her campaign.
“It was pretty good,” said Guseva. “I just tried to stay in the moment. I’m just back from LPGA Q-Series, I did pretty well there. I just tried to stay with the momentum and to not get ahead of myself and just take it hole by hole and shot by shot.
“It’s a huge confidence for my game. I love the LET and have always dreamed to be out here, so that was always a goal for me. It’s nice to be here!”
The second round begins at 9.30 am (local time) with the players teeing it up on the opposite course to the first round.
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