The first round of Final Qualifying for Lalla Aicha Q-School is now complete in Morocco with seven players tied at the top on five-under par.
After the Final Stage of Ladies European Tour (LET) qualifying school was reduced to 72 holes due to heavy rainfall on Tuesday, round one resumed on Wednesday with 155 players taking to Al Maaden Golf Marrakech and Royal Golf Marrakech.
Following the first 18 holes of action, Wales’ Ffion Tynan, South Africa’s Caitlyn Macnab, Iceland’s Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir, Nigeria’s Georgia Oboh, Isle of Man’s Ana Dawson, Poland’s Dorota Zalewska and Mexico’s Alejandra Llaneza lead the way on five-under par.
Six of this group fired rounds of 68 (-5) at Al Maaden with Zalewska carding the low round of the day 67 (-5) at the tree-lined Royal Golf Marrakech.
Teeing up at Lalla Aicha Q-School for the very first time, Welsh amateur Tynan had a stellar opening day carding four birdies and one eagle at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech. This comes after the 22-year-old made it through last week’s Pre-Qualifier at Noria Golf Club.
“I stayed pretty patient out there and had a lot of fun,” Tynan said. “I hit a lot of par-5s in two which always helps. I then holed a lot more putts than I did last week at Noria. That gave me a lot of confidence. I
“It’s been so fun so far. I’m here with my best friend on the bag. We’ve had a good time and have been watching Christmas movies all week. Q-School is a long two weeks, so it’s all about staying steady and not getting too far ahead of yourself.
“Another one of my best friends is playing this week, Luca [Thompson], we grew up playing together. For such a small country [Wales] to be doing so well on Tour and have so many girls coming out on the scene, it’s pretty encouraging for the next generation.”
Another first-timer at Lalla Aicha Q-School, Macnab, also started strong matching Tynan’s round despite being in the hospital with sickness last night. The 23-year-old had an eventful day making eight birdies and dropping three shots.
Macnab said: “I was in the hospital until 1am in the morning last night with my caddie. I’m just glad I was able to play so to be able to start how I did was awesome. It was a mental grind as I’m still not feeling too great. I got some tests done but thankfully all good. I got put on an IV and feel like a new person.
“I played the par-5s really well and hit every green apart from two. I sunk some long putts too which is always nice. It’s nice to be peaking at the right time. I’ve worked hard with my coach. His wife, Nicole Garcia, who’s been on Tour for years, also gave me a couple words of advice beforehand.”
In a similar vein, Mexico’s Llaneza fought through an infection to join our group on five-under par late into the day at Al Maaden. The 2016 Olympian was not able to practice this week due to pain in her lower body but managed eight birdies on day one.
“It’s been a rollercoaster of a week,” Llaneza said. “I spent my first night in Morocco in the hospital so that was pretty scary. I’ve been fighting a skin infection all week and even this morning didn’t know if I would be able to play. I was just taking it one swing at a time. My caddie [Harry Ewing] was great today, he guided me through because I literally couldn’t play a practice round. I’m very happy and very grateful to all the people who I’ve had around me supporting me.”
Elsewhere, Dawson experienced a “golfing highlight” as she made a magnificent albatross on the par-5 13th at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech.
On carding the rarest of birds, the 25-year-old said: “I was not expecting it to go in! I couldn’t quite see it and it was my playing partner who said someone put their hand up. I hit a really good drive and then I actually thought my number was really awkward which was funny. I hit a 5-wood and it was a really good shot.
“I think this is way better than a hole-in-one. My hole-in-ones have all been short, maybe only about 130 yards, so to add another 100 yards on to that is pretty cool. This is definitely my golfing highlight!”
Eight players sit a tie for eighth on four-under par. This group includes England’s Meghan MacLaren – a three-time winner on the LET – France’s Charlotte Liautier, Spanish duo Julia Lopez Ramirez and Harang Lee, Germany’s Isi Gabsa, Dutch amateur Hester Sicking, Australia’s Justice Bosio and Sweden’s Louisa Carlbom.
The highest ranked player in the field, World No 53 Ingrid Lindblad from Sweden, is one back on three-under par. She shares T16 position with 13 other players including LET stalwarts Eleanor Givens and Emma Grechi.
The second round of Final Qualifying for Lalla Aicha Q-School gets underway on Thursday morning at 9:40am local time. The field will now rotate and play the opposite course they competed at during round one.
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 – #LallaAichaQSchool.
