With places at the Final Qualifier of Lalla Aicha Q-School at stake, the end of the first day of the Pre-Qualifier Marrakech is complete.
India’s Vidhatri Urs leads at Samanah Golf, Finland’s Elina Nummenpaa is top of the leaderboard at Rotana, America’s Zoe Slaughter leads the field at Palm Golf Ourika, while three sit at the top at Noria.
Here is a more in-depth look at the first day of the Pre-Qualifier Marrakech.
URS GOES BOGEY-FREE TO HOLD THE LEAD AT SAMANAH
India’s Vidhatri Urs produced a 68 (-4) on day one to lead by two shots in the Pre-Qualifier being held at Samanah Golf in Marrakech.
The 18-year-old produced three birdies on the front nine on the 5th, 6th, and 8th holes and she continued her form on the back nine with another birdie on 13th to top the leaderboard.
“I hit the ball well today and my putt was good,” said Urs. “I haven’t putted this well in while now. Two or three holes I was pretty close, and I had two good putts. I’ve been prepping for this week from a very long time. I’m trying to keep consistent.
“It was quite windy to start with compared to yesterday. It was much better, still pretty cold but not too bad.”
Urs, who is cousins with LET player Pranavi Urs, explained that they try and play together as much as they can when they’re at home. She has Johnny Lane on her bag this week for the first time.
Two players sit in a tie for second place with Scottish amateur Lorna Mcclymont and England’s Rosie Belsham on two-under-par.
Mcclymont had two birdies on the front nine and two on the back, finishing the round with a score of 70 (-2)
“It was a pretty solid day today,” said the Scot, who recently graduated from the University of Stirling after studying Sports Sciences. “From start to finish, there were a few mistakes, but I gained confidence throughout and was good.
“The birdie at the first hole was great. I’ve had some good drives and then good putts throughout the day. Leading into this week I’ve put no pressure on myself, just wanted to enjoy it. It’s a new experience, and just want to take it all in.
“Living in Scotland, when the weather is windy and cold it is hard to replicate the same conditions when you’re on the move, but you have to work with what you’ve got. Make the practice as efficient as possible, then that transfers when you get to warmer weather.”
England’s Belsham was pleased with her day also carding a 70 (-2) and has Paul Drummond on her bag this week, who caddies on the LET.
“Really happy, I was solid,” said Belsham. “It was not easy out there, but I just targeted my golf game, hit greens up, I putt it well. I’ve been friends with the greens today and hit the fairways well.
“18 was a good birdie for me, my best drive in the day for sure, I hit a hard 50 and hit it in the right spot below the hole to hold the putt. It gave me a nice confidence going through nine at two-under.
“On my other birdie I didn’t have the best drive, just hit a solid chip and a solid putt for a nice, easy birdie. There wasn’t many to be had out there, just kind of had to hit it close.”
Belsham has been busy prepping for this week and avoiding the cold as much as possible.
“I arrived last weekend, played bit of golf over here. This was good as I could get used to the environment and then I’ve been practicing a bit over in Spain, just getting used to the greens. They’re so different to what I’ve played over in America for the last four years,” said Belsham.
Thailand’s Tunrada Piddon, who has her sister on her bag this week, produced a round of 71 which included five birdies and four bogeys at Samanah Golf.
“It was a bit of rough start,” said the Thai player. “I was pretty cold at the at the beginning and didn’t hit my best, with three bogeys in the front nine.
“Then for the back nine, I tried to jump back and focus my game. I was then able to get four birdies at the back, so that was good. My best one was probably the last. I had a three-feet putt with a birdie, so that was quite nice.
“This week I’m trying to not put too much pressure on myself, and just go out and play my best. Keep calm, stick with the plan and hope for the best.”
Japan’s Marin Mizuno and Spain’s Miriam Ayora are also tied in fourth place alongside Piddon. Ayora is making her debut at Q-School this week.
The full leaderboard can be found here.
NUMMENPAA LEADS BY TWO SHOTS AT ROTANA
Finland’s Elina Nummenpaa fired an opening round of 67 (-5) to hold a two-shot lead at the end of the first day of the Pre-Qualifier at Golf Club Rotana.
The Finn began her first round from the 10th tee with a bogey, but she soon changed her momentum in Morocco with a flurry of birdies.
After rolling in her first birdie on the 12th, she then added back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15 with another on 17 to make the turn in three-under.
Nummenpaa, who had a best finish of T18 on the LET in 2024, made further birdies on the second and third holes to seal a round of five-under and sit at the top of the leaderboard.
“The conditions were great today, very Moroccan! There wasn’t much wind and after a typical cold morning, the sun came out and it warmed up,” said the Finn.
“I started with a three-putt on my first hole but then I got the round going after that. I hit some good shots and good putts and felt I was in the game.
“My last LET event was the Hero Women’s Indian Open, I went home and then before Q-School I went to Portugal to practice for five days before coming to Morocco last Wednesday.”
Two players sit in a share of second place on three-under-par with England’s Ellen Hume and France’s Agathe Laisne both producing rounds of 69.
Englishwoman Hume teed off from the first and made an eagle on hole seven, she dropped a shot on the 12th but then rolled in birdies on 13 and 17 to card an opening round of 69 (-3).
It was a colourful scorecard for France’s Laisne as she had seven birdies and four bogeys on her scorecard to also be on three-under-par.
“The course was good, there were lots of ups and downs in my round,” said Laisne. “The best part of my game were my irons, I was able to have great looks at birdies.
“On the front nine, I had birdies that were within two metres and on 17, my birdie was a tap-in. Then I had other putts which were between one and six metres for birdie, so that was my longest birdie putt of the day.
“In preparing for Q-School, I have been doing lots of things such as trajectory shots, up-and-down contests with putting after chipping the ball. I have been driving multiple balls and playing the worst ball each time for every shot and playing for maximum birdies on nine holes.”
Four players are one shot further back with Canadian duo Selena Costabile and Anna Huang alongside Austria’s Chantal Dueringer and England’s Lauren Horsford all on two-under-par. Meanwhile, seven players are in a share of eighth place on one-under-par.
The full leaderboard can be found here.
SLAUGHTER SECURES EIGHT BIRDIES TO BE IN FRONT ON DAY ONE AT PALM GOLF
America’s Zoe Slaughter fired a round of 65 (-7) to sit atop the leaderboard at Palm Golf Ourika at the end of day one of the Pre-Qualifier.
Slaughter, who has her Mum on her bag this week, had back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, followed by four birdies on the trot, with the last on 18 to seal a seven-under round.
“I putted very well today and had good speed control which helped me a lot,” said Slaughter, “I feel that I had a great strategy going into today and was able to stick to it.
“The last four birdies were kind of unexpected, I hit three shots very close to the pin, then the other birdie I made a long putt to help me gain momentum. I had the same game plan for both, but on the back nine I just hit it much closer to help me create good birdie opportunities to take advantage of.
“Going into this week I’ve been playing a lot of golf and getting many 18-hole rounds under my belt to feel comfortable with my game. I think that was able to give me a lot of confidence.
“The course is in great shape and I feel like it can relate to some courses in the United States that I am familiar with.”
Darcey Harry, from Wales, is two shots behind, securing a 67 for the first round. The 21-year-old amateur had back-to-back birdies on 5th and 6th, followed by 14th and 15th, with another birdie on 11. She finished her impressive round with an eagle on 18.
“I played very well today, making sure to hit as many fairways and greens as I possibly could,” said Harry. “The course plays quite long so I found keeping to a good strategy on the par-5s especially really helped my score today.
“I had five really good birdies where I put myself in the correct place on the greens and my putting was very good today. I had an eagle on the last which definitely helped my score, but I was able to get to the 18th in two, so I had a goal of birding the hole anyway but knocked it close on my second shot.
“It’s definitely nerve-wracking starting off the first round of Q school, so I tried to keep calm and play a good game for the front nine until I settled into the playing conditions.
“I’ve been away with Team Wales, and in Portugal the week before for a training camp which has certainly prepped me well for this week.
“I have one of my coaches Paul Williams on the bag this week which has already been so much fun and I’ve learnt a lot having him here and definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it without him.”
Korea’s Ayeon Yang and Ireland’s Anna Foster are tied in third place, the duo both secured four birdies on their scorecard with Foster also making an eagle on the 15th hole.
Three players sit in a tie for fifth place on two-under-par with three players one shot further back in T8.
The full leaderboard can be found here.
SHIM, BORRELLI AND SINGH TOP THE LEADERBOARD AT NORIA
Three players fired rounds of 69 (-4) to sit at the top of a congested leaderboard in the Pre-Qualifier at Noria Golf Club.
American duo Ashely Shim and Annika Borrelli and India’s Sneha Singh are in a share of first place at the end of day one.
21-year-old Shim set the clubhouse lead with seven birdies and three bogeys on her scorecard in Morocco and she was soon joined by her fellow American.
It was a good day for Borrelli, who only dropped one shot in her round of four-under, making birdies on the second, fifth, sixth, 14th and 18th holes at Noria.
“Today’s round felt like all the physical and mental practice I’ve put in paid off,” said the 24-year-old. “I stuck to my routine, focused when needed to, and really had a good time being out there. The course is playing nicely, and greens are rolling nicely as well.
“The best part of my game was managing the par-5s, attacking the pins and giving myself good looks at birdies. My best birdie was #6, I hit a 7-iron right at the hole to three feet for a good birdie!
“After the Epson Tour, I took some time off to regroup. I had a good gameplan to prepare with my team and enjoy the process as well.
“I wanted to come to the LET to experience something new and challenging. I have been on Epson for the last two years and wanted a new experience.”
Late in the day, the duo were joined by India’s Singh who also had a similar day with six birdies and two bogeys on her scorecard.
“It was a good round overall for me,” said Singh. “It was great and chilly weather as well. My putting was good today, other than the putt which I missed on the par-5 hole 1, which was about two feet and was for a birdie.
“All the birdies I made were really solid and good putts and if I am not mistaken all of them were between 10 – 25 feet, so there were no tap-ins.
“It’s been pretty hard to be honest preparing for Q-School, it’s one of my goals to be playing on this Tour and I absolutely love the Tour.”
One shot further back, there are three players in a share of fourth place with American Olivia Schmidt, Argentinian amateur Ela Anacona and Hong Kong’s Ginnie Ding all on three-under-par.
Schmidt and Anacona both had eagles on their scorecards on the first day of action in Marrakech, as they aim to make it through to next week’s Final Qualifier. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s Olivia Mehaffey and Spain’s Maria Parra are in T7 on one-under at the end of 18 holes.
The full leaderboard can be found here.
