- Caroline Martens wins Lalla Aicha Tour School by Eight Strokes
- Nobuhle Dlamini qualifies, becoming first representative from Swaziland on LET
- Lucie Andre records hole-in-one during final round at Samanah Golf Club
- 31 players finished at +2 or better earning Category 8a Membership for 2014
MARRAKECH, MOROCCO – December 18, 2013: Caroline Martens saved the best until last as she fired an eight-under-par 64 during the fifth and final round of Lalla Aicha Tour School for the 2014 Ladies European Tour season in Morocco.
The 26-year-old Norwegian posted eight birdies at Samanah Golf Club in Marrakech on a warm and breezy day to end eight strokes ahead of the field on 13-under-par.
“It feels fantastic. I played ridiculously well and didn’t make any mistakes out there. I was striking the ball perfect, I was putting well. It was a fantastic round of golf: the best I’ve ever played,” said Martens, who had her mother, Ingrid, on caddie duties.
“The one word I kept on thinking on every shot, every day, was patience. Like, ‘It’s a marathon of a week, I have to be patient; it’s not over until it’s over. Even on the last putt on 18, I just kept saying to myself, I need to be patient, I need to be patient, just breathe, take one shot at a time, don’t get ahead of yourself and enjoy the moment really.”
Having previously held Category 9b membership of the LET in 2012, Martens kept competitive by playing on the LET Access Series in 2013, but dislocated both of her shoulders during a tournament in Sweden in early September.
“It’s been such a difficult year and I’ve worked so hard. Having this week going the way it did, it makes me feel like all the hard work I’ve put into it really paid off. I’m really looking forward to next year, getting started and improving on what I did here,” she said.
Sally Watson of Scotland and Germany’s Steffi Kirchmayr shot rounds of 68 and 73 respectively to share second on five-under-par.
A stroke further back were Swedish pair Josephine Janson and Viva Schlasberg, who tied for fourth with amateur Nobuhle Dlamini, who qualified to become the LET’s first representative from Swaziland.
Early in the final round, Lucie Andre used her six-iron to hole-in-one at the third, which was her second ace during an LET qualifying tournament, as she also had one on the North Course at La Manga.
At the end of an emotional and nerve-wracking five days in Marrakech a total of 31 players finished on two-over-par or better, earning Category a Membership of the LET for the 2014 season.
In addition to those already mentioned, new players to qualify included Ariane Provot and Isabelle Boineau of France, South African Kim Williams, Tessa Teachman of the USA, Krista Bakker of Finland, Austrian Nina Muehl, Germany’s Karolin Lampert, England’s Charlotte Thompson and Victoria Lovelady of Brazil.
