A sun-soaked first round at the Islantilla Open ends with five stars tied at the top. Fernanda Lira, Amaia Latorre, Laura Beveridge, Margot Rouquette and amateur Alice Kong are all locked on three-under par.
Lira, chasing her first European win, got the ball rolling on Thursday morning as she posted a 69 (-3) of five birdies and two bogeys at DoubleTree by Hilton Islantilla Golf Resort.
“There are some complicated holes but overall, it felt easy.” the 30-year-old said.
“I’m enjoying it out here in Spain. It always helps speaking the language and I’m excited to go to the beach today hopefully after the round.”
Lira moved from the Epson Tour to the LET last season after earning a card at the 2023 Lalla Aicha Qualifying school. She also fired a course record at Al Maaden with a total of 11-under-par.
The Mexican enters this event having dominated the AIG Women’s Pre-Qualifying on Monday,
Lira led the way at Delamere Forest with an impressive seven-under-par 64, which included an eagle on the par-4 10th.
The Mexican finished four strokes clear of the rest of the chasing pack.
“I feel like I’ve got some momentum. I played solid in Sweden and then I come into this tournament with a great finish at the AIG Women’s Open pre-qualifying at Delamere.”
Leading the home charge, Spain’s Amaia Latorre got off to a shaky start on the front nine and sat on two-over-par before firing up the flatstick in the back nine to card three birdies and one eagle.
“My drives were great today and the eagle chip from the bunker helped.
“Having my mum on the bag really helped me to calm down and start producing some solid golf on the back nine.”
Latorre is enjoying home comforts this week playing at home and loves having both her parents out supporting her.
“Both my parents are out here with me this week. Dad was watching, searching for balls too and being a calming influence out here.”
“Yesterday we went to the beach and that was the best thing I could have done as it took my mind off the golf.”
On paper, this is Latorre’s strongest season with two top 10 finishes on LETAS and five cuts made on the LET, including a top 20 finish.
Yet behind the scenes the Spaniard has been struggling with fatigue.
“The last nine weeks have been busy playing on the LET and LETAS. I have struggled, so this week is all about enjoying the game and soaking up the atmosphere.
“At times I have compared myself too much to other players. I lost my confidence that I had at the beginning of the season. Navigating two tours has been tough.”
Already a winner this season, having clinched victory at the AMUNDI Czech Ladies Open. 15-year-old Alice Kong held her own against the professionals once again carding an almost faultless round with only one missed shot on the 17th.
“I played well with only one mistake. I just played my game and didn’t miss any fairways. I put the ball in a good spot and rolled in some good putts.”
Kong has played three events on Tour this season and has recorded three top 10 finishes. Yet she wants to forget her previous results on the course.
“For me this is a completely new week. It’s a new tournament. I wanted to play because I like to test my game against the professionals and get some good weather. I like playing LETAS events as I learn a lot from the professionals.”
After winning in Czech, the 83rd ranked player on WAGR planned to play the Annika Invitational Europe but had to pull out after injuring her back with a golf bag.
Kong enters this tournament having won a silver medal with Team France at the 2025 European Ladies’ Team Championship.
“I’m all recovered now and excited to bring my game again. I think the course is nice and I’m enjoying playing it.”
Experienced LET player Scotland’s Laura Beveridge got off to a strong start despite only playing half the course in practice.
“I arrived at the tournament yesterday to save on EU days. I hadn’t seen the back nine and had just played the front nine which is trickier, so it was nice to just rely on my husband’s instruction and play the course as I saw it.
“I felt we missed it in the right places. It’s a fun course. Someone made a comment to me before coming out how tricky the course is, so we decided to just have fun today and it worked.”
Beveridge has played between LETAS and the LET this season. Her highest finish has been eighth in Portugal at the Super Bock Ladies Open.
Two weeks ago, she recorded a top 20 finish at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open.
“Tomorrow, I want to keep the easy-going attitude and tell myself that we will have fun tomorrow. I got lucky with some of the putts today. I feel like they can go in as much as they can go out so I will need to stay patient on the greens.”
Playing two groups behind Beveridge, LETAS Rookie Margot Rouquette had an excellent day in the office to share the lead after day one.
“Everything went my way today. It’s a little hot for me but we got used to it and I’m hoping for a cooler morning tomorrow.
“I’m enjoying the venue, everything is made for us.”
A former French national ice hockey player, Rouquette is enjoying her rookie season on Tour.
“I didn’t expect everyone to be so friendly. I couldn’t have asked for a better rookie season so far.
“Tomorrow, I want to stay relaxed, not put too much pressure on myself. I want to stay being my usual funny self and not think about the score too much.”
Further down the leaderboard, England’s Jessica Hall and Lauren Horsford sit tied for sixth on two-under-par whilst five players are tied for eighth.
The second round begins at 8:30 local time. At the end of 36 holes there will be a cut to the top 45 professionals and ties.
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