Cecilie Leth-Nissen began her season in style firing a round of 66 (-6) to lead by one at the end of the first day of action at the 2026 Madaëf Golfs Ladies Open by MSE.
The Danish star had a flawless first round in the season-opening event on the LET Access Series (LETAS) at Royal Golf de Fes.
Leth-Nissen, who won on LETAS as an amateur, rolled in birdies on the second, fourth, seventh, ninth, 11th and 13th holes to seal a round of six-under 66.
“I had a pretty chilled day, I was on the course and even though it was very windy, it was nice and easy to play today,” said Leth-Nissen. “It was very effortless, all the birdies just came very naturally. I had a lot of fairways, greens and holed putts.
“The birdie I made on the fourth hole was my favourite because I hit it into the bunker off the tee and then after I hit pretty good shots to get the birdie.
“It’s been pretty cold in Denmark the last few months, so I went to Spain a couple of weeks ago to get ready to play this season – that has been great. It’s a really good course, most of the holes are straightforward and I like that you have to be pretty precise on the greens because they’re quite small.”
Leth-Nissen’s younger sister Amalie secured her Ladies European Tour (LET) card through LETAS in 2025 finishing seventh in the Order of Merit.
She added: “It was incredible to see what she [Amalie] did last year, just every single tournament in the first round she was six or seven-under. It was unbelievable. We play together all the time and I do beat her, so I know I can do it as well.”
Canada’s Ashley Chow is in second place on the leaderboard, one stroke behind the Dane after her round of 67 (-5) on day one.
Chow, who is making her debut on LETAS, made birdies on the second, fourth, seventh and ninth holes. She added a further birdie on the 13th before dropping her only shot of the day on 14, but she bounced back with a birdie on 16 to finish at five-under-par.
“I’m super pleased,” said Chow. “It’s the first event of the season; you want to have a good start. I feel like I practiced a lot over the winter, so to see it come out on the course in the scores definitely is very rewarding and makes you feel like all the work you’ve put in is going somewhere.
“Definitely my putting was good, which is typically when you have the birdies. When I got here this week because it was a bit on the colder side, I haven’t hit that much, and I have been mostly just practicing and getting a feel for the greens. I have a good line and feel for the weight. I was lucky sometimes when they were just dropping.”
Spain’s Clara Moyano Reigosa and England’s Jessica Hall are in a share of third place after they both produced rounds of 70 (-2) in Morocco.
Moyano had four birdies and two bogeys on her scorecard and has LET winner Maria Hernandez on her bag this week.
“I started pretty slowly and then I got better throughout the round. I just stayed patient and focused on what I needed to do throughout the round. I kept giving myself opportunities and they just went in,” said Moyano.
“The conditions depended on the moment, I stayed in the present and focused on what I needed to do. I didn’t feel like the conditions were that awful, but it was tough today the whole day – maybe the last few holes were a little better.
“I gave myself a few opportunities on the par-fives and capitalised on all but one. I gave myself chances on par-4s and had two putts drop in.
“My caddie [Maria] is doing quite a lot to be honest. It’s nice to have her on the bag, she has a lot of experience and she knows how to deal with me when I cannot deal with myself. She caddied for me a few times before, we’re getting used to each other and she’s helping me more.”
Six players are one shot further back with Finland’s Katri Bakker, Switzerland’s Katarina Drocarova, Austria’s Johanna Ebner, French amateur Alice Kong and Italy’s Maria Vittoria Corbi all on one-under.
It was a good round for Bakker, who went out in the tougher morning conditions, and led after the morning wave.
“The beginning was kind of rusty coming from indoors in Finland, but the wind and the cold I’m used to it living in Finland,” said Bakker. “The back nine, I got it going and got a few birdie putts too.
“I feel my game is in good shape, but I’m getting used to playing. I like that the front and back nine are different to each other. The front has smaller greens and is a little shorter, but I like I can reach the par-fives, so there are some good birdie chances.
“Tomorrow I will continue from the feeling I got from the back nine and continue to sink some putts. My 17th hole, which was the eighth, I hit a 5-iron to one metre so that was the shot of the day.”
Round two begins at 8.30 am (local time) at Royal Golf de Fes where there will be a cut to the top 45 professionals and ties at the end of the day.
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