Excellent opening effort for Walsh at LET Q-School Final

Mark McGowan
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Lauren Walsh at the NCAAs (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Mark McGowan

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Lauren Walsh posted a four-under round of 69 on day one of the Ladies European Tour Lalla Aicha Q-School in Marrakech and lies tied for 13th.

Playing on Al Maaden Golf Course in round one of the 90-hole event, Walsh, who successfully navigated preliminary qualifying last week, birdied her opening hole (the 10th) but gave the shot back at 11, and that would be her final bogey of the day. Back-to-back birdies on the par-5 13th and par-4 14th holes moved her to -2 for the day, and she’d reel off five consecutive pars before moving to -3 with a birdie at the par-4 second hole.

Her final birdie of the day came on the fifth, and her four-under total has her provisionally inside the top 20, which is the cutoff point for Category 12 membership for 2024.

Olivia Mehaffey has left herself considerable work to do after an opening three-over on the more difficult Royal Golf Course. Despite making three birdies to just two bogeys, it was a brace of double bogeys that proved most costly for the Tandragee woman. The second double bogey came on the 11th and was particularly crushing as she’d birdied two of the previous three holes to claw her way back to within one of level-par after being three-over through five.

She has 54 holes – two rounds on the Al Maaden and another one on the Royal – to play her way back into the mix, with a cut coming after 72 holes and the top 50 and ties advancing to the final round which will be held on the Royal Course.

Mehaffey lies tied for 106th, but only four off a tie for 40th, and playing the easier of the two courses on day two, she’s far from being out of the picture.

Mexico’s Fernanda Lira leads the way after an incredible 11-under, course record setting 62 on the Al Maaden course on day one. Seven birdies and two eagles featured on her blemish-free card and she is three clear of Ana Belac of Slovenia and Luna Sobron Galmes from Spain.

“I’m very proud of myself,” Lira said. “Coming into the last two holes, I didn’t know exactly my number or where I was, but I knew I was standing close to -10 which was my previous best score. I wanted to push for those birdies but ended up with two really good pars.

“I putted really well and really enjoyed the course today. I had a lot of fun. Really, I just made all the putts. I had a 15-footer for eagle and the other [eagle] was about 12 feet.

“They were just set up in the perfect spot. All my putts were dropping in. I only two putted once on the front nine and I had a couple of 360s too which dropped. Today, the golf gods blessed me.”

Each of the leading six players on day one played on the Al Maaden Course and -5 was the leading score on the Royal Course, where Walsh will compete on day two.

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