Irish amateur Canice Screene was the surprise package on day one of the Final Stage of Ladies European Tour Q-School as she fired her first ever bogey-free round in competition to surge into contention for a card.
The 23-year-old, who is currently studying for a master’s at University College London came through the pre-qualifier on the mark last week but was in flying form today, rolling in birdies on the first, fifth, sixth, 14th and 17th holes.
The Irish Women’s Close champion who hails from Croham Hurst in England signed for a five-under 68 to trail the lead by just two shots in Morocco.
“That’s the first time ever I have been bogey-free! I started off with a birdie which was nice and then I finally rolled some putts in,” said Screene who lies in fourth place.
“They were almost there last week, so it was nice to have them finally go in. I holed a couple of good par putts to keep the momentum going, but overall, it was pretty steady.
Screene has her father as a caddie this week and no matter what happens from here, today was a special day for her.
“My dad is my caddie – he’s the best! I love having him as my caddie, we work really well together. I do most things myself so he’s there for the conversation and to make sure the clubs are clean. He’s great.”
The qualifier is taking place over five rounds with Screene going low on the AMG Course at Lalla Aicha but she will tackle the Royal tomorrow.
“Even though it’s seemingly tight [at Royal], I don’t think it’s too bad. I have played courses that are worse. You can be as aggressive with your approach shots and the greens aren’t incredibly quick, so I’m going to try and do the same thing.”
It was a good start for the Irish overall on day one as Sara Byrne carded a four-under-par round of 68 on the Royal course despite carving up the front nine in just 30 strokes (-6).
Elm Park’s Anna Foster who co-led pre-qualifying last week carded a two-under 71 on the AMG Course.
Olivia Mehaffey has work to do from level-par after a double bogey on her 14th hole and a bogey on her 16th scuppered her round as she settled for a 73 at the AMG course.
Castlerock’s Annabel Wilson is three-over after a 75 on the Royal Course.
Status received upon successful completion:
- Category 12: Qualifying-School Top 20 – Players finishing Nos. 1-20 (and ties)
- Category 16: #21-50 Qualifying-School – Players finishing Nos. 21-50 (and ties)
- Category 19: Remaining Final Qualifiers – Players finishing outside the Top 50 and ties
Scoring HERE
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