Delaney Misses Q School Cut

Tara Delaney saw her strong momentum in the early rounds undone at La Manga, after a fourth round of 79 saw her miss the cut into the final rounds - and a total of five shots off the mark as a result. 

England’s Jodi Ewart continued to lead after the fourth round of the Ladies European Tour’s Final Qualifying School at La Manga Club in Spain on Wednesday as 52 players made the cut, securing their places in the fifth and final round.

Wednesday’s penultimate round represented a chance for the 99 competitors in the field to make a break towards the top 50 and ties and the magic number fell at nine over par.

On Thursday, the remaining 52 competitors will ultimately be targeting the crucial top 30 places and membership of the LET in category 8a.

After the final round, those who finish in positions 31 to 52 will be eligible for Membership in Category 9b, but with fewer chances to play.

As always at Qualifying School, there was drama at the top and bottom of the leader board as the players jostled for position.

At the top of the leader board, Ewart’s overnight lead was cut from seven to four shots, after Swiss amateur Anais Maggetti fired a six under 67 on the South Course to end the day at seven under par.

Maggetti, 21, from Losone, showed what was possible as she reeled off seven birdies and one bogey in the bright and sunny, calm conditions.

She said: “I am very happy and I holed two long putts of 20 metres. Tomorrow I want to play the same as today.”

If Maggetti finishes inside the top 30 places, she will turn professional, but if not will consider her options.

Ewart turned professional in June 2010 and has been honing her game on the US Futures Tour since graduating from New Mexico University, but she said that she endured a frustrating day on the greens.

A fourth round of two over 73 on the North Course gave the 24-year-old from North Yorkshire an 11 under par aggregate total.

Ewart said: “I didn’t get very many chances today. They just weren’t falling at all. I had one bad hole which set me back a couple of shots but nothing really went in.

“I am feeling calm but I got a little frustrated today because I had a couple of unlucky finishes, behind trees and stuff. I got a little bit unlucky and had one bogey and one double. I hit it in a fairway bunker and just got a little bit greedy with my lay-up shot, which was 115. I caught the lip of the bunker and came back in and three putted on top of that. I just had one birdie on the fifth.

“Nothing was dropping. I had so many pars and everything was green in regulation and two putts. It was a pretty boring round and the opposite of yesterday.”

At the other end of the leader board, Russian Maria Verchenova was one of the players who climbed up into the top 52 places moving from tied 55th into a share of 43rd with a one under par 72 on the South Course, but Scotland’s Lynn Kenny went the other way, slipping from tied 49th into joint 76th with a 78 on the North.

While there was misery for some, there was joy for Norwegian Caroline Martens, sitting in a share of 30th position on six over par in total, after she had a hole in one at the second on the North Course. She also had a hole in one on a different hole on the same course the previous year. 

With one day to go, the golfers are facing the last 18 holes of this year’s test, but who will be able to withstand the pressure and produce the goods when it is needed the most?

Ultimately, the higher up the leader board the players finish, the more competitive chances will be available to them during the 2012 season.

If necessary, a play-off will take place to establish first position, to determine who will follow in the footsteps of Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall as recent LET Q-School winners, while if necessary, there will also be a play-off to establish 30th place.

The final round will be played over the South Course starting from two tees at 9.30am on Thursday, with the leading trio of Ewart, Maggetti and Stephanie Kirchmayr, who shares joint third spot with Carlota Ciganda at four under, teeing off the first at 10.50am.

Delaney On Course at La Manga

Tara Delaney carded a third round 74 to finish in share of 36th place and well inside the projected after Tuesdays' round at La Manga in Spain.

England’s Jodi Ewart blew away the rest of the field with a six under par round of 67 in windy conditions on the South Course at La Manga Club in Spain on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old from North Yorkshire fired six birdies to lead the Ladies European Tour’s Final Qualifying School for 2012 by seven strokes with two rounds to play.

Marjet Van der Graaff was on six under par, with Heather Bowie-Young, Stephanie Kirchmayr and Carlota Ciganda four strokes further behind on two under.

Ewart was one of only nine players in the field to break par on a cold and blustery third day in Cartagena, Murcia and she explained: “I felt like I had a little bubble around me today, actually. I’m pretty experienced in the wind.

“We seemed to play a lot in the wind on the Futures Tour and in college. New Mexico is really windy in the spring. Obviously being from England too, I have a lot of experience in the wind and it only really started raining on the last hole.

“They say not to fight it because when you fight it things go wrong and take your medicine when you hit a bad shot or have a bad hole. If you try and fight the wind, the wind is always going to win.”

Ewart, who earned her full card for the LPGA in December, has chosen not to look at any leader boards during the qualifiers. “I’m taking each shot and each hole at a time. I’m really enjoying playing golf out there,” she said.

Teeing off at the 10th, playing into the wind, she was happy to make three pars before collecting her first birdie on the 13th hole. She picked up shots at the 17th and 18th before reeling off three successive birdies from the second.

“My putting actually saved me quite a few times. I didn’t have any bogeys today, so I made some really good par putts and drained a lot of putts from over 15 feet,” she said.

“I had three birdies in a row on the front nine at the second, third and fourth, which was my back nine, because I teed off ten. I would say both two and three were about 15 feet. Four was around six feet. I had 28 putts, 11 fairways and 15 greens.”

Van der Graaff was content with her third round of one under par 72 on the South Course. The 29 year old from Rÿswÿk in Holland said: “I hit it really well and almost every shot was a good hit so that makes it easier.

“I made one bogey and two birdies so I had a solid round and one drop in this weather is pretty good, I think."

She has her friend and fellow LET professional Marieke Nivard on caddie duties this week, while Ewart has chosen not to have a caddie.

Another Dutchwoman, Kyra Van Leeuwen ended the day tied for six on one under par with Clare Queen, Alexandra Villatte and Anais Maggetti, while Maria Beautell shot a four under 69 on the South Course and moved up to tenth place.

First round co-leader Sharmila Nicollet’s 80 saw her slip into a share of 11th on one over par, while fellow first round co-leader Chrisje de Vries was in a share of 14th after a 73.

The 90-hole Final Qualifying School is being played with 36 holes on each of La Manga Club’s North and South courses for the first four rounds with a cut to the leading 50 players and ties after 72 holes. The fifth round will be played on the South Course on Thursday and the top 30 players will earn LET Membership in category 8a.

LET Q School Leaderboard

Delaney Still Chasing as Gillen Retires

Martina Gillen of Beaverstown retired after the second round of  the Ladies European Tour Q School in La Manga, Spain. 

Tara Delaney plays round three on Tuesday with work still to be done to remain within the cut for the first 72 holes.

England’s Jodi Ewart fired a four under par 67 on the North Course at La Manga Club in Spain on Monday to take a one stroke lead after the second round of Final Qualifying School for the 2012 Ladies European Tour season.

The 24-year-old from Middleham in North Yorkshire mixed six birdies with two bogeys for a seven under par 36-hole total of 137.

Alexandra Vilatte

The former Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup player is now poised to achieve a dream double after earning her LPGA Tour card in December.

She ended the day a stroke ahead of three other players. French amateur Alexandra Vilatte, the first round co-leader Sharmila Nicollet of India and Heather Bowie-Young of the United States were all on six under par.

Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Marjet Van der Graff from the Netherlands finished a stroke further behind in a share of fifth place, followed by Scotland’s Clare Queen and Thailand’s Piyathida Ployumsri on four under par.

Ewart said: “I hit 16 greens and had 30 putts so it was just really steady and I birdied my last two holes so that helped a lot. I felt like I left a couple of shots out there so that’s always good when you shoot four under. Everything is really steady and I’m just taking it one shot at a time.”

Living in Sarasota, Florida, where she trains at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Ewart is used to playing in sunny weather, but she was prepared for the heavy rain and strong winds which were predicted for the second round. She and the rest of the field of competitors were pleasantly surprised to find blue skies and a light breeze by mid morning. 

Sharmila Nicollet

“The weather charts said an 80 per cent chance of rain but it was nice all day. There was not too much wind so it was perfect really,” said Ewart, who spent four years studying psychology at the University of New Mexico.

Overnight co-leader Nicollet held her nerve to post a one under par 70 on the North Course. The 20-year-old from south of Bangalore mixed five birdies with four bogeys to remain well within the top 30 places eligible for a full tour card after five rounds.

“My recoveries were good today and my driving was good compared to yesterday, so the goal for the week is to finish under par in total and every day, so that is the mentality for the week,” said Nicollet. “The course is playing short for me; distance is my strength so most of the time I have a 52 degree in and I can reach the par fives in two. I think this is my strength over the other players so the target is to go low.”

Vilatte, a 29-year-old amateur from Paris, led the European ranking in 2005 and she has spent the last six years studying to become a pharmacist.

On her second round of four under par 69 on the South Course, containing six birdies and two birdies, she said: “The best part of my game was my irons but my driving was good too. My wedges were very good too and on the par fives that was great.”

Bowie Young, 36, a full-time member of the LPGA who represented the United States at The 2003 Solheim Cup is hoping to give herself more playing options by joining the Ladies European Tour and her second round of five under par 68 on the South Course put her in the ideal position. 

Marjet Van der Graaff from the Netherlands is playing to retain her playing rights after four years on tour, while Queen is also trying to keep her card having played on tour for six seasons.

The 90-hole Final Qualifying School is being played with 36 holes on each of La Manga Club’s North and South courses for the first four rounds with a cut to the leading 50 players and ties after 72 holes. 

The fifth round will be played on the South Course on Thursday and the top 30 players will earn LET Membership in category 8a.