Marta Martín has qualified this Monday to compete in the AIG Women’s Open. The Madrid golfer achieved this through the final qualifying round of the tournament, held over 18 holes at the Pyle & Kenfig Golf Club in Wales, located less than two miles from Royal Porthcawl, the venue for the Open starting this Thursday.
A total of 107 players participated in this last chance to enter the final Major of the season, with only 17 spots available. It was a challenging day of golf and, interestingly, the cut was made almost perfectly, with surgical precision. Exactly 17 golfers played under par this Monday and they are the ones who made it, without the need for any playoff.
Marta delivered a round of 70 strokes, one under par. Her qualification was built on a sensational first nine holes. She scored three under par, with a birdie on the 5th hole and an eagle on the 9th, taking advantage of the par 5s, the Spanish player’s specialty. From there, it was about survival. Swimming and keeping her clothes dry. She made a double bogey on the 10th hole, which made the situation difficult. She had to live on the edge. A magnificent birdie on the 16th seemed to secure her direct qualification, but a bogey on the 18th put her back in a tight spot. She had to wait until the final horn to know if she was qualified. The last major threat was Kim Metraux. The Swiss golfer, in the last matches, had the chance to reach that -1 which would have forced a multiple playoff. However, she remained at par, much to the relief of all the others.
Marta Martín will therefore play her first Major of 2025 and the third of her career, following the Evian Championship and last year’s AIG Women’s Open. On both occasions, she made the cut. With the inclusion of the Madrid player, there will be five Spaniards representing the Armada in this last Major. Namely: Carlota Ciganda, Julia López, Marta Martín, and the amateurs Paula Martín and Carla Bernat.
Beyond the Spanish players, among the 17 qualifiers from this final qualifying round, the names of Momoko Kobori, Linnea Strom, Laura Fuenfstueck, Aline Krauter, Olivia Cowan, and Morgane Metraux stand out. The winner of the qualifying was Canadian Anna Huang with a round of -4.
Among those who played this qualifying and were left out, the names of the Spanish Azahara Muñoz and Luna Sobrón, the English Jodi Ewart, as well as the American Danielle Kang, who passed the pre-qualifying but fell in this final phase, stand out.
