Fátima Fernández Cano (-9) has been determined to show us all this Saturday in the last round of the Lalla Meryem Cup that yesterday was no fluke. Far from a mirage. The Galician golfer is back.
The scorecard of 68 strokes that she signed this Friday on the Blue course of the Royal Golf Dar es Salam, has been followed today by another with the same result. Another 68. Final position: third. It is her best result ever in a tournament of the Ladies European Tour or the LPGA Tour. It surpasses her fourth position in the Spanish Open of 2021. Less than two months ago she didn’t even know if she was going to be able to play the LET school. Hats off.
It was not an easy day for anyone, especially for Fátima. The conditions, with the rain fallen on Friday, had become much more affordable. Many birdies had to be made. Golf at the touch of a bugle. It had been a long time since the Compostelan was in a similar situation. The last time, in fact, was in March 2022, almost two years ago, when she won the Carlisle Arizona Golf Classic on the Epson Tour. Since then and until the Magical Kenya Ladies Open last week she had played 19 tournaments and only passed one cut.
You can imagine how complicated it is to go out to play today in Rabat with that weight on your shoulders. Yes, that long and dark tunnel was caused by a nerve injury in the arm, Fátima knew it, but still the uncertainty of seeing yourself again in the high zone of the classification, fighting to finish very high and, even, with the possibility of winning, which she has had, is huge.
Her response has been fabulous. Here I am and I’m going for it. The injury is behind and the birdies and confidence have returned. The audacity. The high head. The perky ponytail. It is true that the victory, eight strokes from María Fassi before starting the day, seemed almost a chimera, but she had it in sight. Her great round, coupled with the Mexican’s debacle, who made 76 strokes and finished with -9, opened a door for her.
It all started with an eagle on hole 5. Fátima ignited the engines there and produced an extraordinary sequence of seven under par in eleven holes, adding five more birdies between 7 and 15. There, with three holes to go, a victory option had already been created, although by then other candidates had joined. Fassi herself, who never recovered, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (-10) and Bronte Law (-13), the fantastic English competitor who celebrates each birdie as if it were the last and who finally took the cat to the water with an amazing final round of 64 strokes, nine under par including two bogeys.
The end was a bit tough for Fátima. She finished with two bogeys on 17 and 18. Surely there, with the possibility of winning on the horizon, the lack of habit of seeing herself in that situation was felt more. In any case, that end of the day should not tarnish the phenomenal performance of the Galician. She is back and she is back big time.
Great performance also from Teresa Toscano (-4). The Huelva native has closed the tournament with a scorecard of 72 strokes to finish in tenth position. It is her first top 10 in the Ladies European Tour. On the Epson Tour she added three last season.
On the other hand, the Balearic Luna Sobrón (-1) sneaked into the top 25 with a very good final round of 70 strokes, while Marta Martín (PAR) managed to shake off the bad day yesterday with a good round of 71 strokes, and Nuria Iturrioz (+1) finished with 73. At the tail of the pack finished Ana Peláez (+5), with a final result of 75 strokes.
