No, it hasn’t been the dream start for the Spanish golfers in the Final of the LPGA Tour School, known as the Q Series. None of our four representatives are in card positions after the first round, and for now, they need to focus more on the cut that will occur after the fourth day than anything else. The most positive aspect of this opening is that it’s only the first day, and there is more than enough room for manoeuvre in the next 54 holes, before the cut and the final round.
Let’s remember that the Q Series are played over 90 holes (five days) at the Falls and Crossings courses of the Magnolia Grove Golf and Country Club in Alabama. After the 72nd hole, the fourth day, a cut will be made with the top 70 and ties. When the tournament ends, the top 25 and ties will earn their cards. The 25th position after 18 holes is at -2, and the 70th position is at +2. Well, the Spanish players completed the first day of competition as follows: Azahara Muñoz (PAR), Blanca Fernández (+2), Julia López (+2), and Carla Tejedo (+3). Azahara and Julia played at the Crossings, while Blanca and Carla played at the Falls.
Azahara, the most experienced of the four, was the best. She delivered a card with two birdies and two bogeys. She was solid but lacked more brilliance on the greens to have gained a greater advantage. She spent much of the day under par but finally had to settle for par. She is two strokes away from the target.
Blanca and Julia had more movement in their rounds. Right now, they are just inside the cut, but they must not lose focus. Undoubtedly, this should be the bad round of the week if they want to finish among the top 25. Even more so in the case of Carla Tejedo, who started with +3 with a disastrous double bogey in the final part. As we say, the start hasn’t been brilliant, but there is a long way to go, and they can still turn things around.
Chinese player Yu Liu is the first leader with a great round of -9. She has a one-stroke advantage over German Isi Gabsa (-8). At the top, Manon de Roey (-4) has positioned herself, a great rival of Carlota Ciganda in the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España that concluded last Sunday. The winner of the LET order of merit, Swiss Chiara Tamburlini, absent in Guadalhorce, started with a card of -1, outside the top 25.
