Byrne and Screene enjoy strong starts at LET Q-School
In Byrne A Fifth Under A Par Sara Sit For 68 Four Tie Overnight Shot To Place Round Of
Sara Byrne enjoyed a promising opening round at final qualifying for the Ladies European Tour at Royal Golf Marrakech yesterday.
The Douglas golfer shot a four-under-par round of 68 to sit in a tie for fifth place overnight, two behind Daniela Darquea of Ecuador. Byrne made the turn on six-under, but she was unable to continue the birdie blitz on the back nine.
“Obviously, I went through the first nine holes six-under,” Byrne told ladieseuropeantour.com. “Just everything was solid, I was hitting fairways, and it was hitting fairly close.
“I didn’t have too many long putts for birdie either, which was really nice, so I was just hitting really solid. I slowed up a little bit on the back nine, but honestly it was just a three-putt and not an up-and-down, everything else was really solid out there.”
Byrne missed out on a LPGA Tour card in final qualifying last week, although she does have full status on the second-tier Epsom Tour in the US next year – the route Leona Maguire took to gain her LPGA Tour card in the past.
Five Irish both professional and amateur are in action looking to secure cards for the 2025 season and join Lauren Walsh on tour.
Byrne is joined by Olivia Mehaffey (who shot level par), Anna Foster (-2), Annabel Wilson (+3) and amateur Canice Screene. Sceene enjoyed a fantastic opening round in Marrakech, shooting a bogey-free five-under 68 at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech. The London-native, who’s mother is from Co Mayo, won the Irish Women's Amateur Close Championship in Roscommon earlier this year.
The 23-year-old, who is currently studying for a master’s at University College London, was bogey-free rolling in birdies on the first, fifth, sixth, 14th and 17th holes.
“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,” Screene told ladieseuropeantour.com.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
The event is over 90 holes of stroke play competition with a cut after 72 holes with top 65 and ties progressing to the final day. For the first four rounds, competitors will alternate between Royal Golf Marrakech and Al Maaden Golf Marrakech. The fifth round will be played on Al Maaden Golf Marrakech.
