Photo: DR - Source: LET

To pass the pre-qualification stage, players must be ranked in the top 25 of the world amateur golf rankings, or in the top 100 of the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings or have narrowly missed a full card via the LET or the LET Access Series.

The competitors will play 72 holes, with two rounds on each course, before the field is reduced to 60 players and tied after four rounds, before the last round at the Amelkis Golf Club on Thursday.

After 90 holes, the top five players will gain their LET membership for Category 5c, meaning they will have access to most tournaments, while those in positions 6 to 25 will become Category 8 members.

Players who succeed but finish in position 26 or less can still join LET in category 9b, but with limited playing possibilities.

Among the personalities present this year are personalities such as Leona Maguire (Ireland), Mathilda Cappeliez (France), Sophie Lamb and Brontë Law (England), hopes of the Solheim Cup, as well as the pre-qualification winners Nobuhle Dlamini (Swaziland) , Rina Tatematsu. (Japan) and Linnea Ström (Sweden).

Ström, who won pre-qualifying B by six strokes at Amelkis Golf Club on Monday, notched a magnificent 62 (-10) in the third round for a total of 23 under par, which gave him a huge push of confidence for the final step.

Maguire finished second in solo with 17 under par, after laps of 70, 66, 68 and 67. She is also to watch.

She said: “It gave me a lot of confidence. 17 under par is the lowest score I've ever had in four rounds, so it was a nice feeling. My game is in good shape and playing on the Amelkis course was excellent preparation. I started off with a slow start, then an eagle on the 18th, my ninth, on the second lap, turned the momentum in my favor. "

“I played a practice session at Palm Golf Ourika for the first time on Wednesday and it is certainly a very different course. It's longer and there probably aren't that many birdie opportunities. There is always a preference for iron and putting, as the greens are quite sloping, so we will have two very different golf courses to play on. I will try to make a score as low as possible! "

Another player to watch, Tatematsu, who won the C pre-qualifier in Cambodia by seven strokes, is the youngest player in the sector and will be 17 years, four months and four days old on Friday. Georgia Oboh of Nigeria, who is also 17, will be the second youngest player in the field.

Among the 31 countries represented, there are large contingents from England (21 players), Sweden (14 players), France (10 players) and Switzerland (with 8 players). There are 7 representatives from each of the following countries: Germany, India, Scotland and Spain and four representatives from Norway and Japan.

Last year, American Casey Danielson finished 14 under after five laps on the same courses, although the final took place at the Palm Golf Ourika. She then won the match against Carmen Alonso and Manon Mollé. Other previous Lalla Aicha Tour School in Marrakech laureates include world number one Ariya Jutanugarn (2012), Caroline Martens (2013), three-time LET winner Aditi Ashok (2014), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (2015) and member of the European Solheim Cup 2017 team Madelene Sagstrom (2016).

This is the seventh consecutive year that LET has organized its qualification school in Morocco, which has been renamed Lalla Aicha Tour School, in honor of HRH Princess Lalla Aicha.

The tournament takes place under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid. It is organized by the Hassan II Golf Trophy Association, which also hosts the Lalla Meryem Cup, for which many of the successful Lalla Aicha Tour School players will return in April.

To know more : https://ladieseuropeantour.com/lalla-aicha-school-2017/