FIVE SCOTS STILL HAVE A CHANCE OF GAINING L E T CARDS FOR 2014

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Paul Lawrie Tour Order of Merit winner Heather Stirling and Gemma Webster missed out but five  Scots - Sally Watson, Kelsey MacDonald, Heather MacRae, Michele Thomson and Pamela Feggans - are still in with a chance of gaining pass marks to next year's Ladies European Tour.

They survived today's fourth-round cut which reduced the field to the leading 60 and ties for the fifth and final round over the Jack Nicklaus-designed Samanah course, Marrakech in Morocco.

The final hurdle for the five is to finish among the top 30 at the end of play on Wednesday
That will earn them playing rights on Europe's No 1 women's pro tour next season.

Elie-based, Edinburgh-born Sally Watson (pictured) has taken over as the leading Scot after an excellent three-under-par 69 over the Al Maaden course. She was five under par for the day after 11 holes but bogeyed the 17th and 18th to go into the final round one one-under-par 287, tied 17th, six shots behind the leader from Finland, Elina Nummenpaa.

Another rookie pro Kelsey MacDonald from Nairn will be playing on the LET in 2014 if she can hold her overnight position of joint 30th following a 74 for 290.

A double bogey 6 at the 11th could yet come back to haunt her.

The three other Scots last-day qualifiers, Heather MacRae (74 for 291 and jt 35th place), Michele Thomson (74 for 295 and joint 54th), and Pamela Feggans (70, also for 295 and a share of 54th) need to score around the 70 mark on the last circuit, if not better, if they are going to be at the card-winners' party in Marrakech on Wednesday night.

MacRae, who would have leapfrogged the Qualifying School had she finished fifth instead of sixth in the LETAS Order of Merit, said:

"I feel like the last few days I’ve played quite well and hit it okay but not had too much going fpr me on the greens so hopefully I can make a few more birdies in the final round and jump up the board a little bit.
"I’ve never reached the last day of Q School before so that’s better than I’ve done before."
Webster missed the cut by one with a 77 for 296 while Stirling, whose victory in the Paul Lawrie Tour Order of Merit paid her flights to and accommodation in Morocco, shot a disappointing, one-birdie 76 for 297.
At 36, Heather will no doubt divide her time in 2014 by returning to being  a professional caddie in Florida and at St Andrews while continuing to support the Paul Lawrie Tour.
It was the inaugural Paul Lawrie Tour this year that tempted Stirling, the 2002 Scottish women's amateur champion and Curtis Cup player, to take her clubs back out of cold storage in which they had been gathering dust, unused for the best part of six years.
The saddest story of all the non-qualifiers centred on Anna Scott from Newcastle. She was up with the leaders after three rounds but suffered a recurrence of her chronic back problem and had to retire
after only nine holes of the vital fourth round.

LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Al Maaden and Samanah courses, Marrakech, Morocco

LEADING QUALFIERS FOR FINAL ROUND
Par 288 (4x72)
281 Elina Nummenpaa (Fin) 71 70 71 69
282 Steffi Kirchmayr (Ger) 73 74 69 68
283 Viva Schlasberg (Swe) 76 71 70 66, Tessa Teachman (US) 67 71 72 73, Caroline Martens (Nor) 67 71 72 73
284 Charlotte Thompson (Eng) 74 70 71 69, Cathryn Bristow (Aus) 70 74 70 70, Rebecca Sorensen (Swe) 66 74 73 71

SELECTED  QUALIFIERS
287 Sally Watson (Sco) 73 71 74 69 (T17)
288 Lucy Williams (Eng) 71 71 73 73
290 Kelsey MacDonald (Sco) 73 68 75 74 (T30)
291 Heather MacRae (Sco) 69 74 74 74, Hannah Ralph (Eng) 69 76 81 75 (T35)
295 Michele Thomson (Sco) 76 76 69 74, Pamela Feggans 72 75 78 70 (T54)
SCOTS NON-QUALIFIERS (295 and better qualified)
296 Gemma Webster 77 73 69 77 (T62)
297 Heather Stirling 75 68 78 76 (T64)

 +Other Paul Lawrie Scottish Ladies Tour players who failed to qualify included
299 Lisa Shervill (Eng) 78 73 77 71 (TG70)
301 Kiran Matharu (Eng) 76 78 77 70
306 Chrisje De Vries (Ned) 81 74 78 73

FINLAND'S NUMMENPAA LEADS
 
 NEWS RELEASE FROM LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
  REPORT FROM BETHAN CUTLER, LET Media Manager

MARRAKECH, MOROCCO: Finland’s Elina Nummenpaa led by a stroke after the fourth round of Lalla Aicha Tour School with just one round to play in the Ladies European Tour’s final qualifying tournament for 2014.

Playing in warm and sunny conditions, Nummenpaa fired a three-under-par 69 at Golf Al Maaden in Marrakech to finish the day at seven-under-par, ahead of Germany’s Steffi Kirchmayr, who had a four-under-par 68 at Samanah Golf Club, both courses having hosted the players over four rounds on alternate days. 

Tee times on the Samanah course were delayed by an hour and 15 minutes due to heavy rain overnight which caused damage to the course. However, there was no rain overnight at nearby at Al Maaden.

After the conclusion of the fourth round, 61 players made the cut at seven-over-par 295.  Those on that number or better will play the final round at Samanah Golf Club on Wednesday. 

Players who failed to make the 72-hole cut are eligible for LET Membership in Category 12a, but will have limited playing opportunities. 

In the final round, the top 30 players will be eligible for membership in Category 8a, while those in positions 31 and below will be eligible for Category 9b.

The 30-year-old Nummenpaa, from Tampere, who finished 171at on the 2013 ISPS HANDA Order of Merit after making two cuts from 11 appearances, recently showed form with a tie for eighth at the Hero Women’s Indian Open.

She had four birdies – at the second, seventh, 12^th and 17^th holes - and just one bogey at the ninth in her fourth round. She said: 

“It was the same kind of day as the previous rounds: one shot at a time and trying to stay present and positive. Not a perfect round but lots of good things. I will stick to that mentality tomorrow because there is still a lot of golf left in the tournament.”

Kirchmayr had four birdies in a bogey-free round and said: “It was a really good round and I could have made a few more birdies on the front but on the back I made three good saves on 10, 13 and 14. I missed a few birdie putts coming in and made a save on 18 so it was a really good, stress-free round.

"I felt like this course was tougher to score on but today I hit it really solid and so I had some good putts inside 15 feet.”

Viva Schlasberg of Sweden finished on five-under-par with a sizzling 66 containing six birdies at Al Maaden, which saw her move up from a share of 30^th into a tie for third with Tessa Teachman of the United States and Norwegian Caroline Martens.

Home hope Maha Haddioui from Morocco was an early starter and carded a level 72 at Samanah Golf Club. She finished the day on two-over-par in a tie for 30^th position.


ALL THE FOURTH-ROUND ROUND TOTALS

1 Elina Nummenpaa +A (FIN) -7 71 70 71 69 281
2 Steffi Kirchmayr +B (GER) -6 72 73 69 68 282
3 Viva Schlasberg +A (SWE) -5 76 71 70 66 283
4 Tessa Teachman +A (USA) -5 67 71 72 73 283
5 Caroline Martens +B (NOR) -5 67 71 72 73 283
6 Charlotte Thompson +B (ENG) -4 74 70 71 69 284
7 Cathryn Bristow +B (NZL) -4 70 74 70 70 284
8 Rebecca Sorensen +B (SWE) -4 66 74 73 71 284
9 Henni Zuel +B (ENG) -3 73 71 69 72 285
10 Karolin Lampert (Am) +A (GER) -3 73 68 71 73 285
11 Julia Davidsson +B (SWE) -3 72 73 70 70 285
12 Kim Williams +B (RSA) -3 70 76 69 70 285
13 Josephine Janson +A (SWE) -3 70 75 71 69 285
14 Julie Tvede +B (DEN) -3 68 73 68 76 285
15 Isabelle Boineau +A (FRA) -2 74 74 69 69 286
16 Anais Maggetti +B (SUI) -2 73 71 72 70 286
17 Maria Salinas +A (PER) -1 77 67 74 69 287
18 Isabell Gabsa +A (GER) -1 74 68 71 74 287
19 Nobuhle Dlamini +A (SWZ) -1 73 72 69 73 287
20 Sally Watson +A (SCO) -1 73 71 74 69 287
21 Ariane Provot +B (FRA) -1 72 72 70 73 287
22 Laura Jansone +B (LVA) -1 71 76 67 73 287
23 Nina Muehl (Am) +B (AUT) -1 67 73 70 77 287
24 Victoria Lovelady +B (BRA) E 71 77 69 71 288
25 Lucy Williams +A (ENG) E 71 71 73 73 288
26 Virginia Espejo +A (ESP) E 70 73 74 71 288
27 Mia Piccio +A (PHL) 1 75 71 73 70 289
28 Bonita Bredenhann +A (NAM) 1 74 72 73 70 289
29 Stefania Avanzo (Am) +B (ITA) 1 71 73 71 74 289
30 Krista Bakker (Am) +B (FIN) 2 74 70 71 75 290
31 Kelsey Macdonald +A (SCO) 2 73 68 75 74 290
32 Fiona Puyo +A (FRA) 2 71 75 71 73 290
33 Maha Haddioui +B (MAR) 2 68 79 71 72 290
34 Sophie Sandolo +B (ITA) 2 68 71 76 75 290
35 Isabella Ramsay +A (SWE) 3 70 73 76 72 291
36 Hannah Ralph +B (ENG) 3 69 76 71 75 291
37 Heather MacRae +B (SCO) 3 69 74 74 74 291
38 Ainil Bakar +A (MYS) 4 77 71 75 69 292
39 Melanie Maetzler +A (SUI) 4 76 70 70 76 292
40 Lucie Andre +A (FRA) 4 74 73 74 71 292
41 Christine Wolf +B (AUT) 4 74 69 76 73 292
42 Adriana Brent +B (AUS) 4 72 77 68 75 292
43 Smriti Mehra +B (IND) 4 72 75 70 75 292
44 Ana Larraneta +B (ESP) 4 72 74 68 78 292
45 Jessica Ji +A (KOR) 4 72 69 77 74 292
46 Nicole Garcia (Am) +B (RSA) 4 71 76 72 73 292
47 Nina Holleder +B (GER) 4 70 78 72 72 292
48 Amber Ratcliffe (Am) +B (ENG) 5 72 81 70 70 293
49 Amy Boulden +B (WAL) 5 71 76 73 73 293
50 Laurence Herman +B (BEL) 6 73 75 72 74 294
51 Leigh Whittaker +B (GER) 6 72 76 72 74 294
52 Lauren Taylor +B (ENG) 6 72 75 71 76 294
53 Anjelika Hammar +A (SWE) 6 71 70 74 79 294
54 Linda Henriksson +A (FIN) 7 77 71 77 70 295
55 Jacqueline Hedwall +B (SWE) 7 77 70 71 77 295
56 Maggie Yuan +A (AUS) 7 77 69 79 70 295
57 Michele Thomson +A (SCO) 7 76 76 69 74 295
58 Elisabetta Bertini +B (ITA) 7 75 75 72 73 295
59 Charlotte Ellis +B (ENG) 7 74 80 70 71 295
60 Carmen Alonso +A (ESP) 7 74 71 77 73 295
61 Pamela Feggans +B (SCO) 7 72 75 78 70 295
=========THE CUT | Score: 295 ==================