Anna Foster made a strong start to her Ladies European Tour career as the 24-year-old Dubliner – in her rookie season – opened with an impressive three-under-par 70 in the Lalla Meryem Cup, the opening tournament of the season, at Dar Es Salem Golf Club in Morocco.
Another rookie, American Brianna Navarrosa, who also won her LET tour card status at Q-School, made a dream start to her professional like with a fine 67 – who opened with five straight birdies – to claim the first round lead.
Foster, a graduate of Auburn University, led the quintet of Irish players in action in the LET opener to lie in tied-seventh after the first round while Curtis Cup star Sara Byrne – who will juggle playing the LET with time on the Epson Tour in the United States – opened with a 71.
In a round of four birdies and one bogey, Foster moved into a nice challenging position in the 54-hole tournament which features a cut after 36 holes. The other three Irish players in the field – Lauren Walsh, Olivia Mehaffey and Anabel Wilson – all signed for 75s, two-over, to be in tied-65th with work to do to survive the top-60 and ties cut after the second round.
The LET event is played simultaneously to the Hassan II Trophy on the Champions Tour, with Pádraig Harrington – switching back to the seniors circuit after a run on the DP World Tour – opening with a one-under 72 to trail first round leaders Simon Griffiths and Steve Alker by three strokes.
In the WM Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour, Séamus Power kept a clean card until his closing hole where he ran up a horrendous triple bogey seven to sign for a level-par 71, five adrift of early clubhouse leader Justin Thomas who continued his return to form with a 66.
Power patiently worked his way around the desert course with a run of 12 straight pars until he managed his first birdie of the round at the 13th which sparked him into life and brought further birdies at the 14th and 16th to move into the top-10 on three-under stranding on the 18th tee.
However, a poor tee shot into the water hazard on the closing hole was followed by Power then inflicting further damage when, after taking a penalty drop, he again put his approach into the water for a second time.
Meanwhile, Conor Purcell – the lone Irish player in the Qatar Masters on the DP World Tour – recovered from a poor start, which included a double bogey on his second hole and a further dropped shot on the fourth, to get to one-under on his round through 17 hole when darkness forced a suspension in play. Brandon Robinson Thompson and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen claimed the first round lead with 66s.
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