Dubai-based golfer Alison Muirhead talks LET Q-School

It is that time of the year for Qualifying Schools for both the LPGA and the Ladies European Tour.

I was planning to play in La Manga, Spain, this week, at the LET Q-School but due to some medical issues and the challenges of Covid-19 in Europe I’ve decided to stay at home in Dubai with my family, recharge my batteries and get ready for next season when I will still have some playing opportunities on the LET.

I will have to rely on some invites and hopefully these regular Gulf News spots might help with some of the LET promoters and sponsors, so fingers crossed!

Last weekend saw the completion of the eight-round LPGA Q-School in the US with the top 45 and ties gaining LPGA status and 2022 playing rights. That cut fell at four-under. Na Rin An of South Korea took the honours with a 33-under-par score.

It was great to see some of my friends get through, including Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, the 2021 LET Race to Costa del Sol Order of Merit winner, and 21-year-old Australian Stephanie Kyriacou, who finished third on this year’s LET Order of Merit.

The attention this week turns to Spain with 20 Category 11 spots available in the LET Final Q-School at La Manga. Others outside the top 20 will receive lower status categories.

It is a 90-hole event with 128 players from 20 countries in the initial field with a cut to 65 players and ties after 72 holes with play in the first four rounds over both the North Course (designed by Robert Dean Putman in 1971) and the South Course, remodelled in 2005 by golfing legend Arnold Palmer. The final round will be played over the South Course. It is the perfect destination for this event with both golf courses in proximity to the hotel and everything a golfer needs.

Last time it was held in 2019 at La Manga, I came tied second and got the third LET card available, which gave me a great status for 2020 that was extended to 2021 due to Covid.

Looking at the entries, players to watch include Stacey Lee Bregman (RSA), Virginia Elena Carter (Italy), and Dubai-based Kristyna Napoleaova (Czech Republic) who will play their opening rounds on the North Course along with JA The Resort Ambassador Amy Boulden (Wales), who won the Q-School in 2019, and friend of Dubai Meghan MacLaren (Eng), who has racked up the air miles over the last couple of weeks narrowly missing out on the LPGA Q-School. Other standout names in the draw include two-time Solheim Cup player Becky Brewerton (Wales), a regular visitor to Dubai, and Lisa Pettersen (Swe) the medallist at last week’s Pre-Q School, also held at La Manga, who will compete in this final Q-School event along with 74 other qualifiers, including 13 amateurs.

The Q-School is never the most glamorous weeks on tour, but is certainly one of the most important to do well in, with the objective of getting through and perhaps the best word to describe it is to “survive”. These events can be life and career changing. I wish all players, especially my friends, all the best.