Irish women outdo the men in Morocco
Alejandro Cañizares © Getty Images
It might be early days but with one third of the European Tour season now behind us, just six of Ireland's 12-strong tour army are inside the Top 110 in the Race to Dubai.
It's not a problem for top 40 career earners such as Paul McGinley (143rd) or a former major winner such as Darren Clarke (113th). But for the likes of David Higgins, Shane Lowry, Gareth Mayin or Peter Lawrie, it's time to start putting some cash in the bank.
At the Trophée Hassan II in Morocco, Michael Hoey closed with a two under 70 to finish 30th behind runaway winner Alejandro Cañizares and earn €12,900 and move up to 33rd in the money list with €236,231 from 10 starts.
Lowry's 73 left him tied for 56th on two over and his cheque for €4,612 leaves him a worrying 166th in the Race to Dubai with €14,063 from five starts., albeit with a host big money European Tour events to come.
Damien McGrane also closed with a 73 to share 64th on four over and earn €3,450, which leaves him 106th on the money list with €56,263 from 10 events.
For players without the chance to tee it up in World Golf Championships and Majors, it's no easy task to earn the €200,000-plus they will need to avoid a trip to the Q-School.
Add to that the huge expense of trips alread this term to places such as South Africa, Hong Kong, the UAE, Qatar and Morocco and with events to come in Malaysia, China and Korea before the continental European run of events begins in earnest in May, it's hardly lucrative. No wonder Holland's Robert-Jan Derksen has decided to hang up his spikes at the end of the season.
As for the Trophée Hassan II, Cañizares completed a comprehensive wire-to-wire victory to end his eight-year wait for a second European Tour title.
On the day that Solheim Cup hero Charley Hull registered her maiden victory on the Ladies European Tour in the Coupe Lalla Meryem, played at the neighbouring Golf de l’Océan, Cañizares doubled his haul of European Tour titles in emphatic fashion at Golf du Palais Royal.
Just as Marcel Siem did 12 months ago in Agadir, Cañizares led from the off with an opening 62 and completed a five shot win with a closing round of 70.
That gave the Spaniard a 19 under par total, with England’s Andy Sullivan storming home in 29 shots for a best-of-the-day 63 to claim second place.
“To get the win feels unbelievable," said Cañizares, who pocketed €250,000. "My first win was eight years ago so I’ve had to wait a long time for this, I had a few chances along the way but to finally get another one is magnificent.
“I wasn’t worried that the second win wouldn’t come, I thought if I kept working on it and kept my game on, it would come in the end. This is a great step for the rest of my career.”
Charley Hull celebrates her maiden Ladies European Tour win with the caddies in Morocco. Picture © Ladies European Tour/Tristan Jones
As for the Coupe Lalla Meryem, 17-year old Hull birdied the first extra hole to beat Gwladys Nocera of France and earn €67,500 after they had tied on 15 under par.
Carlow's Rebecca Codd claimed her best result on tour since 2012 when finished joint 12th on five under after a closing 69 to earn €7,155.
Royal County Down Ladies amateur Olivia Mehaffey, just 16, also had a great week on her debut in the Ladies European Tour event, finishing joint 47th on three under after round of 72, 73, 71 and 71.
Final scores from the Trophée Hassan II
269 A Cañizares (Esp) 62 68 69 70,
274 A Sullivan (Eng) 66 73 72 63,
276 M Carlsson (Swe) 65 71 72 68, S Benson (Eng) 63 68 74 71,
277 R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 68 67 75 67, R Bland (Eng) 69 70 70 68, W Ormsby (Aus) 68 71 70 68,
278 T Lewis (Eng) 69 74 70 65, P Waring (Eng) 72 69 67 70, D Horsey (Eng) 72 64 72 70,
280 B Rumford (Aus) 73 71 70 66, L Bjerregaard (Den) 69 73 71 67, G Coetzee (RSA) 69 69 74 68, R Ramsay (Sco) 72 71 68 69, J Campillo (Esp) 71 69 70 70, R Karlsson (Swe) 71 67 70 72,
281 J Dantorp (Swe) 73 71 69 68, S Dodd (Wal) 68 73 71 69, G Bourdy (Fra) 68 69 74 70, M Warren (Sco) 66 73 70 72, S Kapur (Ind) 70 71 67 73, R Derksen (Ned) 69 70 67 75,
282 J Morrison (Eng) 69 69 75 69, T Fleetwood (Eng) 66 72 73 71,
283 K Broberg (Swe) 75 70 72 66, E Molinari (Ita) 73 70 74 66, A Saddier (Fra) 72 72 69 70, D Im (USA) 71 73 69 70, R Davies (Wal) 68 73 71 71,
284 M Hoey (Nir) 68 70 76 70, R Green (Aus) 70 73 69 72, F Fritsch (Ger) 72 70 70 72,
285 R Dinwiddie (Eng) 71 71 73 70, G Stal (Fra) 73 71 70 71, B Wiesberger (Aut) 71 73 70 71, R Rock (Eng) 71 68 71 75,
286 M Ilonen (Fin) 69 73 73 71, S Dyson (Eng) 73 70 71 72, R Fisher (Eng) 70 73 71 72, D Willett (Eng) 72 70 70 74, C Arendell (USA) 65 71 76 74, A Levy (Fra) 70 72 69 75,
287 S Wakefield (Eng) 72 73 70 72, T Hatton (Eng) 73 72 69 73, N Elvira (Esp) 70 75 68 74, S Kjeldsen (Den) 74 70 68 75, D Drysdale (Sco) 73 67 72 75,
288 S Hansen (Den) 74 69 75 70, A Kaleka (Fra) 72 73 72 71, M Crespi (Ita) 71 74 69 74, M Siem (Ger) 69 69 75 75,
289 M Baldwin (Eng) 71 74 77 67, E De La Riva (Esp) 70 74 76 69, G Havret (Fra) 72 71 73 73, M Tullo (Chi) 74 69 70 76,
290 D Huizing (Ned) 74 70 76 70, S Lowry (Irl) 72 72 73 73, M Kieffer (Ger) 71 72 74 73, D Brooks (Eng) 72 70 72 76,
291 P Sjöland (Swe) 70 74 76 71, R Kakko (Fin) 70 73 75 73, D Howell (Eng) 72 69 75 75, G Bhullar (Ind) 67 73 74 77,
292 D McGrane (Irl) 70 73 76 73, F Calmels (Fra) 70 74 73 75, E Goya (Arg) 73 69 74 76,
295 J Lara (Esp) 72 73 71 79,
298 P Whiteford (Sco) 67 78 79 74, D Stewart (Sco) 71 74 74 79,
299 R Jacquelin (Fra) 71 71 79 78,
301 E Dubois (Fra) 68 75 81 77.
Final scores Coupe Lalla Meryem
Charley Hull won with a birdie on the first play-off hole
269 - Charley Hull (ENG) 68 71 68 62, Gwladys Nocera (FRA) 69 68 65 67
273 - Sophie Giquel-bettan (FRA) 67 70 67 69
274 - Hannah Burke (ENG) 73 70 65 66, Lee-Anne Pace (RSA) 70 68 70 66
276 - Holly Clyburn (ENG) 70 70 67 69, Sophie Walker (ENG) 66 71 71 68
277 - Trish Johnson (ENG) 72 67 70 68, Laura Davies (ENG) 68 69 71 69
278 - Stacy Lee Bregman (RSA) 71 71 69 67, Margherita Rigon (ITA) 69 70 69 70
279 - Ariya Jutanugarn (THA) 68 66 72 73, Rebecca Codd (IRL) 69 71 70 69, Titiya Plucksataporn (THA) 72 70 65 72, Joanna Klatten (FRA) 72 72 66 69
280 - Beth Allen (USA) 69 71 72 68
281 - Karolin Lampert (GER) 69 72 70 70, Valentine Derrey (FRA) 71 72 65 73, Nina Holleder (GER) 68 68 74 71, Nicole Broch Larsen (DEN) 71 73 68 69, Liz Young (ENG) 72 69 70 70
282 - Klara Spilkova (CZE) 74 69 69 70, Diana Luna (ITA) 70 70 70 72, Linda Wessberg (SWE) 71 70 70 71
283 - Jing Yan (CHN) 68 73 71 71, Mathilda Cappeliez (FRA) 72 64 71 76, Rebecca Hudson (ENG) 66 72 70 75, Marianne Skarpnord (NOR) 73 70 67 73
284 - Kim Williams (RSA) 74 70 66 74, Jade Schaeffer (FRA) 73 71 71 69, Lauren Taylor (ENG) 72 73 67 72, Adriana Brent (AUS) 69 73 72 70
285 - Sally Watson (SCO) 72 71 71 71, Vikki Laing (SCO) 70 71 69 75, Marta Silva Zamora (ESP) 73 69 72 71, Stefania Croce (ITA) 72 71 68 74, Maria Balikoeva (RUS) 71 72 71 71, Chloe Leurquin (BEL) 74 70 68 73, Charlotte Thompson (ENG) 71 72 71 71, Stephanie Na (AUS) 72 68 71 74, Mireia Prat (ESP) 74 68 70 73, Fiona Puyo (FRA) 72 69 75 69
286 - Marion Ricordeau (FRA) 72 72 70 72, Nontaya Srisawang (THA) 73 70 71 72, Florentyna Parker (ENG) 73 69 73 71, Maria Salinas (PER) 71 71 73 71
287 - Noora Tamminen (FIN) 74 70 70 73, Sophie Sandolo (ITA) 71 72 72 72, Nobuhle Dlamini (SWZ) 69 69 75 74, Olivia Mehaffey (IRL) 72 73 71 71, Miriam Nagl (GER) 75 68 70 74
288 - Ursula Wikstrom (FIN) 72 72 71 73, Mallory Fraiche (USA) 70 75 68 75, Heather Macrae (SCO) 73 68 75 72, Caroline Afonso (FRA) 70 74 73 71
289 - Cathryn Bristow (NZL) 71 71 75 72, Ariane Provot (FRA) 72 71 73 73, Celine Herbin (FRA) 71 71 71 76, Melanie Maetzler (SUI) 75 68 70 76
290 - Ann-Kathrin Lindner (GER) 72 73 71 74, Becky Brewerton (WAL) 71 72 77 70
292 - Kylie Walker (SCO) 71 74 70 77, Carin Koch (SWE) 70 75 72 75
293 - Alison Whitaker (AUS) 72 72 78 71
294 - Bonita Bredenhann (NAM) 71 73 72 78
295 - Elina Nummenpaa (FIN) 73 72 75 75
296 - Pamela Feggans (SCO) 74 71 75 76
