Lalla Aicha Tour School

The Ladies European Tour (LET) has extended its agreement with the Hassan II Golf Trophy Association (ATH) to stage Lalla Aicha Tour School under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in Morocco for a further three years until 2016.

The LET’s Lalla Aicha Tour School was first played in Marrakech, Morocco, in December 2012 and grew in 2013 with the addition of three Pre-Qualifiers in Rabat.

The qualifying School was renamed Lalla Aicha Tour School in honour of Her Royal Highness Late Princess Lalla Aicha who contributed enormously to the development of women’s golf in Morocco, beside and with the support of His Majesty Late King Hassan II. The first Arab woman ambassador (London and Rome), Her Royal Highness late Princess Lalla Aicha had participated in the Hassan II Golf Trophy and Lalla Meryem Cup since the 1970s and played 18 holes every day until she passed away in September, 2011.

“We are honoured and excited to extend our successful partnership with ATH for a further three years,” commented LET CEO Ivan Khodabakhsh. “Having integrated the Lalla Meryem Cup into the Ladies European Tour schedule in 2010 and added Lalla Aicha Tour School in 2012, with this extension we are taking our partnership to the next level. Moroccan golf has made great progress and the LET has developed close ties with ATH, with a shared vision to grow participation and interest in women’s golf, particularly as we look ahead to golf’s return to the Olympic Games in 2016.”

Deputy Vice Chairman of ATH Mr Mohamed Chaibi commented: “The renewal of the agreement for the next three years, 2014, 2015 and 2016, is the great result of a strong partnership between the Hassan II Golf Trophy Association (ATH), Chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, and the Ladies European Tour (LET) who will return in Morocco in October 2014 to continue the successful staging of the Qualifying School.It is also a great consecration to see the success of each edition from the results of the rookies who qualified in Lalla Aicha Tour School and who are making a good professional career."

The Robert Trent Jones-designed Royal Dar Es Salam in Rabat, which hosted the Moroccan Open four times and the Hassan II Golf Trophy from 1971-2010, will host two four round, 72-hole Pre-Qualifiers in 2014.The first takes place on the Blue Course in Rabat on 30 October-2 November followed by another pre-qualifier on the Red Course on 8-11 December.

As in 2013, the five round, 90-hole Lalla Aicha Tour School Final Qualifier will be hosted at Al Maaden (a Kyle Phillips layout which debuted in 2010) and Samanah Golf Course (a Nicklaus Design track that opened in 2011) in Marrakech, Morocco, on 17-21 December 2014.

Competitors will play two rounds on each course, before the cut to the leading 60 players and ties after 72 holes. The final round will be played on the Samanah Golf Course on 21 December. After the final round the top 30 players and ties will be eligible for Membership in Category 8a* while those who have made the cut in positions 31 and below will be eligible for Membership in Category 9b*. Players who fail to make the 72-hole cut will be eligible for Membership in Category 12a*.

(*or the equivalent of categories for 2015)