The Ladies European Tour 2025 season officially starts this week, 6-8 February in Morocco with the Lalla Meryem Cup at the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam. Czech number one Sára Kousková will also play in the opening tournament, while Klára Davidson Spilková and Kristýna Napoleaová return to the circuit after medical breaks.
The LET calendar offers 30 tournaments in 2025, which will visit five continents in succession and a total prize money of €39 million will be distributed among the players. Czech golf will have a record seven female players on the circuit this year. Alongside full card holders holders Sára Kousková, Kristýna Napoleaová and Jana Melichová, in action will be also Klára Davidson Spilková, Tereza Melecká, Tereza Koželuhová and Patricie Macková.
The Lalla Meryem Cup in Rabat, Morocco is being held for the 28th time and a field of 108 players from 34 countries, made up of 11 invited and 97 LET players, will compete for 450,000 euros. Three Czech female professionals will take to the Blue Course at the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam resort, a technical course with fast greens, par 72 and 6205 metres in length, in the first LET tournament of the year so far.
Czech number one Sára Kousková will enter her third professional season in Rabat after training in Spain and in a press release she shared her impressions after arriving at the tournament venue. “I love it here. It’s one of my favourite tournaments of the year, with the added bonus of meeting the men’s PGA Champions Tour… As for my status, I’m really looking forward to my first tournament. When I have to tame it, I don’t want to be overwhelmed. We’ve made a few minor adjustments especially with the putting, so we’ll see how it translates on the course in a live tournament. But I can’t wait. Yesterday I played a practice nine, today I’m spending the day on the driving range and on Wednesday I’ll play a full 18 holes in the Pro-Am tournament. And on Thursday, we’re on it.”
After almost five months, Klára Davidson Spilková, the most experienced Czech golfer, is back among the European elite due to a medical break. Rabat is also one of her favourite courses, as it was here that she won her first professional title in 2017. In an official statement, Davidson Spilková said that she is guaranteed to participate in the first six tournaments for 2025, based on a medical exemption. Her goal is to return to the top 70 in the 2024 Order of Merit rankings, which would also keep her on the same playing card for this year. This would guarantee her participation in most European events this season.
“Discontinuing the season in September 2024 turned out to be the best possible decision. It gave me a chance to recover sufficiently and, most importantly, to work on the problem with my right hip. I also had enough time to get a lot of things in order and to rest a bit after 14 years of professional career. The first three months were mainly devoted to rehabilitation and weight training. I didn’t see the court for the first time until the second half of my medical break and I played very well. I verified that I was medically sound, but moreover, my passion to play and my desire to win was reawakened. Those five months without any pressure from the environment helped me to play with more ease than before. The health break only reinforced my belief that you have to take things as they come, accept them and be able to cope with them. I am also grateful for all the life lessons this journey has brought me,” said Davidson Spilková.
Kristýna Napoleaová will be the third member of the Czech party in Rabat. Last year’s season was prematurely ended by tennis elbow, at a time when she was hoping for better results after returning to her old clubs and original swing. For this season, she wants to return to the more aggressive play that led her to the German Masters title in 2023.
The Lalla Meryem Cup, as well as a series of tournaments in Australia, will still be skipped by two-time Ladies European Tour champion and current 41st player in the LET rankings Jana Melichová. Thanks to last year’s victory in the Netherlands and enough points in the OOM rankings, she could afford to end the 2024 season early and undergo the necessary disc surgery. “I’m very happy that I managed to win again and thus secure my place on the European Tour for 2025 and 2026. I can’t wait to rejoin the tour and get back to the competitive pace,” Melichová commented on her plans after winning the tournament last year.
Among the fifty-two “rookies” or newcomers on Europe’s top women’s professional tour is 23-year-old Patricie Macková, who won the 16-player category at Q-School last year and is now guaranteed a limited number of starts on the 2025 LET. The Czech pro has not yet started in Morocco, but as she told the media back in December, she believes in a maximum of starts in the first half of the LET season and a chance to secure her participation in the second half of the season thanks to good results.
The Czech trio will enter the Lalla Meryem Cup on Thursday 6 February with the following times:
Kristýna Napoleaová at 9:20 from hole 1, Klára Davidson Spilková at 12:50 from hole 10 and Sára Kousková at 13:40 from hole 1.
In addition to the Lalla Meryem Cup, the PGA Champions Tour 2025 season will also feature the Hassan II Trophy on the Red Course.
Follow the results of the Lalla Meryem Cup series on the Ladies European Tour 2025 here.
Author: Tomáš Přikryl (www.cgf.cz)