Golf is open to all
The Women's Amateur
Madsen takes route 66 to lead qualifying in Women’s Amateur Championship
10 Jun 25
6 mins
Marie Eline Madsen set a brisk early pace on day one of stroke play qualifying in the 122nd Women’s Amateur Championship at Nairn.
The 20-year-old from Denmark raced to the turn in 30 on her way to a course-record six-under-par 66 as she finished two shots clear of Jasmine Koo of the USA. The 144-player field play 36 holes before the leading 64 go to the match play stage. Madsen exceeded her own expectations by reaching the semi-finals of the Championship a year ago at Portmarnock and the North Carolina State University student continues to feed off the confidence boost that her run to the last-four gave her. “The Women’s Amateur Championship is very special to me,” said Madsen, who has won twice this year on the US college circuit. “Going into last year’s event, I still had a lot to learn in my game. But getting to the semi-final was the best result I had ever had. “I remember going back on the flight to Denmark after it and I was crying a little bit. I was so overwhelmed with what had happened. I never expected to get so far. That result was a real eye opener. “It showed what I could accomplish, and it proved to myself that I could compete. Since then, I’ve had some good results and really kicked on.”
Marie Eline Madsen during The Women's Amateur Championship.
A two-putt birdie from 30-feet on the long 2nd provided the catalyst for a telling early surge and Madsen made further gains at the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th.
Another birdie on the 12th took her to seven-under but she gave that shot back on the next hole with her only bogey of a terrific round.
“I like playing into the wind and the front nine really suited me,” added Madsen, who harnessed the conditions to fine effect with a display of poise and purpose.
“My putting was very good today, especially on that front nine and I was able to take advantage of the chances I had.”
Koo, the US Curtis Cup player, pieced together a tidy, bogey-free 68 as the 19-year-old revelled in her first experience of Scottish links golf.
“I’d been working on hitting stingers but there was one shot that was super skinny,” she said with a wry smile. “I was like, ‘oh, that is so bad’ but it ended up rolling along the ground to 10-feet and I holed the putt.”
Koo’s Curtis Cup team-mate, Anna Davis, birdied three holes in a row from the 10th in a 69 while Scotland’s Hannah Darling, a beaten semi-finalist in both 2021 and 2022, also opened with a three-under round to tuck herself in among the qualifying frontrunners.
“I’m just looking to keep the foot down,” said the former Girls’ Amateur Champion who is the top ranked GB&I player in the Nairn showpiece.
“I think if you get too cautious and try to protect your position, then that’s when it can get away from you. So, I’ll just go out there, hopefully post a similar round and get through to the match play.”
Marie Eline Madsen posted the lowest score on Tuesday.
England’s Patience Rhodes, another Curtis Cup player, joined the posse on three-under as she looks to steal some of the limelight that her older sister, Mimi, has seized in 2025.
As a rookie on the Ladies' European Tour, Mimi won three consecutive titles between March and May.
“We’re both very competitive and now that she’s on the Tour I want to follow in her footsteps,” said Patience of this friendly sibling rivalry. “She’s a great role model to have.”
Catherine Park, the highest-ranked player in the field at number seven on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), posted a 73 on an opening day which saw two players – Natalia Aparicio and Maylis Lamoure – ace the par-3 11th.
Stroke play leaderboard can be viewed here.