Ayrshire’s Pamela Feggans and the teenage Curtis Cup player, Krystle Caithness, were the Scots who coped best with the pressure of the opening day’s play at the Ladies’ European Tour Final Qualifying School over La Manga’s South course in Spain.

Feggans, a 26-year-old from Patna who was a rookie on the US Futures Tour last year, had three birdies in a one under par 72 and was lying in joint seventh place and just three strokes behind the leader, South Korea’s Jessica Ji.

Caithness, with two birdies in the final six holes, was just a shot further back on level par and it put the St Regulus 19-year-old in a tie for 14th place in the 95-strong field. The top 30 will get their full cards after the fourth round on Thursday while the top 50 will all gain some sort of status to play on the Tour this season. . 

Archerfield’s Lynn Kenny, who has a category for next year but wants a full card to guarantee a spot in next month’s Australian tournaments, and Curtis Cup player Michele Thomson were the next best of the Scots and they were in a big group sharing 26th place on 75.

Musselburgh’s Vikki Laing was on 76, a score that included a disappointing run of four bogeys at the end, while Jenna Wilson, on 79, and Kylie Walker, with an 80, are two Scots in need of a second round boost.