Clara Moyano and Marina Escobar, fifth and ninth, are the highest-placed Spaniards after the opening round.
The Swedish golfer equals the course record previously set by Billie-Jo Smith (in 2024), Gemma Clews (2024) and Lucie Marichand (2025).
At just 23 years old and with only five LETAS tournaments to her name, nobody could have imagined that Sweden’s Johanna Sjursen would light up the opening round of the Iberdrola Calatayud Ladies Open with such an explosive performance. She has now earned her place in the history of both the Iberdrola Calatayud Ladies Open and the course hosting it for the fifth consecutive year, Gambito Golf Club Catalayud.
Her spectacular opening-round 64 stands as a course record, a score matched only by Billie-Jo Smith (2024), Gemma Clews (2024) and Lucie Malchirand (2025).
Brimming with pride and smiling from ear to ear at her achievement, Johanna Sjursen produced a performance as surprising as it was devastating, returning to the clubhouse with a remarkable eight-under-par scorecard. That score alone shows how quickly her golf took on an almost supernatural quality.
The young Swedish golfer surprised everyone with an eagle on her first hole, the tenth on the Calatayud course, where the unstoppable Nordic player began her round. What initially seemed a brief moment of celebration continued with two consecutive birdies, a short respite with a par on the next hole, and three more consecutive birdies to complete an almost unimaginable display.
At seven under par through her opening nine holes, all eyes were on a performance full of freshness and fearless confidence. Everything was going right for Johanna Sjursen, as she demonstrated once again with two consecutive birdies to start her second nine, taking her to nine under par through eleven holes.
At that point, however, a touch of human fallibility crept into her game, no doubt brought on by the dizzying pace she had set with a third of the round still to play. A bogey followed on her fifteenth hole as doubts emerged, offset by another birdie on the next, before another dropped shot on the penultimate hole of her outstanding round: 64 strokes, one eagle, eight birdies and two bogeys. The course record was equalled.
With a tenth-place finish at the PGA Championship as her previous best result on the LETAS circuit, Johanna Sjursen opened up a significant gap over her main rivals. Closest to her were Switzerland’s Tiffany Arafy and Germany’s Theresa De Bochdanovits and Lisa Marie Schumacher, all tied for second at five under par.
Among the Spaniards, Madrid’s Clara Moyano was the most inspired over these first 18 holes of competition. Interestingly, her 68 matched the score she recorded exactly a year ago, when an identical card also made her the leading Spanish player in the event. Four birdies without a dropped shot — an encouraging bogey-free performance — keep all possibilities open for her from fifth place.
Also inside the top ten is Almería’s Marina Escobar, who was flying along until the 14th hole. Her five-under-par score was reduced by two untimely bogeys late in the round, dropping her to ninth place.
An experience for everyone
Beyond the tournament itself, a fitting finale takes place on Saturday 17 October with the American Express LETAS Experience. Amateur golfers will be able to enjoy the same course and care as the professional players during the competition, with an emphasis on socialising and gastronomy through open activities that establish the occasion as a social event extending beyond sport.
Essential support for the tournament
This event has the backing and collaboration of Calatayud City Council and the Government of Aragon’s Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism, which are among the tournament’s main official sponsors. These joint efforts aim to promote sports tourism in the region and showcase the cultural, historical and natural riches of the city and its surroundings.
The tournament also benefits from the valuable support of sponsoring companies that make the event possible, including Iberdrola, DF Grupo, Reale Seguros, JAB, Dos Maderas, Malpastor, Veolia, American Express, Mahou, Cubical, Schweppes, Volvo, Pepsi, Solán de Cabras and Suministros Espiago, as well as the Let Access Series, the Aragonese Golf Federation and the Royal Spanish Golf Federation.
