English amateurs , Kelly Tidy and Ellie Givens have cleared the first hurdle in the Ladies European Tour qualifying school marathon and graduated to the final stage.
They were among 72 players who made it through pre-qualifying at the La Manga Club in Spain. They will return to the club on Sunday for a 90-hole test and will be aiming to finish in the top 30 and win a place on the 2012 Tour.
Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton) tied eighth in Group A at pre-qualifying, with rounds of 70 74 72 76 over the North, South, North, South courses. The North course is par 71, while the South is par 73.
In Group B, which played the courses in the opposite order, Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale) tied eighth with scores of 74 72 72 73. Both players are England internationals and Charlotte is the current Helen Holm Scottish strokeplay champion while Kelly was the 2010 British ladies' champion.
Ellie Givens (Blackwell Grange) tied 18th in Group B, scoring 75 70 74 77. Ellie was the 2007 English girls' champion and went on to study at the University of Denver in the USA.
There was also success for seven English professionals, who finished among the top 35 and ties in each group.
Hertfordshire's Hannah Burke led Group B on 11-under par with rounds of 74, 69, 67, 67, while Anna Scott of Durham tied 10th with 69 72 74 77; Rachel Connor of Manchester tied 28th with 82 71 72 74; and Claire Aitken of Kent tied 34th on the cut mark with 76 75 74 75.
Yorkshire's Jodi Ewart – who has recently won her card for the LPGA Tour – was second in Group A on four-under par with scores of 68 74 70 72. The 2011 English amateur champion, Lucy Williams of Hertfordshire, tied 14th with 68 77 74 75, while former English champion Charlie Douglass, also of Hertfordshire, tied 19th with 69 74 78 75.
In final qualifying the full field of 101 players will play both the North and South courses for the first four rounds with a cut to the leading 50 players and ties after 72 holes. The final round, which will determine exemption categories for the 2012 season, will then be played on the South course.
