FAMILY AFFAIR FOR LAURA CABANILLAS

cabanillas762-762x500Laura Cabanillas of Spain made a return to competitive play at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco after the arrival of her first child almost a year ago.

While her daughter Valentina was being looked after in the hotel, husband Manuel Quiros was on caddie duty and the pair were proving a successful team at Golf de L’Ocean in Agadir.

Manuel understands the life of a touring professional as he held a full European Tour card from 2007-2011 and now plays on the Challenge and Alps Tours.

In 2012, while Laura played in the Lalla Meryem Cup, Manuel was the first reserve for the Trophée Hassan II at nearby Golf du Palais Royal and hopes to regain his European Tour card in order to play next year.

“If he plays, normally I caddie for him and if I play, he caddies for me,” said Laura, 33, from Malaga, starting her 15th year on tour. “It’s a shame because a few years ago he played on the main tour but now he has lost his card.

“It’s nice having the men and the women playing close by and next year I hope that we will both be competing in the Lalla Meryem Cup and Trophée Hassan II together.”

Laura recorded her career best finish of second at the 2009 SAS Ladies Masters in Norway and fired a first round 62 (-9) at the 2013 Pilsen Golf Masters before taking a year out from golf.

Manuel posted his career best finish at the African Open in 2011, where he lost to Louis Oosthuizen in a play-off.