A late fightback from Olivia Mehaffey has given her a chance of making the cut at the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup in Thailand, however she will need to go low in her second round to stick around for the weekend.
The Tandragee woman sits in a share of 102nd after a one-over 73 in her first round at Siam Country Club at the first of two innovative events, which sees men and women competing for the same trophy.
It hasn’t been the ideal start to the season for Mehaffey, who hasn’t finished better than 18th in her three events so far, however she has seen her performances improve with each passing week on the Ladies European Tour.
She will need a much improved day two in Chonburi if she is to continue that trend, though, as she couldn’t keep the mistakes off her scorecard, particularly on her front nine.
The former Arizona State stand-out bogeyed her second hole and, after her first birdie at the par-four fifth, she would double-bogey the par-five sixth which, along with a birdie in the ninth, saw her turn in 37.
Two bogeys started the back nine, but Mehaffey would give herself an opportunity to pull things back with birdies at the 15th and 18th, although she will likely need a round in the 60s to make the cut.
Meanwhile, there’s a special story brewing at the top where 14-year-old Thai amateur Ratchanon Chantananuwat holds a share of the lead alongside Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen after both recorded nine-under 63s at Siam Country Club.
The pair hold a one-shot advantage over Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai and Taipei’s Hung Chien-yao after the opening day, with England’s Meghan MacLaren a shot further back after a 65.
- Full scoring HERE
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