The notable lack of wind on the Magenta Shores GC on Friday allowed for some low scoring and Lauren Walsh will be satisfied with her opening salvo on two-under-par while Olivia Mehaffey sits at one-over after an eventful round.
Dubliner, Walsh started the day on the 10th and was not long hitting her stride with early birdies on the par-5 11th and again on the 14th. An eye-catching eagle-three on the par-5 17th would see Walsh turn on -4 and in good shape heading to her homeward nine. A pair of bogeys on the par-4 4th and 5th holes, however, would drop her back into the pack. This leaves her tied for 24th place, five off the early leader but just three strokes back from Spain’s Marta Martin in second spot.
Olivia Mehaffey’s round was a much more eventful eighteen holes. Bogey on her third, the par-4 12th hole would be followed by another on the 16th, but she would scramble on the next hole to snatch one shot back from the course. A battling back nine for Mehaffey saw her exchange three bogeys and three birdies to leave her on one-over for the tournament and tied for 66th. There will be work to do for the Banbridge women to see herself into the final day here with the top 60 and ties making it through to final day Sunday.
Friday was the day for Queensland amateur Justice Bosio to show her stripes in the lead up to her tilt at the professional game and she put together a fine round of 65 to leave herself two clear at the top as we move into Saturday. The 20-year-old went round without a single blot on her copy book as seven birdies would see her surge into an early lead at Magenta Shores.
Bosio is followed by a group of five players on -5 including Spanish duo, Marta Martin and Luna Sobron Galmes. Fellow Queensland amateur Sarah Hammett sits one further back in a grouping of seven players on -4. A large and competent chasing pack will look to reel in the young amateur with more good scoring on Saturday.
Speaking after her round, Friday’s leader compared the difference in playing conditions from last week in New Zealand: “Last week was heaps of fun, very, very different climate,” she said. “It was very cold, so it was hard to adapt to swinging in so many layers, so I think the golf kind of suffered a bit. “I think because I have played so many (pro events), it is starting to feel a lot more comfortable now.”
Also garnering their share of interest on Friday were Czech Klara Spilkova and German Leonie Harm with holes-in-one. Former Women’s Irish Open champion Spilkova recording the first ace at the 115-metre 3rd with 9-iron, and Harm followed suit at the 6th with a 7-iron from 126 metres. New South Wales’ Claire Shin got in on the hole-out fun with an eagle two at the 8th, her second last hole of the day, when finding the cup with a gap wedge from 92 metres.
Mehaffey gets her charge underway at 12.17pm (local) with Walsh teeing it up at 11.55am and the duo will have a good idea of where they lie in relation to both the leaders and the cutline.
With the wind expected to only become a factor on Sunday, this could be the opportunity to make impressions towards the top of the leaderboard heading into the final round.
Leave a comment