Lauren Walsh opened with a level-par 72 on a weather affected day one of the LET’s Dormy Open and sits tied for 50th, while Olivia Mehaffey looks destined to miss the cut after an eight-over 80.
It all started brightly for LET rookie Walsh who birdied two of her opening three holes, and then traded two more with two bogeys to reach the turn at -2 for the day. Unfortunately, she couldn’t build on this on the front nine – she started on the 10th – and two late bogeys saw her slip back to level par and now has work to do in tomorrow’s second round to see Sunday action.
Mehaffey started well with a birdie at the first and par at the second before the hooter sounded and lightning moved into the area. Unfortunately, things quickly went awry after the restart and she looks set to miss the cut.
Annabell Fuller and Kim Metraux both fired rounds of 67 (-5) on the first day of the Dormy Open Helsingborg at Allerum Golf Club.
The duo headed out in the morning wave and completed their rounds to sit at the top of the leaderboard on five-under-par.
Play was suspended at 14.49 (local time) due to the threat of lightning with all afternoon groups having started their rounds.
It was a bogey-free day for England’s Fuller who began her day from the 10th tee and rolled in birdies on holes 10, 12, 14, 18 and eight.
“I played pretty well,” said the LET rookie. “I was pretty consistent and pretty steady. There were lots of fairways and greens, which always helps.
“Any mistakes I did make, I recovered pretty quickly. I was never really in trouble which was nice as well and it makes it a stress-free round.
“I have been hitting it good recently, it just hasn’t come together. I have been making silly mistakes here and there, but I have been making birdies recently, so it was nice to have lots of birdies still and not have the mistakes.”
Switzerland’s Metraux had only her dropped shot of the day on the 12th making a bogey on the par-five.
But the 29-year-old bounced back with a birdie on the 14th before rolling in three on the trot on holes 17, 18 and one.
The Swiss star then made further birdies on holes three and five to also be at the top of the leaderboard on five-under.
“It was a very enjoyable day; I had a really nice group,” said Metraux. “I had a great time. I have my mum on the bag this week – haven’t had her on the bag for a while, so very enjoyable.
“I hit some really good shots, I made a few putts, I’m really happy with it. The long game was higher quality today than it has been the last few weeks.
“I made a few tweaks on the range yesterday and had a good feel coming into today. I hit pretty much every green today, which made it a little bit easier.”
At last week’s Jabra Ladies Open, Metraux’s young sister Morgane clinched her second LET title and the older Metraux sister wants to join her in the winner’s circle soon.
She explained: “It was an amazing week for all the family. It was great for her to do it so close to home with friends and family cheering her on. She’s 2-0 on me now, so I better get moving and get close to her and catch her.
“We have always evolved together and grown together in the game of golf. Now she’s a little bit ahead, so I’m going to try and catch her up. Seeing her win makes me believe I can, and we’ve had a few good weeks for Swiss players, so I want to put my name up there as well.”
Four players sit one shot further back in a tie for third place with France’s Perrine Delacour, Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup, Swedish amateur Meja Örtengren and England’s Cara Gainer all on four-under-par.
It was also a bogey-free day for France’s Delacour, who rolled in birdies on the sixth, ninth, 12th and 15th holes.
“It was good, I hit a lot of greens and when I missed the greens, I had a lot of good up-and-downs all the time,” said Delacour. “That definitely helped and it’s good for the confidence to have a bogey-free round.
“My iron game for sure, it’s always been a strength for me but today it was pretty good. That helped a lot and I hit some closer to the pin with wedges too.
“I unfortunately didn’t qualify for the U.S. Open, so it feels good to be back in Europe to see some faces, speak your own language and be close to the family on the same time zone. That definitely helps me a lot for my confidence.”
Broch Estrup, who won this tournament in 2015, is also just one shot back having had one bogey and five birdies on her scorecard.
“It was calm for the first nine and then I feel the wind picked up on the back nine,” said the LET winner. “It’s still fairly calm, but on some holes, it’s definitely picking up.
“With the rain yesterday, it’s really soft so you can go for the pins pretty much. I’m not hitting it perfectly, but I gave myself a lot of chances.
“I had 11 birdie putts inside six metres today. To shoot four-under, it could have easily been more but I’m really happy with the way I played and some of the shots I hit.”
Two-time PING Junior Solheim Cup winner Örtengren had a great start to her home tournament with six birdies and one double bogey for her 68 (-4).
England’s Cara Gainer was in the afternoon wave and was four-under through eight holes having rolled in four consecutive birdies on hole two to five.
Ten players are in a share of seventh place on three-under-par with seven players in the clubhouse and three players yet to complete their round.
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