Sara Byrne opened with a two-under 69 in the first round of the Epson Tour’s Carlisle Women’s Arizona Classic in Scottsdale, but she’ll be a little disappointed not to be higher on the leaderboard.
Coming in off the back of consecutive missed cuts, the Cork woman playing out of Dromoland Castle hit the ground running with birdie on the par-5 opening hole and she added two more on the front side, these coming at the par-3 fourth and par-4 sixth, to make the turn at -3.
Another birdie on 13 took her to four-under and inside the top 10, but back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15 took a little gloss off the card and she slipped into a 15-way tie for 27th at -2.
Former AIG Women’s Open champion Sophia Popov leads the way after a bogey-free 64.
Popov called the round “boring,” which to her is one of the best kinds of days on the golf course.
The LPGA Tour veteran has recently felt confident in her game, specifically her ball striking, but has yet to see the putts drop until today. But the biggest difference maker is her ability to stay in her home this weekend, as she resides about 20 minutes East in Fountain Hills.
“I pay a lot of attention to my nutrition, so when I’m on the road, a lot of times we’ll have Airbnb’s because we want to cook. We want to make sure we know what’s going in our bodies,” said Popov. “And being home is the best spot because we know we have everything there. My meals don’t change. There’s a routine that I always have, and that’s so nice to have it because on the road, you never know. Every Airbnb is different, every hotel is different, so just to know where you’re going home to is awesome.”
Popov, a mother to her almost two-year-old daughter, Maya, smiled big at the thought of hoisting another trophy on Mother’s Day this Sunday. With 54 holes left to play in Scottsdale, the 32-year-old will keep that thought in her back pocket while on the golf course, sticking to her game plan.
“Obviously, a dream come true if that happens. You know, it’s a little bit in the back of my mind, but I try not to think about it,” said Popov. “I honestly wanna just take it day by day, swing by swing, really, because I think that what I’ve been lacking in the last few weeks is just to take it one step at a time. And just being home, and knowing I can play some good golf, is already helping. If I stay patient, take it one shot at a time, I have a good chance, and obviously, it would be the nicest finish to win on Mother’s Day.”
Four players find themselves close behind Popov at six-under. Sophia Schubert, Liqi Zeng, Hailee Cooper and Melanie Green will try to track down the LPGA Tour Major Champion on Friday and move further away from the cut line of the top 60 and ties.
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