Round one of the LET’s PIF London Championship kicked off on Friday as four golfers representing the isle of Ireland hope to be amongst it at the Centurion Club.
Seeking their maiden wins on the Ladies European Tour are Annabel Wilson of Derry, Lauren Walsh from Kildare, Dublin’s Anna Foster and Cork native Sara Byrne.
Annabel Wilson sits highest among the Irish as a two-under-par first round sees the 24-year-old in T16.
Wilson began her day with an immediate birdie on the par-5 first hole before carding another birdie on the sixth. A bogey on the eighth stunted progress but the Castlerock pro finished her round in style by making another birdie on the final hole.
Like Wilson, Lauren Walsh carded a birdie on the first, but it was quickly cancelled out by a sore double bogey on the par-4 third and a follow up bogey on the fourth.
The 24-year-old didn’t let that ruin her day as Walsh birdied two more holes on the front nine to see her first round complete at even-par in a tie for 37th.
It was a day of ups and downs for Sara Byrne as the two-time Irish National Championship winner saw four bogeys on the front nine but did very well in closing out her round as she birdied the 13th, 14th and 16th to end her day at one-over-par in T50.
Anna Foster will be disappointed with her opening round as a wobble at the back end of the front nine undone a lot of good work.
A double bogey on the sixth hole, followed by two bogeys on the seventh and eighth had the 23-year-old in a bit of bother as she struggled to find fairways and greens in regulation.
The Elm Park pro did well to keep composure by birdieing the ninth and 18th as she ended her day five-over-par in T90.
Six-under-par was the lowest score of the day for the individual competition and that feat was shared by Alexandra Swayne representing the US Virgin Islands and Germany’s Laura Fuenfstueck as they both sit in T1 – as team NaDaud lead the team competition at –18.
An eagle on the first hole for Swayne followed by two more birdies saw a blemish-free front nine for the 25-year-old. A bogey on the 11th hole was quickly forgotten about as three birdies on the back nine put Swayne in great shape heading into the weekend.
“I have a great team, and we had a lot of fun. I was just seeing shots and hitting them, and I was actually getting quite lucky out there. You always have to be lucky to have a good round, no matter who you are, which golfer, or which golf course you play,” said Swayne.
Laura Fuenfstueck’s round was almost a carbon copy of Swayne’s, even bogeying the same hole.
Fuenfstueck couldn’t ask for a better start as the 30-year-old went eagle-birdie on the first two holes.
Four more birdies were to come as the German hopes that this is the weekend where she’ll see her first win on the LET on her 115th attempt.
“Today I had a few moments where I’d probably call myself a little bit lucky… we spent three days with my coach here, which has been really helpful. Long term, that’s going to be important because we’re figuring out what’s key to my game,” said the German.
With odds on favourite Charley Hull pulling out of the weekend due to an ankle injury, there may be a chance for one of the 19 rookies in the field to make headlines.
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