Annabel Wilson’s one-over 72 gave her a share of 21st place after the opening round of the LET’s Hills Open in Sweden, while New Zealand’s Momoka Kobori carded a four-under 67 to set the pace.
In windy and firm conditions, scoring proved tough and just a dozen of the 132 players shot rounds in red figures on day one.
Wilson made an early birdie to reach the seventh at -1, but a run of four bogeys in six holes followed, before she finished strongly to pick up two shots on the way home and keep herself in the mix going into round two.
Two shots further back, Olivia Mehaffey is next best of the Irish, having made one birdie, two bogeys and a double, but sits inside the provisional cutline with a shot to spare.
Canice Screene, on +5, is just the wrong side of the mark, while Anna Foster (+7) and Sara Byrne (+11) had disappointing rounds and will need to produce the goods in round two if they’re to find themselves with Sunday tee times.
At the top of the leaderboard, Kobori was extremely impressive. The 26-year-old rose to the challenge and was able to set the early pace in Sweden.
Kobori had a steady front nine with one birdie on the sixth hole, but made an impressive statement on the back nine, with three back-to-back birdies on 11, 12, and 13. She then dropped a shot on 14, but bounced back with a birdie on the next hole.
Reflecting on her round, she said: “It was pretty tough out there with the wind. Before the round, I wanted to just go out and try to keep a good attitude and stay as patient as possible. I knew it was going to be tough out there on a tough golf course. I was able to make some really good pars and then once the opportunities came, I was able to capitalise on them. It was a game of patience out there.”
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