Lauren Walsh returned to Sunrise Golf and Country Club on Saturday morning to complete the final six holes of her opening round, but the stop/start nature of the event meant it wouldn’t be straightforward.
After heavy rains forced the closure of the golf course on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Walsh managed to get 12 holes in on Friday before further weather issues forced tournament organisers to suspend play for the day and reduce the event to 36 holes.
But thick fog on Saturday morning meant that there would be another three-hour suspension with just over an hour’s golf played, so it was little surprise that she failed to build on the four-under tally she’d held overnight.
A birdie on 16 and a bogey on 17 were the only holes that she didn’t par, and she was later overtaken by Thailand’s Nook Sukapan and Chinese Taipei’s Yani Tseng who got to -6 with the latter having four holes yet to complete.
“It’s been such an unpredictable week,” Walsh said. “We didn’t know if we’d even get to play or what kind of condition the course would be in after all the rain. Yesterday was pretty miserable – it didn’t stop raining for the 12 holes I played, so my caddie and I were just trying to hang in there and grind it out.”
She added that maintaining mental focus is the key for this week.
“You just have to keep grinding and make sure to reset every time play is suspended. The course staff at Sunrise have done an incredible job. Considering how much rain we’ve had, the greens are in an amazing condition. Since I landed Monday night, it hasn’t stopped raining, but the last two holes today were finally dry. Kudos to everyone working hard to keep the course playable.”
With no practice rounds possible due to the weather, Walsh said the simplified approach actually helped:
“Sometimes we can overthink things. It was nice to go out with fresh eyes and just hit the best shot in front of me. My caddie and I kept it simple – hit the fairway, hit the green, and make a decent putt.”
Sitting tied for third and knowing that she’ll be among the final groups on Sunday, it’s a wonderful opportunity for the Kildare native to push for her maiden professional victory and to force her way into the top 10 in the LET’s Order of Merit ahead of the final few events.
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