Sara Byrne is just two shots off the lead after the opening round of the LET’s Jabra Ladies Open de France at Evian Resort after an opening three-under 68.
The Cork native, representing Dromoland Castle, missed the early season events in Australia and South Africa as she recuperated from a potentially career-ending arm injury, but having made the cut in her second start, showed that she’s close to coming back to full match fitness as she made five birdies around the notoriously difficult major site on the shores of Lake Geneva.
While she still showed some signs of rust with her irons, she drove the ball well and chipped and putted even better, and if she can manage to iron out the minor kinks in her approach play then she’ll give herself a good chance going into the third and final round as she begins round two tied for fifth.
“I was feeling pretty good. I was just really chilled,” said Byrne. “I went out there just to play some golf and not put any expectations on it and just took it shot-by-shot. My elbow is giving me a little bit of grief, so it’s just hitting and hoping and then hoping it’s not sore.
“It’s getting through that more than anything else, but I was really happy and everything felt good. My putting is really good, I had a chip-in on 16, up-and-downs were really good, so I was saving myself a lot, and taking them when I had opportunities. It’s just fun to play this golf course, the views are amazing and it’s a really cool place to be at.”
At one-over-par, Aine Donegan is next best of the Irish quartet and tied for 36th, with Anna Foster one shot further adrift and just above the provisional cut mark at +2.
Annabel Wilson will need to shoot a round in red figures at the very least if she’s to earn herself a final-round tee time after an opening 75 that leaves her tied for 87th at +4.
Norwegian Dorthea Forbrigdt, who celebrated her 29th birthday yesterday, fired a round of 66 (-5) to lead at the 18-hole mark.
She made birdies on the fourth and sixth holes before three on the trot on holes nine, 10 and 11. She added another birdie on 15 with her only dropped shot of the day on 16 to seal a round of five-under-par.
“It was a very good ball striking day, and all my birdie putts were within four metres. I also had a lot of good chances that I missed. It was super steady and felt kind of easy. I had one hole where I had to fight and I had to make par, but overall, it was really good,” said Forbrigd.
“I have a good friend on the bag this week and it’s her first time here, so we’re exploring Evian. We grew up playing golf together and she played college golf, we played club championships together, so we know each other very well.
“The wrist is a lot better and when I came back, I felt like my game was good. I don’t think there’s a difference now with how I hit it. I’m just putting my game together a little bit more and making some better decisions. I had my putting coach out there this week Monday to Wednesday and we did a lot of work on the greens. It paid off because I holed some clutch putts today.”
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