England’s Meghan MacLaren fired an opening round of 67 (-5) to be the leader after the first round of the Australian Women’s Classic – Bonville.
It was a strong start for the two-time LET winner, who produced a bogey-free day with birdies rolling in on the third, eighth, 10th, 14th, and 18th holes.
“I’m really pleased with that. It was nice to sneak a birdie in there on the last, but that was a really solid start,” said MacLaren.
“The key was patience. I didn’t make any bogeys today and I feel that’s a pretty good effort around here. Especially because when you get on the wrong side of the hole, you get in tough spots pretty quickly. I hit a lot of greens and holed out really well and just cleaned up.
“It was nice to pick up a couple of birdies on the par-fives on my first nine, I scrapped a bit of a par on the seventh which was the last par-five I played. It always makes it a little bit easier for the rest of the round if you can pick off those ones.”
Australia is a destination where MacLaren thrives having won both her LET titles in the country and her first, back in 2018, was just down the road at Coffs Harbour Golf Club.
She added: “I need to move here. I love it here. I am also in a great place. It was a bit of a rollercoaster emotionally the first couple months of the year just trying to figure out what I wanted to do and what I thought was best for me.
“But once I drew the line and made the call I have been really settled and just enjoying my golf, enjoying the process and I’m putting some scores together again.”
Spain’s Carmen Alonso is one of three players in a share of second place after the first day at Bonville Golf Resort.
The 37-year-old carded a round of 68 (-4) which included five birdies and one bogey to be one shot behind leader MacLaren.
“I don’t want to say it was an easy round, but I was on the fairway pretty much all of the time and hitting shots into the green and I had so many opportunities. It was easy, but not that much,” said Alonso.
“I think the course is one of the best courses that you’re going to play in your life. They call it Australia’s Augusta, but the views here are amazing. I know they have had some problems with the rain before, but they are trying hard to present us a good golf course and we are happy.”
Alonso sits alongside Australia’s Stephanie Bunque and India’s Amandeep Drall, who both also carded rounds of four-under.
Bunque made two eagles on her way to her round of 68 and was pleased with the way she recovered from her start.
“It was great out there. Honestly, I felt a little bit rocky in the first six or seven holes, just trying to get into a groove with the carts especially and all the different elements that go into it. I was a bit lost at the start, but I managed to find my feet on the back nine,” she said.
“On 14, I hit one onto the fairway and hit a nice 5-iron 165 metres and then holed a lengthy putt which is a bit unusual for me, so it was nice to see that drop. On 18, I hit this horrendous hybrid and it got plugged just outside of the hazard, so I got to take relief and one hop in and that was a three.”
Drall rolled in six birdies and two bogeys in her third start at this tournament and believes she is better prepared this time around.
“A good round to start is absolutely great. The last two times it didn’t suit my eye, so I prepared well this time to make sure that it did,” the Indian golfer explained. “I mostly prepared by sticking to my process. The last two times I was too intimidated by the shots and the trees and the slopes.
“This time around I stuck to my process and just played shot by shot. My putter was hot, though I did give myself a lot of chances to make birdies. Those two bogeys were really stupid ones, so I told myself to keep my head down and take it one shot at a time and then I made those putts.”
A trio of players are tied for fifth place on three-under-par with Northern Ireland’s Olivia Mehaffey, England’s Alice Hewson and Germany’s Franziska Friedrich all recording rounds of 69.
One shot further back in a share of eighth place on two-under-par sit six players with Argentina’s Maggie Simmermacher, Swedish duo Maja Stark and Moa Folke, Indian pair Ridhima Dilawari and Vani Kapoor, as well as Australian amateur Justice Bosio.
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