Sarah Schober and Liz Young lead the way by one shot after the first round of the Big Green Egg Open, with the pair carding opening round scores of 67 (-5) in the Netherlands.
The duo sit a single stroke ahead of Diksha Dagar and Whitney Hillier after the opening 18 holes at Rosendaelsche Golf Club, with both players ending their rounds strongly to sit at the top of the leaderboard.
After starting the day with a bogey on the second, Schober found her feet later down the front nine, with three consecutive birdies through holes 6-8 enough to see her reach the turn in 34.
And that momentum continued on the way home, with birdies on 11 and 15, before bouncing back from a bogey on 16 with back-to-back birdies to finish the day, leaving her delighted with her day’s efforts in Arnhem.
“I’ve been hitting it really well the last couple of weeks I just couldn’t score that well because my putting was a little off, but I’m really happy that I got -5 today,” Schober said.
“I stayed patient out there, it’s not an easy course. You need to hit it straight and putt well, but I’m very happy and satisfied with how I played today.
“I had two very close approaches on the par-threes, but the rest of my birdies came on the par-fives where I could get to the green in two.”
The spectacular round almost came as a surprise even to Schober, who hadn’t even seen the back nine of the course before taking on the pins in the opening round today.
And despite the unforgiving nature of the golf course at Rosendaelsche, the Austrian dealt with the surroundings expertly in Thursday’s action, as she continues to recover from a back injury that kept her off the course through the final stages of 2021.
“To be honest I hadn’t even played the back-nine before today, so I didn’t even know what the course looked like because I’d never played here before.
“I hit the driver really well on 15 but didn’t know if I could even reach the green or not, it was all a surprise and I was happy to to make a five metre putt on 18 to end the day, so I’m very happy.
“Some of my best rounds have come when I wasn’t feeling well or haven’t seen the course, when your expectations are lower, I just stayed calm and patient out there and overall it was a really good day so I’m really happy.
“I really struggled at the end of last season with my back so I took a medical, and I didn’t have the best start to the season – I was making cuts but was always in the middle or lower.
“I’m happy that I’ve been working with my coach and I’ve been working a lot which has paid off now, so I’m very happy that i’ve kept pushing.”
It was a similar story for Young on the greens on day one in the Netherlands, with the Englishwoman rolling in six birdies in her day to share the lead after 18 holes.
Birdies on the fourth, eighth and eleventh got the momentum going, before dropping a shot on the 12th, only to bounce back with three more birdies on the way home to rocket up the leaderboard.
And it could have been even better for the 39-year-old, only for an eagle putt on the 17th to agonisingly stay above ground, but she was pleased with her efforts nonetheless.
“It was a good day, I drove the ball well which is obviously key round here, I hardly missed a fairway and my iron shots in were really good today as well,” Young said.
“Some putts dropped and some didn’t – it could have been better but then I made a few long ones so that helped, but overall it was a good day.
“My worst drive was on 18, but overall I was pretty straight, and it makes the day a lot easier when you’re in the middle of the fairway.
“My game is getting there, everything I’ve been working on is slowly coming together and I’m starting to shoot some low numbers. I shot 66 in Sweden and hadn’t shot six-under in a long time, then to follow it up with a five-under today is great.”
Sitting one shot behind Schober and Young are Dagar and Hillier, with the duo both shooting 68 (-4) as they made the most of the pristine weather on Thursday.
2019 Investec South African Women’s Open champion Dagar came flying out the blocks to record three birdies in her first four holes, before picking up another shot on the ninth to complete the front nine in 32.
Dropped shots on 10 and 13 were all but forgotten about with birdies on 12 and 17, with the Indian star delighted with her performance over the first 18 holes, especially on the greens.
“It was a really good day, I’ve been working on my putting and I was feeling confident about my putts so I was making more of them, and that was helping my hitting too.
“Because I’ve been practicing and practicing I found it easier to read the greens and find the lines. My hitting was also very good, I was able to attack the flag and make the putts.
“I was only in the rough once but I was lucky that I had a good lie so I was able to make par from there, otherwise I was hitting all the fairways.”
After missing the cut at the Estrella Damm Ladies Open last week, it’s a return to form for Hillier in the Netherlands, with a bogey-free round testament to her consistency throughout the 2022 season.
After four top ten finishes this year, as well as a team victory at the Aramco Team Series – Bangkok, the Australian is on the hunt for a maiden individual LET victory, and did her chances the world of good with another strong showing to start the week.
After starting on the tenth, a steady start saw her record a single birdie on the 13th through her first 11 holes, before picking up shots on holes three, seven and eight to put herself in contention in the early stages.
“It feels awesome, I’ve had a couple of weeks to sort out my swing, I just had fun out there and things were running smoothly so it was pretty cool,” the Australian said.
“I made a nice putt on seven then had a tap-in birdie on eight so that was a nice little bonus, but overall I played quite well.
“I kept it pretty straight, I kept the targets pretty small today so we missed small as well, you’ve got to stay patient with this golf course and I stayed on the fairway today.
“I’m enjoying myself and I’m more relaxed than anything, I’ve learned over the years not to stress out too much so I think that’s the key, just be patient and it comes with hard work.”
Home hopes hang with Pasqualle Coffa after the opening round in Arnhem, with the Dutch star shooting 69 (-3) to sit three shots off the lead.
Starting on the back nine, Coffa rolled in birdies on holes 12, 13, 16 and 17 to set the benchmark in the early stages, before three-putting on her final hole of the day to drop a shot on the par-three ninth.
Playing in a group with Solheim Cup legends Anna Nordqvist and Catriona Matthew certainly paid dividends for the 25-year-old, who delighted the sizeable home following that cheered her through the day.
“I was just playing really solid, I holed a lot of putts on my front nine, I was four-under and I felt I left a few out there. I also holed a few good par putts which is also nice,” Coffa began.
“A three-putt is going to happen at some time, and if it’s on the last it feels a bit more disappointing but it’s going to happen.
“It’s nice to play in front of a home crowd, it gives me a lot of energy and playing with Anna and Beanie was really cool, I was quite happy how I coped with that.
“Playing with a crowd keeps me sharper, because there is way more things to distract you so you have to be sharp on what you want to do so that helps.”
Coffa shares fourth spot with four players after the opening round, with Laura Beveridge extending her run of consecutive rounds under-par to 12 with a birdie and an eagle in her final three holes enough to keep her in contention after day one.
Fellow Scotswoman Hazel Macgarvie also shot 69 on Thursday, as well as India’s Vani Kapoor and French ace Anais Meyssonnier.
Follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and Twitter and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurGame #BigGreenEggOpen.
