Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom and Austrian Emma Spitz share the first round lead after a superb pair of four-under-par 68s in windy conditions at the Åland 100 Ladies Open by Alandsbanken in Finland.
Home hope Wikstrom, who started from the ninth, birdied the 11th, 14th and 17th holes before sinking a five metre putt on the 18th green to tie for the lead. She dropped a shot on the first hole, but quickly recovered with a birdie on the fourth.
“It was a good day today. I finally made some putts and I’ve been struggling on the greens recently, so it was nice to make some good putts,” said the 42-year-old from Espoo, who is playing for her first title in her 296th tournament on the LET.
“I loved that putt on the 18th with the crowd behind me. I always love to play in Finland with the crowds. It’s always nice to get some extra attention and have people behind you who want you to win.”
Three of Wikstrom’s eight runner-up finishes have been in this tournament and speaking about the challenge at Ålands Golf Club, she added: “The wind makes it really tough out there, especially when it was getting really strong. Otherwise, we only had our last two holes in the rain. The course is in amazing shape round here and the greens are really nice, too.”
Spitz played the first nine in one-under but came home in three-under-par 33. She played her last four holes in five-under-par with a tap-in eagle on 15, followed by three straight birdies. The two-time PING Junior Solheim Cup player said that the key was playing to the safer side of the greens.
“On this course, when it gets windy, you have to play safe and aim for the middle of the green,” she said. “The course is fun. The greens are in perfect condition and it’s a really good test. If you play well, you can make birdies, but if you make mistakes there are some bad scores out there as well. The greens are easier for me to read than last week, so I felt good.”
Spitz made her professional debut in last week’s Skaftö Open, where she tied for 10th place and she said that the experience of being in contention at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open two months ago, where she tied for sixth as an amateur, also gave her the confidence to believe that she was ready to take the leap to playing professional golf.
“I think it’s been really good to play as an amateur on LET first and then start as a pro. From the beginning on, I just tried to not change anything. I had put in so much work before and it worked out fine so I was just trying to play the same game and not put any extra pressure on myself,” continued Spitz, who studied Psychology at UCLA.
Sofie Bringner is one stroke behind the leaders in third position on three-under-par. The Swede carded four birdies on the front nine but came home in one-over-par. She said: “It was a solid first nine and then I got a bit shaky and didn’t hit the ball as well, so it was okay, overall. I really like the course and the greens are nice, so I’m enjoying my time out there.”
Sweden’s Isabella Deilert, Anne-Charlotte Mora of France and England’s Sarah Gee are tied for fourth on two-under-par and five further players are tied for seventh position on one-under-par.
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