Noora Komulainen got off to a flying start with a round of 65 (-7) at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España presented by Oysho.
The Finnish player began her round from the 10th tee at Real Club Guadalhorce Golf and rolled in three birdies in a row on 11, 12 and 13.
Komulainen dropped her only shot of the day on the 16th and then had a phenomenal nine holes on the front nine.
She made back-to-back birdies on the first and second before making further birdies on holes four, six and nine to sit at the top of the leaderboard on seven-under-par.
“It was a really solid day to be honest,” said the Finn. “I think I hit almost all the fairways and my approaches were good. My putter was good, so that’s the secret today.
“It’s been a tough year, I really struggled this year. I had a really good three weeks at home. I worked on some things that I need to work on and I think that worked. I really enjoyed it today to be honest.
“I was already preparing for next year, so I knew that I have to play well this week because I’m 65th in the ranking at the moment. I was just enjoying myself on the golf course today. I think we always have a little of pressure which helps, but I didn’t feel too much pressure.”
Four players sit in a share of second place on six-under-par at the end of the first day of the Ladies European Tour (LET) season finale in Malaga.
German duo Helen Briem and Patricia Isabel Schmidt, India’s Pranavi Urs and Spain’s Ana Peláez Trivino all fired rounds of 66 (-6).
Briem, who won the 2024 La Sella Open, only had one dropped shot on her scorecard alongside seven birdies to post the early clubhouse lead.
“I think it was just a solid round,” said Briem. “I used a lot of the par-fives. It’s a good start and I’m happy.
“I think the difference between the nines is mostly about greens because the greens especially in the second nine, they have more ridges, more plateaus, which you should hit. I think that’s probably the biggest difference between the front and the back.
“I think the spotlight was on me pretty much the whole year. I’m just happy to be here to be able to qualify myself into the finale with three tournaments – that’s pretty good. I’m just happy to be here, happy to play another tournament and try to finish the season pretty well.”
Malaga native Peláez Trivino went on a birdie blitz in the middle of her round rolling in six birdies on the trot from holes seven to 12.
The LET winner dropped her only shot of the day on the 16th but then made a birdie on 18 to also be in T2 with lots of applause from the home crowd.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better round,” said Peláez Trivino. “I think my caddie and I enjoyed it, especially beginning at the eighth hole is when I truly started to enjoy it. I feel like my game is feeling quite solid and I’m quite chill out there, so that always helps, especially being at home.
“I only play here when my best friend challenges me to play with him, and so far, I am beating him only here. I guess this course brings good energy to my game. Any course you play, you have to be very sharp with anything that you do. On this course, if you’re in the right zone on the greens and then quite accurate off the tee it helps
“This is actually the tournament I was really excited about just because it’s in Malaga downtown and all my friends and family can come over and enjoy it. I think it’s great they’re hosting the first event in Malaga downtown.”
India’s Urs was bogey-free on the first day in Spain with birdies on holes two, three, seven, eight, 12 and 18 for her round of six-under.
Urs said: “I think I started off pretty good, I gave myself a lot of opportunities. It’s been three weeks since our last event, so I didn’t know what to expect heading into this week, but I’m glad to have shot a bogey-free six-under. I know the game is still there.
“I like this course. I really enjoy playing with Ana and Annabel, I think all of us played really good, and I think that kept me going and it was just about giving myself opportunities which I did.”
Germany’s Schmidt, who currently sits 66th in the LET Order of Merit, also had seven birdies and one bogey on her scorecard for a round of 66.
Slovenia’s Pia Babnik and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda are in a tie for sixth place on five-under-par with six players one shot further back in T8.
The second round will begin at 10 am (local time) with the leaders teeing off at 12.01 pm (local time) at Real Club Guadalhorce Golf.
Follow all the action throughout the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #RaiseOurGame #OpenDeEspaña.
