England’s Esme Hamilton leads the way in the opening round at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open, firing seven-under-par (64) at Golfpark Holzhäusern.
The rookie fired a bogey-free round, highlighted by a closing birdie on the 18th to cap off seven birdies in her opening 18 holes.
“It’s always nice to shoot a low score the first day”, said Hamilton. “I just played pretty steady, stuck a few close and then rolled in a couple of putts too. So, it felt pretty simple out there, which is nice.
“It’s quite tricky off the tee – a little narrow – so as long as you hit your tee ball’s good, then you’re going to be ok hopefully.”
The 26-year-old hasn’t set herself any expectations. She continued: “I’ll go out and see if I can do something similar tomorrow. Enjoy it, enjoy playing with my caddie, Alex, and just appreciate being out here.”
Hamilton missed the cut just by one at the Aramco Houston Championship last week, so is happy with her form today.
“I think in Houston, I didn’t really play any different, but I didn’t putt quite as well. Whereas today, I’ve learnt from that and have brought it forward into this week. That’s what’s quite nice about having back-to-back weeks is you can learn from the week before and carry it on through.”
The English player recorded her best result of her rookie year with a T2 finish at the 2025 Tipsport Czech Ladies Open which has given her huge confidence.
“It was a long time coming, just like this has been after Czech. I’ve been hitting it well, just not rolling the putts in, so it’s nice that today, they went in and for a little bit more confident out there.”
Just one shot behind is Switzerland’s Kim Metraux on six-under par in solo second place. The Swiss also went bogey-free for the opening round to card a solid round.
“It was a really solid day overall”, said the 30-year-old who has her mum on the bag this week. “I hit most fairways and most greens, so I’m pleased with the long game and then obviously managed to drop in a few putts.”
Metraux performed well in Czech and secured a top five finish, as well as a T4 finish at the PIF London Championship.
“My game’s been pretty consistent. It wasn’t exactly where I wanted it to be last week, so I’m trying to make a few adjustments early on this week. I didn’t feel the best this morning before starting, but it’s always different on the range, I guess.”
Since she’s been on the LET, there are a lot more Swiss players coming through. Commenting on that, she said: “It’s definitely nice to have more Swiss players coming through. It’s great for golf in Switzerland in general. I don’t think the pressure has changed for me. It’s just trying to do well and wanting to do well in front of the crowds.”
A total of four players are a further shot back on five-under par, including defending champion Alice Hewson, Ireland’s Lauren Walsh, England’s Thalia Martin, and Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz.
“It wasn’t too bad today”, said Hewson. “I got off to a hot start this morning with birdies in my first two holes, so I couldn’t have really asked for it to go any better.”
The defending champion holds fond memories of this course, and though it’s playing much differently this year, she’s picking up right where she left off in 2024.
“It’s like a completely different golf course this year. You have to be a little bit more aggressive in certain areas and maybe take a couple of different lines off some tee boxes.”
Ahead of the tournament, Hewson said this is the first time she’s defending a title, and she was excited.
“I feel like we can deal with it, and I’ve got a very good caddie Rory who works really hard. He’s been out there checking all the lines off the tee’s and was out here watching the morning wave and seeing how the course was reacting. So, I feel we were as best prepared as we could be, even though we came straight from the US and might be a little bit jet lagged.”
The most recent LET Player of the Month has enjoyed some good form over the past few weeks. She continued: “You’ve got to just ride the wave when it comes, and it’s been nice to put a few good results together and string a few good weeks together. I’m just taking every day as it comes, working hard when we’re not in tournaments and trying to let this wave roll as long as we can.”
Walsh, who celebrated her birthday today, also joins Hewson as she made the most of the occasion with an impressive opening round. Despite dropping her only shot of the day on the sixth hole, she bounced back with six birdies to finish solid through the first 18 holes.
“It was a really good day”, said Walsh. “It’s my birthday too so just all smiles all day. Just got to enjoy it whatever happens, so, definitely an enjoyable day. I putted it really well, and held a couple of putts so good overall.”
The Irish golfer has fond memories of this course, having secured T3 here last year.
“The course is playing a little different compared to last year. Some of the holes are playing a touch longer. The greens are a little bit softer. Overall, it’s always nice to come back to somewhere you enjoy playing, where you’ve played well, and it’s just good memories. I seem to always putt well on these greens which is good. I think it’s more good memories than anything.”
Walsh has experienced a mixed season so far with four top-10 finishes.
“Golf always has its ebbs and flows, and that’s just part of the season. You’re always going to have good weeks and maybe not so good weeks. It’s all about learning from those, maybe not so good weeks. I’ve had a nice three weeks off before Houston. Saw some good stuff in Houston last week – wasn’t all the way there but good signs in my game.”
Despite being a short turnaround for Walsh, she’s feeling good.
“I’m actually doing pretty good now. The first day or two of practice was tough, but again, it’s nice to come back to a course that’s familiar. I didn’t have the pressure to get a lot of prep done as I knew the golf course.”
Meanwhile, Martin, who started her round on the 10th tee, had a steady start. She then rolled in five birdies, including back-to-back on the final two holes to close out her round.
“It was a fun day”, said Martin. “I think this is my third year now being back here, so I’m starting to learn from the experience I’ve had over the last two years. That’s definitely helped me see the start lines a lot better this year.”
The 28-year-old, who enjoys having her mum on the bag to keep her calm and focused, has been building momentum on Tour. Just a few weeks ago, she recorded her best LET finish with a tie for fourth at the Hills Open.
“In Sweden, I definitely hit the nail on the head, so I’ve just got to keep that confidence going. To keep the momentum going is quite difficult, but having a good team around me – also my mum with me – just helps me keep in the present moment.”
A total of five players sit in a tie for seventh place who all fired opening rounds of 67 (-4). This included Wales’ Lydia Hall, Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom and Tiia Koivisto, Spain’s Harang Lee, and Ireland’s Canice Screene.
Round two of the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open continues tomorrow, with the first two groups going out at 8:15am (local time).
Watch live and follow all the action throughout the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook #VPBankSwissLadiesOpen.
