Inkster leads Weetabix Women’s British Open

Not quite the oldest player on the LPGA Tour, (that honour belongs to Beth Daniel), she is being chased by two Europeans: Hjorth, a two-time Solheim Cup player and double Ladies English Open Champion, and Cavalleri.

This is Hjorth’s third event in a row in Europe after she played in the Catalonia and Evian Masters.

“You’re always happy with a 69 in the first round of the British Open,” said Hjorth. “I played really solid – you are always going to get the odd double bogey round a course like this. I love links golf as I went to college in Scotland.”

There were great expectations for the 16-year-old amateur Michelle Wie after her joint second place finish with Laura Davies last week in Evian, but the teenager struggled to a 74 today; two shots worse than her playing partner Davies.

Wie was forced to wake up at a miserably early 4.30am thanks to her 7.36am tee-time and spent half an hour in the gym before her round. Added to that, she was faced with a dramatic change in weather conditions when the sun shone on Lytham after howling wind and rain for the past two days.

“It was a little bit weird as your mindset was so set on hit everything low, rolling everything up and then it rained yesterday and was a little bit faster and I think I should have adapted a little bit quicker but I went out there this morning and didn’t really do anything wrong it was like I was half alive almost…” she said.