Chanoknan ‘April’ Angurasaranee leads by two shots at the Joburg Ladies Open after opening with a fabulous 67 (-6) which included nine birdies at Modderfontein Golf Club.
Playing in the morning, and starting on the 10th, the Thai player made a hot start birdying her opening hole before arriving at the 18th level par following two dropped shots and another birdie at the 13th.
Angurasaranee then lit things up on the turn, stiffing her approach shot on the closing hole to make birdie before posting three more in a row on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
A bogey on the 4th briefly halted her momentum, before back-to-back birdies on the 8th and 9th – the latter a near ace on the short par-3 – gave Angurasaranee the number to beat in Johannesburg.
“Obviously nine birdies – it’s got to be a good day right!” she said. “I played some great golf out there, made some good putts and made some really good up-and-downs. I had two three-putts out there, which was a bit iffy for me, but other than that it was such a good day.
“[On 18] I hit a pitching wedge, it was 134-yards something like that. I would say the best part was off the tee and approach. Everything was pretty good today, nothing stands out more than the other. It was all pretty perfect to me.”
While the round was made even more impressive given Angurasaranee, now in her second year on the Ladies European Tour (LET), had some personal belongings stolen on the journey over.
” At the start of the week when I arrived, I got two pairs of sunglasses stolen at the airport so that wasn’t the best start to the week but things are turning out pretty well right now, so I have got to keep it going. I think everything is just right in me, I just have to believe in myself and be confident and know that I’m good enough.”
Six players sit a tie for second on four-under par, a sextet which includes fellow Thai star Aunchisa Utama, Singapore’s Shannon Tan, German duo Laura Fuenfstueck and Verena Gimmy, South Africa’s Nadia van der Westhuizen, and Alexandra Swayne from the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Going out in 33 with an eagle on the par-5 5th, Utama said: “I had a good first nine holes as I was four-under with an eagle. Today my putter is better than the last event. I was much more confident in it today than the last events.
“I like playing on the LET because I like playing and travelling all around the world. It’s the first time and first year for me on the LET, so it’s fun. It is difficult and tough, but still fun. Tomorrow, I will stay confident – that’s it for me for now.”
Eight players sit one shot further back on three-under par.
The second round of the co-sanctioned Joburg Ladies Open continues tomorrow at 7:00 local time. Full tee times can be found here.
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