Sofie Bringner leads by three after the opening day at the Big Green Egg Open after firing 11 birdies en route a sensational course record 64 (-8) at Hilversumsche Golf Club.
The Swede’s start matched the weather on a scorching hot Friday in the Netherlands as she opened with five birdies on the bounce to storm to the top of the leaderboard.
“I hit it really straight at the beginning and gave myself a lot of birdie chances,” Bringner said. “I obviously took them and said to myself, ‘don’t think so much and just have fun.’ And yeah, it worked!”
A bogey briefly halted her momentum on the par-4 6th before the 26-year-old bounced back with another birdie on the par-5 7th.
Bringner was forced to respond in similar fashion three holes later as she birdied the par-4 10th after dropping a shot one hole earlier.
With the sun beaming down, the Swede finished with another blitz birdying four of her final six holes – including a clutch 12-footer on the last – to match her best ever round on the Ladies European Tour (LET).
“It was very fun to play golf today,” Bringner said, who matched her career best 64 from the 2022 Estrella Damm Ladies Open. “It felt easy for a lot of the time out there, so I’m really happy.
“I didn’t hit so many drivers. A lot of 3-woods and stuff like that. It’s very narrow so you need to be on the fairways because the rough is tough. I’ll try to stay calm and do the same tomorrow.”
In a tie for second sit compatriot Sara Kjellker – who posted a 67 (-5) just before Bringner set the target – and South Africa’s Nicole Garcia.
“I’m very happy with day one,” Kjellker said, who finished T5 at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open last week. “I hit it pretty straight off the tee and hit a lot of wedges into greens and then managed to make some putts.
“I feel like I’ve been really good with my mental game, staying present and believing in myself. Last week definitely helped. But I actually felt like I missed some shots left today, so I’m going to work on that and hopefully see the ball go straight tomorrow.”
While Garcia lit up the putter on her final three holes birdying the 7th, 8th, and 9th (the South African started on the 10th) to match Kjellker’s number.
“The course is really set up for some low scores,” Garcia said, who also eagled the par-5 18th after reaching the green in two. “Luckily the putter was still hot from last week where I had a really putting week so I was hoping it would continue and it did.”
In a tie for fourth are England’s Cara Gainer, Welsh player Chloe Williams, Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley, and German amateur Helen Briem, who had a day to remember as she posted a 68 (-4) one week prior to teeing up at the PING Junior Solheim Cup.
Thirteen players round off the top-10 in a tie for eighth on three-under par, including defending champion and Solheim Cup vice-captain Anna Nordqvist.
Round two of the Big Green Egg Open gets underway at 8:30 local time on Saturday.
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