Belgian Manon De Roey and England’s Felicity Johnson set the pace early on day one of the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian Resort Golf Club in France, which is under way in beautiful, warm and sunny conditions.
De Roey started with three birdies in a row from the 15th hole, bogeyed the par-5 18th and then double bogeyed the long fourth hole, but carded three more consecutive birdies from the seventh, followed by another bogey on the long 13th hole.
The leading two players after three rounds will qualify for The Evian Championship and the 27-year-old from Antwerp is attempting to qualify for her first major.
The 2018 WPGA International Challenge champion, who claimed her maiden title last year on the LET Access Series, said: “It would be great to play in my first major, so I’ll just do everything I can. I’m just going to stick to my game plan, hit the shots and hopefully do the same as today.”
Two-time Ladies European Tour winner Johnson also made a strong start, with birdies on the long 15th and 18th holes. She dropped shots on the first, third and sixth holes, but then made three more birdies on the seventh, ninth and 12th holes.
Johnson, who has twice played in finished fourth in last year’s Jabra Ladies Open and she said: “We’re here trying to win a golf tournament but also to qualify for the Evian Championship, which is one of the biggest events in women’s golf and it would be fantastic to get a start here in July.
“I only had 27 putts today so if I can keep putting like that, then I don’t think I’ll be far away come Saturday afternoon.”
Two hole-in-ones!
European Solheim Cup player Florentyna Parker made the best possible start to her morning round when she made a hole-in-one using a 5-iron at the 183-yard eighth hole this morning, for her third ace on the LET in competition and her fourth in total. She previously made aces at the British Open, the Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open and in a practise round for the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco.
A few hours later, Sarah Nilsson aced the 16th hole using a 7 iron from 156 yards/142 metres. What are the chances of having two aces in one day? The last time this happened on tour was during the final round of the 2016 Ladies European Masters at Golf Club Hubbelrath, when Noora Tamminen and Belen Mozo both aced the 13th hole.
