Norway’s Dorthea Forbrigd sits atop the leaderboard at the end of the first day of the Jabra Ladies Open de France held at Evian Resort Golf Club.
Forbrigd, who celebrated her 29th birthday yesterday, fired a round of 66 (-5) to lead at the 18-hole mark.
The Norwegian made birdies on the fourth and sixth holes before three on the trot on holes nine, 10 and 11. She added another birdie on 15 with her only dropped shot of the day on 16 to seal a round of five-under-par.
“It was a very good ball striking day, and all my birdie putts were within four metres. I also had a lot of good chances that I missed. It was super steady and felt kind of easy. I had one hole where I had to fight and I had to make par, but overall, it was really good,” said Forbrigd.
“I have a good friend on the bag this week and it’s her first time here, so we’re exploring Evian. We grew up playing golf together and she played college golf, we played club championships together, so we know each other very well.
“The wrist is a lot better and when I came back, I felt like my game was good. I don’t think there’s a difference now with how I hit it. I’m just putting my game together a little bit more and making some better decisions. I had my putting coach out there this week Monday to Wednesday and we did a lot of work on the greens. It paid off because I holed some clutch putts today.”
India’s Diksha Dagar and English duo Hannah Screen and Hannah Burke are in a share of second place on four-under-par.
Dagar’s round of 67 (-4) included five birdies and one bogey and was her career-best round at Evian.
“I’m glad I started pretty well today, and it was also a calming day,” said two-time LET winner Dagar. “I played four-under which is probably my best score on this course. My dad and I are very happy that we were able to make some of the putts and some solid shots.
“At first, I used to find it very challenging and I played multiple times on this course and now I have so much experience on this course. There’s so much to learn about this course because of that I’m glad it helped me score better on this course.”
England’s Screen, who began her day on the 15th tee, rolled in seven birdies and three bogeys for her 67 in France.
“It was good, I holed a lot of putts which helps,” said Screen. “I had seven birdies and around here you need a lot because you never know when the birdies are going to come.
“Unfortunately, I had a few [bogeys] at the end, but as I said to my caddie it is really hard out there still and you do have to get a bit lucky at times. I’m just happy to shoot an under-par round, I feel like I struggled the first half of the year a little bit so it’s nice to gradually see some under-par rounds and more birdies coming in because it shows I can do it.”
LET winner Burke started her day with back-to-back birdies on six and seven before an eagle on nine, she made further birdies on one and 18 with bogeys on four and 11.
“I started off on fire, I don’t really know what happened! I started off really good and hit it a bit closer, holed some putts which always helps,” said Burke. “This course is tricky and it’s a course of patience. I started off fast but I knew Evian can come back to bite you. I hung in there and played really nicely.”
Ireland’s Sara Byrne and French amateur Valentine Delon are in a tie for fifth place one shot further back.
Irishwoman Byrne is in her third week of competition after her comeback from a broken elbow and rolled in five birdies and two bogeys.
“I was feeling pretty good. I was just really chilled,” said Byrne. “I went out there just to play some golf and not put any expectations on it and just took it shot-by-shot. My elbow is giving me a little bit of grief, so it’s just hitting and hoping and then hoping it’s not sore.
“It’s getting through that more than anything else, but I was really happy and everything felt good. My putting is really good, I had a chip-in on 16, up-and-downs were really good, so I was saving myself a lot, and taking them when I had opportunities. It’s just fun to play this golf course, the views are amazing and it’s a really cool place to be at.”
Seven players are in a share of seventh place with Denmark’s Sofie Kibsgaard, Italy’s Alessandra Fanali, Isle of Man’s Ana Dawson, French duo Lois Lau and Alice Kong, and German pair Carolin Kauffmann and Helen Briem all on two-under-par.
Round two will begin at 8 am (local time) and there will be a cut to the top 60 professionals and ties at the end of the day.
Keep up to date with all the action throughout on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #JabraLadiesOpenDeFrance.
