England’s Mel Reid shot a brilliant five-under-par 66 on the first morning of the Evian Championship as she seeks a first major title in the French Alps.
Playing in blazing sunshine, the 31-year-old from Derby birdied the first hole at the Evian Resort Golf Club and went to the turn in level par after a front nine featuring three bogeys and two further birdies.
However, she picked up five shots in her last seven holes, with birdies on holes 12, 15 and 17, before holing a bunker shot for eagle from the back of the 18th green to come home in 31, sharing the clubhouse lead with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur winner, Jennifer Kupcho, minutes before world no. 2, Jin Young Ko, then grabbed the lead with a six-under-par 65.
“To shoot a great score you have to have a couple of lucky breaks and I had one or two,” said the six-time Ladies European Tour winner. “My ball striking was good and I hit 15 greens, so overall I was very, very happy to shoot 66.
“I hit it good on the front nine and the two bogeys I made were from the middle of the fairway, which was disappointing and I didn’t hit it any different (on the back nine). I just holed a few more putts and it was an added bonus on 18. I didn’t expect to make eagle there. I went with the flow.
“On 18, I had 200 to the pin and for some reason, I didn’t feel comfortable hitting a 7-wood, even though it’s a perfect 7-wood number. I am hitting it a bit longer this week, because of the heat, but I wanted to hit a big cut five and didn’t. I pitched it in the bunker and there is a lot of sand, so I was trying to land it exactly where I did and it worked out great.”
Reid finished third in the recent KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which she admitted was a huge confidence boost and she feels that the pressure is off to a large degree, although making a fourth Solheim Cup appearance this year is certainly on her mind.
Reid has changed her home, her coach, her personal trainer, her caddie and all of her equipment over the last year. The major changes included moving from England to Jupiter, Florida and being coached by Spanish professional Jorge Parada, who flies in to see her from New York and whom has instilled a strong work ethic. She also has Symetra Tour player Brittany Hamilton as her caddie, a good friend, who brings a more relaxed attitude to the golf course.
On her mindset for the Evian Championship this week, she said: “If it’s your week, it’s your week. We’re all out here to win so if you get a few breaks and hole a few lucky putts it’s your week. It’s not a course that particularly suits my eye but I feel I’m playing better this year than ever, so hopefully that will make a difference.”
Kupcho is playing in her first Evian Championship, but won the Arnold Palmer Cup as a member of the USA Team at the venue last year, so is in familiar surroundings.
The 22-year-old from Littleton, Colorado, who was the world’s number one ranked amateur for 34 weeks prior to turning professional prior to the start of this year’s US Women’s Open, had a steady round with six birdies and one bogey.
The former Wake Forest University star said after her round: “I played really well and went out there and played like I wanted to. I have a few things to clean up but it was good overall. It was really just a couple of goof iron shots on 12 and 13 and that just boosted me overall. I also made a couple of good up and downs and I have been working on my chipping so it’s nice to see that the work is paying off.”
