Kim Metraux fired an opening round of 65 (-7) to lead the 2024 Dutch Ladies Open by one stroke at Hilversumsche Golf Club.
The Swiss star rolled in back-to-back birdies on holes two and three before adding another on the seventh.
Metraux then went on a birdie blitz on the back nine with birdies on holes 10, 12, 13, 14 and 16 in the Netherlands.
The 29-year-old dropped her only shot of the day on the 17th but still sealed a round of seven-under-par to sit at the top of the leaderboard after 18 holes.
“It was a very enjoyable day actually, a very steady round of golf,” said Metraux. “Unfortunately, I had that bogey on 17 but other than that I had very solid shots and I made a few more putts than usual, I was very pleased with the day.
“I feel like everything was good. I hit almost all the fairways and almost all the greens except nine and 17, so I gave myself some good opportunities and was able to convert quite a few of them.
“I grew up on a tree-lined course as well, it’s nice to have the trees around guiding you in the fairway. It plays a little bit softer than last year, so you can be quite aggressive with it. I really like the layout.
“I want to keep enjoying it, try not to pressure myself too much. I just want to enjoy it, really focus on what I have to do and hit the good shots.”
Three players sit in a share of second place with Eswatini’s Nobuhle Dlamini, England’s Gemma Clews and Germany’s Laura Fünfstück all on six-under-par.
It was a bogey-free day for Dlamini, who is only playing in their third LET tournament since returning to Tour after the birth of her first child last year.
The 32-year-old rolled in birdies on holes one, two, nine, 11, 13 and 16 to produce a round of six-under 66.
“I had a good day,” said Dlamini. “It was a solid round. I hit it good off the tee. My iron play was also really good.
“I also putted better, the last two tournaments I played I didn’t so when I went back home, I spent a lot of time working on the putter. I rolled it pretty good today.
“I’m very happy with myself! I’m very impressed. A few weeks ago, when I started, I thought I’d struggle a little bit also trying to get my fitness back. I must admit I was very nervous when I played my first one back.
“Over time, I’m getting better. I’m still nervous but it’s different nerves. It’s an amazing feeling. I don’t know what my baby has done to me, but I do feel freer.”
England’s Clews only dropped one shot on her way to a round of 66 (-6) as she had seven birdies on her scorecard.
“I hit it pretty straight off the tee, I hit a couple of loose ones but it’s to be expected out there as it’s quite tight,” said Clews.
“I just hit a lot of really good approach shots, I putted really well which was nice because I’ve not holed a lot all year. It was quite nice to get out there and feel like I could hole a few putts.
“I had a chat with my coach the last couple of days and just to change my mindset a little bit. I get very down on myself.
“We had a chat this morning on the phone and said just go out and play golf. I have done everything I need to do prep wise. I had a good prep week so just go out and enjoy it and have fun and play golf, do what we’re good at.”
The LET Access Series (LETAS) graduate had some childhood friends following her during her first round which spurred her on.
Clews continued: “We’ve been friends for nearly 20 years, we don’t get to see each other a great deal anymore. Work and life just gets in the way. One of them lives down in London now.
“When the schedule came out, they said we’re going to come to an event and they picked Amsterdam. Obviously, a fun one! It’s really nice to have them out here and support me and see them because I haven’t seen them for a couple of months, so it’s been really nice.
“They have never seen me play golf before really, they know how to watch a leaderboard. It’s been nice for them to see what I do and for them to be involved in it. It’s been really nice to have them walking by my side.”
Germany’s Fünfstück, who was playing late in the afternoon wave, also carded a round of 66 which included one bogey, an eagle and five birdies.
“It was a really good start,” said the German. “I’m super pleased! For the eagle, I actually didn’t think I was going to get there. I had just under 230 metres to the pin, but obviously, it’s feeding towards the pin and a bit of a downslope, so if I hit a good one maybe it has a chance of front edge.
“I really flushed it! We get there and it was just off the green and the scorer said it was closer to the pin because Elena [Moosmann] who hit after me hit my ball and it ricocheted off it, so it stopped her ball but kicked mine up the green.
“It was about 15 feet and then I holed it and gave the scorer a fist pump. It was a bit of a team effort on that hole, I will take it and super pleased.
“I just hit loads of fairways and hit loads of greens. I gave myself lots of chances, still left some out there as well but holed a few longer ones, so I’m pretty happy with today. It felt quite easy.”
Six players rounded out the top 10 with France’s Camille Chevalier, New Zealand’s Momoka Kobori, Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord, Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen, England’s Liz Young and Dutch player Nikki Hofstede all sit in T5 on four-under-par.
The second round will begin at 8.30 am (local time) on Saturday and there will be a cut to the top 60 professionals and ties at the end of the day.
Follow all the action throughout the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #RaiseOurGame #DutchLadiesOpen.
