Florentyna Parker had a birthday to remember at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open as the three-time Ladies European Tour (LET) winner opened with a sensational 65 (-7) at Royal Beroun Golf Club.
Celebrating her 36th trip around the sun, Parker read the low-scoring script in the Czech Republic carding seven birdies without dropping a single shot to sit one off the lead.
“It was incredible actually,” the Englishwoman said. “In 17 years, I’ve never shot level-par or better on my birthday. So today has come as a nice surprise to me. I played great out there. It was really solid and maybe 36 is my year!
“I just gave myself a lot of chances. I hit it close a lot on the front-nine, my back-nine, made some long putts. I was aware that you can go low here. The course is in fantastic condition and a low score is out there. I was fortunate to take advantage of that this morning.”
This week is Parker’s 277th start on the LET. A member of the 2017 European Solheim Cup team, the Englishwoman’s three wins on Tour came at the 2010 ABN AMRO Ladies Open, 2014 Ladies Italian Open and 2017 Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open.
Parker arrives in Beroun having made just one cut this season at last week’s Hulencourt Women’s Open in Belgium where she finished T48. Throughout her successful LET career, Parker has registered 32 top-10s on the circuit.
“I played really well in Belgium last week which gave me some momentum,” the 36-year-old said. “Even though I didn’t score great it gave me a lot of confidence heading into this week.”
Following her excellent round, Parker, a popular figure on the LET, was also surprised with a birthday cake by Tour mates Stacy Lee Bregman, Alexandra Swayne, Tvesa Malik, Emie Peronnin and Romy Meekers. The party for Parker would continue in the Czech Republic as she prepares for her second round afternoon tee time…
“I’m going into Prague tonight to celebrate my birthday,” she said. “Then back again tomorrow. Hopefully I can keep it up over the next couple of days.”
India’s Amandeep Drall is one ahead of Parker through 18 holes at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open. Follow all the action from the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #TipsportCzechLadiesOpen.
