Nicole Broch Estrup, Pei-Ying Tsai and Jess Whitting are all in a share of the lead on six-under-par at the conclusion of round one of the Australian Women’s Classic – Presented by Pacific Pay Resort Studios.
After play was suspended on Friday at Bonville Golf Resort due to inclement weather, the first round resumed on Saturday morning at 7.30 am (local time).
Broch Estrup rolled in back-to-back birdies on her first two holes yesterday morning but restarted with a bogey on the 12th hole today.
However, after that the Danish star found her feet and rolled in five further birdies making them on holes 18, one, five, seven and eight for a round of 66 (-6).
“Yesterday was a weird day, we knew the weather was going to be bad,” she said. “I feel like I’m in a good place and my husband [Kasper] said to me this morning remember you can’t do anything about the weather.
“We were going out there today not knowing how many holes we were going to play. I was just trying to take one shot at a time and get as many birdies in as possible because we’re only going to play 36 holes, so you have to try as many as you can.
“You have to play a little bit more aggressive, but it’s more about playing smart golf. I did that last week and especially in the final round. Last week I played super defensive and ended with a T6.
“My birdie on eight was a 10-metre putt and it’s one of the tougher par-3s out here, so I’m really happy with that one. I hit it to eight or nine feet on five and then on seven, I made an up-and-down from the short right bunker.
“I feel I was playing really well. I am playing a point game which Kasper helped me come up with and I have been doing well with that, you’re focusing on getting points rather than your score.”
The LET winner sits at the top of the leaderboard alongside Chinese Taipei’s Tsai who produced a bogey-free round.
Tsai made birdies on 14 and 16 to make the turn in two-under and then rolled in four more on holes one, four, six and seven to also be in a share of the lead.
“It was very good weather this morning,” she said. “There wasn’t much water, so the course was good. I tried to be bogey-free in these very difficult course conditions.
“I was making pars and don’t get in the bunker – that was my strategy. I hit it close, there weren’t many long putts. I only missed three greens, so that helped me.”
Similarly, Australia’s Whitting also went bogey-free on Saturday at Bonville Golf Resort to be in a tie at the top.
It was Whitting’s first bogey-free round of her career as she made birdies on holes two, six, seven, 10, 12 and 18.
Whitting explained: “It feels good, I have never seen the course before this week. It’s fun and to play well in these conditions is a bonus. I was just hitting greens. I got it on, and I was two-putting, I wasn’t trying to push too hard and just making sure you don’t smash it four-foot past.
“It’s a tick on the checklist to go bogey-free! It’s great to check that one off, it’s something everyone wants to accomplish. Mine came a little later in life but I’m glad I did it.”
England’s Cara Gainer and Czechia’s Klara Davidson Spilkova sit in a share of fourth place on five-under-par.
Gainer made her first birdie at the 10th before adding more on holes 15 and 18 to make the turn in three-under.
The Englishwoman then rolled in two more on the first and fifth before dropping her only shot of the day on the sixth, but she bounced back with a birdie on the seventh for her round of 67.
“It was a difficult and interesting situation having only played two holes yesterday and then not knowing what the course would be like today,” Gainer explained. “We were lucky, there was no rain. It was obviously wet, but the greens were pure.
“I holed a few putts today, I also missed a few especially on the last hole. I had an eight-footer for birdie on the par-3 which just slipped by, but I’m really pleased with the day.
“My sister lives in Sydney so it made sense for her to come up and watch and my parents could also come here and have a bit of a holiday. It’s nice to have everyone here and have my dad caddying which is cool.”
Spilkova had seven birdies and two bogeys on her scorecard to also be at five-under-par after the first round.
“The morning was very peaceful,” said the two-time LET winner. “I just really enjoyed no rain and it just being peaceful at the course.
“It was a nice round, it had a nice flow and I had a good group. I was just grateful that we could play today with no rain. The greens handled it very well. It was a nice day, I enjoyed it and I made some putts, so that’s always good.”
Five players are in a share of sixth place with Korea’s Jeongmin Cho, Slovenia’s Ana Belac, Czechia’s Sara Kouskova and Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini all on four-under-par.
Following the conclusion of round one and looking at the weather forecast for the final day, it was decided there would be a cut after 18 holes.
The cut fell at even par with 67 players making it through the final round which will begin at 6.45 am (local time).
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