Holly Aitchison grabs the first round lead at the Deloitte Ladies Open on the European Tour
Englishwoman Holly Aitchison posted a round of five-under, 67 to supersede the strong Ladies European Tour field in the first round of Deloitte Ladies Open at Golfclub Broekpolder in Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam. The day turned out to be a difficult one as
the players battered the high winds later in the day.
Aitchison carded a whooping eight birdies in her career best round but fell for a bogey at par-4, 7th and a disastrous double bogey at par-3, 9th. The 24-year-old has been struggling since the beginning of the season and was able to
make only two cuts in her five appearances on the tour. Aitchison regarded a change of putter as the major reason of her comeback.
“I got a new putter two days ago and that seems to have changed it all so I’m really pleased. It’s slightly heavier, slightly bigger grip and it’s completely different. I used to use the Yes Putter and now I’ve moved on the TaylorMade Ghost. It’s a bit of
a change,” she said.
UniCredit Ladies German Open Presented champion Diana Luna was two shots behind the leader with her impressive round of three-under, 69. The Italian golfer is eyeing a spot in the upcoming Solheim Cup and is posting back to back wins on the tour. Luna also
pulled in a decent round with six birdies but fell in for three bogeys to fall behind the leader.
“Minus three in these weather conditions with this wind is a good score and I hope to keep going. Minus five is really a very good score,” said Luna who is looking for her fifth victory on the tour. Her last win before the UniCredit Ladies German Open came
in 2009 SAS Masters in Norway before her first child, Elena, was born.
No less than eight players; Melissa Reid, Virginie Lagoutte-Clement, Cassandra Kirkland, Stacey Keating, Valentine Derrey, Rebecca Codd, Lynnette Brooky and Nikki Garrett are tied for the third slot, four shots behind the leader.
Netherland’s Christel Boeljon, winner of Turkish Airlines Ladies Open in Antalya Turkey, had a rollercoaster round which included four birdies, three bogeys, one quadruple bogey and an eagle. She took utmost care that none of the putting options were missed
in her round of one-over, 73. Boeljon is currently on top of Henderson’s Money List after her runners up finish in last week’s Allianz Ladies Slovak Open.
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