Italian Stephania Croce leading the first round of the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open – Golf update
Ladies European tour’s, Stephania Croce, has a one shot lead in the first round of the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open after a difficult battle with the contenders. Croce did well to fight the narrow fairways of a difficult National Golf Club Course at Antalya
which has relatively faster greens this year around. Starting off from the back nine, Croce birdied the 12th and 18th and carded another birdie at the third on the front nine. She stumbled on a bogey at the fifth before finally closing
the round with another birdie at the ninth.
“I trusted my game,” said Croce, who turned professional in 1989. “I think course management and being positive on every hole was the key. It was a little tiring because of the wind and I was always thinking, ‘Where do I want to put the ball from the tee
and where do I want to put the ball on the green?’ because the greens are fast.”
Australian Sarah Kemp also broke the headlines on day one at the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open with an amazing three-under, 71 with four stunning birdies and two bogeys. 25-year-old Kemp hails from Sydney and did well to gain an early understanding of the
difficult layout. She finished the round one shot behind the leader but will continue to prove a formidable challenge to Croce as well as other celebrated players in the field.
“It was a really slow start, I bogeyed 15: hit my second shot right and I didn’t get up and down. Then I just holed a few more putts on the front,” said Kemp.
Also in contention with Kemp, is Spain’s Tania Elosegui with her scores of two-under, 71. The winner of the 2009 ABN AMRO Ladies Open Championship carded five birdies only to lose most of them to three bogeys later.
Another five players who were able to break Par are in contention for fourth place including Marjet van der Graaff from the Netherlands, France’s Elena Giraud, Lydia Hall of Wales, England’s Florentyna Parker and Malene Jorgensen from Denmark. Dark clouds
were seen hovering over the course after the first round proceedings and heavy rains are forecasted for Friday which will make it all the more difficult to control the ball on the greens.
Tags: