Lizette Salas performs well in first round in Taiwan
American Lizette Salas displayed a stellar performance in the opening round of Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship 2012 as she posted a 69.
Salas is not being regarded as a favourite contender for the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) tournament being staged at the Sunrise Golf & Country Club, Taiwan, due to the presence
of stars like defending champion Yani Tseng and Suzann Pettersen of Norway.
Salas started her round on Thursday with heaps of enthusiasm and played a natural game despite the fact that she does not have a vast experience on Asian courses.
She parred the first three holes and impressed her fans by shooting two back-to-back birdies.
The weather conditions stayed favourable throughout the day and most of the players capitalised on it. Salas, whose putting has improved quite a lot lately, was comfortable with her driver
and she made perfect swings on the fairways.
She sank her third birdie on the 9th hole.
On the back nine, the American golfer looked a bit rattled as she failed to handle the ball well on the greens of 10th hole, registering a bogey. After parring six straight holes,
she drained her fourth birdie on the par-4 17th.
Commentators said that the next three rounds will be tougher as the 78-player lineup will see contenders make all-out efforts to boost their positions on the leaderboard.
South Korean Inbee Park has already stunned her rivals as she posted a bogey-free 65 on Thursday, which saw her reel off seven birdies to grab the first position on the leaderboard.
On the other hand, current world number one Yani Tseng was also smart enough to capitalise on home crowd advantage as she shot an overall 67 to take the second position.
Commentators said that Tseng is the hot favourite for the coveted title as she not only has an edge over rivals due to massive fan following, but she also boasts a vast experience of the course.
During her pre-tournament interview, Tseng said that she is hopeful that she can defend her title this year too, but the weather conditions will play a pivotal role in deciding her fate.
She said that good winds are important for a good finish.
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