Stacy Lewis off to sluggish start in Japan, but firm to move ahead
American Stacy Lewis shot a 71 in the first round of Mizuno Classic 2012 to take the share of 19th position on the leaderboard.
Lewis started the round at Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club, Shima-s**+, Mie, Japan, with plenty of confidence and made perfect strokes on some holes.
However, she failed to fully capitalise on course conditions, which were favourable enough to help players post big scores.
Although Lewis’s biggest foes were South Koreans who made several errors on Friday, a rock-solid start from Japanese players has increased the competition and now players are firm to do their
best in the final two rounds.
Lewis shot a birdie on the first hole to make a solid start, and parred the next five holes. She then fired another birdie on the par-5 7th, which seemed to go wasted due to a bogey
on the next hole.
On the back nine, the American star switched to a jittery mode as she sank two bogeys. However, in an effort to put herself back on track, she drained two more birdies to bring her first-round
score to a 71.
Commentators said that Lewis may find it hard to keep her momentum going in the second round, as most of the top positions have been seized by Asians, especially Japanese who have grabbed
8 positions inside the top 10.
Before the tournament, Lewis vowed to perform well in Japan, saying she likes the course and will try to shoot a big score early to remain in contention.
“I think it’s a course that if you hit it well you’ll have a lot of birdie chances. I think that’s kind of been the key for me, it just depends on how many putts I make,” said Lewis who currently
ranks second in the Women’s World Golf Rankings.
“I like playing in Japan. I think we get great crowds here and they’re really nice and respectful so it’s fun playing here”.
Lewis has done well in the 2012 season, as she has won three titles so far and is eager to add more victories to her profile. “It’s been interesting. I’ve played really well but I’ve also
learned a lot along the way”.
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