Suzann Pettersen grabs early lead at 2012 LPGA Hana Bank Championship
Norwegian Suzann Pettersen shot an explosive 63 in the opening round of the LPGA Hana Bank Championship 2012 to grab an early lead.
Pettersen started her first round at the Sky72 Golf Club, Ocean Course, Incheon, South Korea, with plenty of enthusiasm as observers had already said that the star golfer was likely to shine
in South Korea this year.
The Norwegian prodigy posted a bogey-free round that included nine birdies.
She started the round on Friday by parring the first hole and grabbed the spectators’ attention after she launched two back-to-back birdies on the second and third hole. She then parred the
next hole and shot yet another birdie on the par-5 5th hole.
On the back nine, Pettersen kept the pressure intact on her rivals as she looked determined to gain an early lead. She drained two straight birdies on the 10th and 11th
hole, further bolstering her position on the leaderboard.
After parring the difficult par-3 12th, Pettersen sent the crowd cheering as she posted three straight birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th hole.
On the 17th hole, she impressed her fans once again as she carded her ninth birdie.
Commentators said that by getting off to an explosive start, Pettersen has struck fear into her nearest rivals and it is hoped that the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) titan will
try to maintain her momentum in the final two rounds.
Swedish Karin Sjodin is trailing Pettersen as she grabbed the second position on the leaderboard by scoring an almost-flawless 64.
Commentators also said that posting good scores can also be attributed to good weather conditions, as the winds are quite good and a little cooler than Kuala Lumpur where the LPGA stars participated
in the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia 2012.
Pettersen expressed her feelings about the weather during her pre-tournament interview, saying she is pretty calm and composed as the current weather conditions are suitable for her.
“I'm from the north pole, so this is pretty warm for me. No, this is actually quite nice. I think it's supposed to be like this all week. Obviously coming from last week the changes are quite
drastic,” said Pettersen.
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