Swede Lotta Wahlin surges to the top in the first round of Omega Dubai Ladies Masters
28-year-old Swede Lotta Wahlin surged to the top of the leaderboard with a blistering six-under, 66 in the opening round of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters and is now leading the tournament, one shot better than the rampaging Becky Brewerton of Wales. Wahlin
has been lurking in the shadows for a considerable period of time, mostly in wake of her burgeoning skin cancer which kept her off the course since the end of 2009.
“I finally had a good round, finally able to make all the putts. I’m just so happy.” Wahlin said.
Wahlin pulled in seven birdies and dropped just one shot at par-four, 16th at the scenic Emirates Golf Club to grab the lead of the latest Ladies European Tour event.
It was the same venue exactly two years ago when Wahlin was engaged in a tough fight that she received a call from her doctor informing her of the deadly disease. She was diagnosed with a birth mark on her collar bone area and she had to undergo extensive
treatment to get it removed. Although the sturdy Swede tried to make a comeback in 2010, she was not able to play more than two events the whole year and has now returned in full force to rattle the ranks at the LET.
“I thought, is it really worth to be out on the golf course in the sunny countries or is it better that I just quit playing golf and so something else, but I still have to live my life and golf is my life, or a big part of my life,” said Wahlin who used
to avoid sunny venues like the Australian and Portuguese tourneys.
Wahlin also believed that her vows have given her an altogether a different perspective of life and the sport in general.
“You know, golf is not so important anymore. If I have a bad round, I’m still disappointed, but it’s not like the end of the world like it used to be.”
Brewerton, who had a slow start of the day, revealed that she has been fighting a terrible gastroenteritis she acquired in India last week and hopes to recover soon enough before going into the weekend. She carded a round of five-under, 67, trailing the
leader by one shot. She pulled in six birdies and dropped a shot at par-three, 4th.
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