England's Georgia Hall and Germany's Sophie Witt are in charge with two cards of 69 (-3) after a round from the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, the best Frenchwoman Charlotte Liautier is in the top 10 in 6th position at (- 1)

Aramco Saudi Ladies International: Hall and Witt lead the way

© Tristan Jones / LET

The wind played an important role on the first day with gusts throughout the day, but the morning starters had better conditions, with gusts of up to 60 km/h in the afternoon.

Gorgia Hall, Major winner, distinguished herself in this first round, despite difficult conditions during the day, she was the only one able to maintain her challenge at the top when the wind picked up.

Three consecutive birdies on holes 2, 3 and 4 and another on 9 allowed the Englishwoman to finish the first leg in 32 (-4).

Over the next eight holes, Hall parred three, birdied three against two bogeys before hitting the water on the 18th, but a double bogey on the final hole didn't stop the two-time Solheim Cup winner from staying at home. tied for the lead with Witt.

“Mentally, I was very strong, but it was complicated. The conditions are the toughest I've ever experienced and I'm happy with the way I played."said Hall.

“I putt really well and made some good putts for par, which was crucial. I stayed patient, I did the best I could and I'm really proud of it. »

“I tried to go all the way to 18 and used a 6 iron, but the ball ended up in the water and obviously it was tough from there. I just have to keep the way I played for tomorrow and hopefully it will be calmer in the morning. »

Witt, who is a rookie, posted the best score of the morning to finish 3 under par on her first day at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

The German started her round with two birdies on her first three holes before making three bogeys on the next six holes.

However, the 19-year-old had a great run on the back 9 with birdies at 10, 12, 13 and 14 to take the lead.

"When I hit the green I birdied it, but most of the time I didn't hit the fairway or the green so I had to putt approach"said Witt, who completed T12 at the LET Q-School to earn her LET membership this year.

“I was a little lucky today because I got a good score despite some bad shots. When you play good shots, you can make a good run here and it is possible to make a good score. »

"I said to my mom this morning, 'I hope I don't do a 90' because in the last three days I've been hitting so many light punches. »

“I think now I want to make the cut. It's my rookie season, so I want to have fun and enjoy it. I think I can learn so much from good players on the field and from my playing partners here. »

Three players share third place in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International at (-2) with American duo Angel Yin and Lindsey Weaver-Wright and Sweden's Anna Nordqvist.

Last year's AIG Women's Open champion Nordqvist took the lead early in the competition, having birdied three and an eagle on her first 13 holes, before conceding a stroke on the 5th.

Nordqvist then made a double bogey on the 8 to return to (-2) and find himself tied with Yin and Weaver-Wright.

“I played well today. The wind was blowing so hard at your back. I've probably never played this course with so much wind, and it was a different wind”, said the three-time Major champion.

“I feel like I managed my game very well. I doubled on the 17th, I thought I had hit a very good shot, but the wind took it a bit. »

“It's hard to stay in the game for 18 holes. With each stroke, you are subjected to a side wind of 50 or 80 km/hour. I'm happy with my game. It was a solid start. I didn't feel like it was that easy today."

Yin had a varied start to the course with three birdies and three bogeys on his first six holes before losing another on the 18th to reach a score of 37.

But the Solheim Cup player put in a better performance on the back nine with birdies on 2, 4 and 9 to wrap up an opening score of 70.

“It was a solid round. I had a difficult start. I don't think I made a par before the 5, but I birdied a lot, saw a lot of opportunities and missed a few.", Yin said.

“In the morning, it was still windy, but on my 9 return which were the 9 to go, it calmed down a bit, so it was quite pleasant. I think I got a little lucky. »

Weaver-Wright, who had three birdies and a bogey for a round of 70, was happy with how she fought in the conditions.

Weaver-Wright said: “A lot of the holes were different from what I've played here before. It's so windy, and my allergies weren't very happy with the wind today. There were a few lulls during my 9 back, but it was tough. »

“I made some good saves from par when I really needed it after missing a few greens. It was a pretty low-stress ride.”

Five players are tied for sixth place with a score of (-1), including the French rookie Charlotte Liautier, who also made a hole in one on the par-3 of the 8.

For the rest of the tricolor clan

Camille Chevalier, author of an Eagle on par 5 of 13 is 13th at +1, Celine Herbin 22nd at +2,  
At +3 we find Anaïs Meyssonnier, Agathe Sauzon and Anne-Lise Caudal in 37th position.
At +4, Anna-Charlotte Mora IS 47th, Lucie Malchirand at +7 in 75 position. Emma Grechi at +10 is 98th, finally Manon Gidali has +11 to finish 103rd.

 

Liautier explains: “It was a really good ball, I just hit my 8 iron and the ball went to the green and it rolled in it for five yards. The wind helped the ball on its way to the hole.

The Frenchwoman completes the top 10 with Swedish Johanna Gustavsson, Dutch Anne Van Dam, German Chiara Noja and Welsh Chloe Williams.

To know more : https://ladieseuropeantour.com/

To read our last article on the same subject :

Aramco Saudi Ladies International: Lydia Ko takes the title