Linnea Strom (Inset) and Amandeep Drall. Pic: LET
Nairobi, Kenya, Feb 10: Amandeep Drall, drawn to play in the first group of the opening event as the 2022 Ladies European Tour, carded 1-over 73 and was Tied-10th in the first round of the Magical Kenya Ladies Open. The other Indian in the field, Olympian Diksha Dagar overcame an extremely rough start to finish with 75 and was placed T-27.
It was not an easy day for scoring but Swede Linnea Strom shot 4-under 68 and led the action on a day when only nine players shot par of better and just four players were under par.
Emma Grechi of France was second with 70, while Amy Boulden of England and Julia Engstrom of Sweden shot 71 each.
Amandeep, a multiple winner on the Hero Indian domestic Tour, who came spent a lot of time on the LET Access series last year, was very steady through the day. She parred every hole on the front nine and the next three on the back nine. She dropped a shot on Par-4 13th but got that back with her only birdie of the day on 14th. A closing bogey left a bad taste but a 73 on a day like this was a fine start.
Diksha started with a bogeyed which was neutralized with a birdie on third, but back-to-back bogeys on fourth and fifth followed by a double. Bogey left her at 4-over after seven holes. Diksha held herself together well with a birdie on 11th and no more bogeys for a 75 that eventually place her in a decent T-27th place.
Some well-known stars like Christine Wolf, Lee Ann Pace and Esther Henseleit were at 2-over 74 and T-15th. Esther Henseleit won the inaugural edition of the Magical Kenya Ladies Open back in 2019 and it was her maiden LET title.
