13thBeach Golf Links, Feb 6: Diksha Dagar birdied each of the four Par-5 and carded one-under 71 on the Par-72 Beach Course in the first round of the ISPS Handa Vic Open on Thursday. The 19-year-old Dagar, winner of the Women’s South African Open in her rookie year in 2019, started on the tenth and birdied the Par-r5 11th, but she had a double bogey on Par-3 12th. She got back a shot on 18thto turn in even par in the event, which is co-sanctioned by Australian Ladies PGA and LPGA of America.
On the second nine, she bogeyed the first but birdied second and fifth to finish under-par on the more difficult of the two courses. Lying T-61 Dagar will play on the Creek Course on the second day.
Swede Madeleine Sagstrom and Korean Haeji Kang shared the spoils after round one with superb opening rounds of 8-under par 65 at the Par-73 Creek Course and the next three Swede Linnea Storm, American Haley Moore and Chinese Taipei’s Peiyun Chien shot 66 each to be tied third as four of the top five players played at the Creek Course. The best card on the Beach Course came from Peiyun Chien.
The 27-year-old Sagstrom from Uppsala in Sweden is looking for her second win in as many starts in 2020 after she broke through for her first LPGA win at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in Florida two weeks ago.
In the women’s field 91 players finished on even par or better, while in the men’s field that number was 117.
In the men’s event played alongside Alejandro Cañizares carded a stunning opening 63 to lead by two strokes in the first round.The 37-year-old Spaniard made ten birdies on the Creek Course carding four in his first five holes and also finishing with three in a row to reach nine under par.
He is two shots ahead of the Australian quartet of Matthew Griffin, Jake McLeod, Travis Smyth and Justin Warren who each carded seven under par rounds of 65.European Tour members Aaron Cockerill, Min Woo Lee and Robin Sciot-Siegrist are among those in a share of sixth place on six under par. Last year’s champion David Law opened his title defence with a four under par round of 68 on the Creek Course.
The ISPS Handa Vic Open sees men’s and women’s tournaments take place concurrently on the same golf courses at 13th Beach Golf Links for equal prize money. Competitors who played their first rounds on the Beach Course will play their second rounds on the Creek Course, and vice versa, with all the action taking place on the Beach Course over the weekend.
The 36-hole cut will reduce both tournaments to the top 60 and ties, with a further cut taking place after Saturday’s third round to the top 35 and ties from each competition for the final round.
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