Tvesa Malik and Vani Kapoor. Pic: WGAI
Madrid, Spain, May 6: Vani Kapoor, who flew in from Australia, to tee up at the Comunidad de Madrid Ladies Open, opened the week with an even par 72 that comprised four birdies and four bogeys and she was the best of the three Indians in the field at T-43.
Tvesa Malik, who recently was selected for the Indian national team going to Asian Games in September, had one birdie and one double bogey n her round of 1-over 73 and was T-60 while Amandeep Drall, who like Vani Kapoor, flew in from Australia, shot 77 and was lying T-109.
With Top-60 and ties making the cut, the Indian trio will have to put in a solid second round.
Maja Stark, who has been on a fine streak, shared the lead with Agathe Sauzon and Jess Karlsson on day one. They shot matching rounds of five-under-par 67 at Jarama-RACE Golf Club in the Spanish capital.
Stark, the Race to Costa del Sol leader, has recorded two second place finishes and a win in the last three weeks on the Ladies European Tour and continued to be among the front runners with six birdies and one bogey, despite struggling with her driver.
Sauzon’s round contained five birdies, two bogeys and an eagle on the 513-yard 11th hole.
Karlsson made eight birdies and three bogeys to share the lead, despite a recent illness. The 29-year-old Swede says she still feels fatigued after contracting the coronavirus in January and has been told by medical professionals that she likely has long covid.
The prolonged after-effects mean that she has only played in one of the first eight LET tournaments of the 2022 Ladies European Tour season, the Aramco Saudi Ladies International.
A further four players are a stroke back on 68: Tiia Koivisto, Linette Littau Durr Holmslykke and home hopes Carmen Alonso and Cayetana Fernandez.
