Sweden’s Linnea Strom produced seven birdies in the first round of this year’s Magical Kenya Ladies European Tour event, to claim a two-shot lead at Vipingo’s par 72 Baobab Course on Thursday.
Starting off from the back nine, Strom holed in birdies at the 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 18th with a double-bogey at the 16th. She then started the front nine with an early birdie at the second and sixth, but dropped two shots over the fourth and eighth for her four under par 68.
It was a good start in a round which saw some light showers in the morning before the heat and wind took over, making the European PGA course even more difficult for the players.
France’s Emma Grechi made an attempt to go top but three bogeys, two in the back nine’s 10th and 12th and at the very first hole halted her charge as she could only close the day on two under par 70 in second place.
She had picked up two birdies for a start, one of them coming as early as second hole and later on at the eighth, in addition to the back nine’s birdies at the 13th and 15th.
Two other players meanwhile wound up the first round of the Sh38 million event on one under par 71, with fine chances of attempting to the top in Friday’s second round where the top 60 will sail to the money list on Saturday and Sunday.
Amy Boulden from Wales and one of the tournament favourites Julia Engstrom of Sweden -who had five birdies and four bogeys to count for the day – tied for third.
Finishing on level par 72 were Carmen Alonso of Spain, Manou De Roey from Belgium, Anne-Charlote Mora of France, Morta Sanz Barrio of Spain, Madele Stavnor of Norway and Finland’s Elina Nummenpaa.
It was however a tough outing once again for the Kenyan amateurs and only professional Bhavi Shah who shot 20 over par 92.
On the other hand, Naomi Wafula who was Kenya’s main hope, hit a string of bogeys in unusually performance for her, to eventually finish on 11 over par 83, while Faith Chemutai’s 89 also dimmed her chances of making the cut.
However, Mercy Nyanchama still has a chance of getting into the final two rounds depending on how she plays in the second round. She shot seven over par 79 to close the day in 70th place. She will have to recover at least four or more shots if she is to make the cut.
The top 60 players and ties after the second round on Friday will proceed to the last two rounds on Saturday and Sunday in the event being sponsored by the Government of Kenya – through Magical Kenya, Sports Fund, Ministry of Sports – Huawei, Safaricom, Johnnie Walker and Centum.
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