The weather gods, at times, toyed with those who sought to work their way around the expansive O’Meara course at Carton House in the first round of the KPMG Irish Women’s Open, as sunshine and rain showers swapped with each other in the coming and going of their indecisive systems in testing the patience of those setting out in pursuit of a prized title on the Ladies European Tour.
As Solheim Cup player Madelene Sagström, quite the comedienne, quipped, “someone told me it only rained twice a year in Ireland: once for the first half of the year, then for the second part of the year.”
Still, the rain – which came in bursts – was less a factor than a stiff, swirling wind which grew as the day got older so that those who’d done their work in the first wave mostly benefited as Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini, last year’s LET order of merit winner in her rookie season, and Spain’s Blanca Fernandez shared the opening round lead after signing for six-under-par 67s.
Sagström’s quick wit was matched for the most part by her golf game as the Swede – who went eagle-triple bogey-birdie in the unlikeliest of three-holes sequences at one juncture of her round – carded a 68, which put her into a six-way tie for third, while Charley Hull, the world number 19, who had received two hours of treatment on a back injury on Wednesday, bogeyed the last to sign for a 70 that nevertheless put her very much into the mix.
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For Leona Maguire, it was a day to remain patient as a lip-out and other times when the ball stubbornly refused to drop into the tin cup provided evidence of a tough time on the greens.
“I felt like I had a lot of good putts but I had a nasty lip out on three, hung over the hole on 10, hung over the hole on 12 as well. I mean, that’s golf, but overall, I’m happy with how I give myself lots of chances and maybe take more advantage of the par 5s [going forward] hopefully,” said Maguire, who signed for a one-under-par 72, in tied-43rd, one of four Irish players – of 16 in the field – to post a sub-par round.
Rookie professional Anna Foster and Clare amateur Áine Donegan each signed for 71s (in tied-26th) but it was 20-year-old UCD student Emma Fleming who had the distinction of leading the home challenge after an impressive 69 (in tied-ninth).
Fleming, a member of Elm Park, brought momentum into tournament, her third Irish Open appearance.
Last month, Fleming won the prestigious Victorian amateur championship in Australia – “It is probably the first big event that I’ve won, especially it being matchplay and such a long event, there is eight rounds, so getting through all of that definitely helped my confidence a bit,” she said – and the Dubliner, familiar with the O’Meara course as part of Golf Ireland team sessions through the years, was very much at home on the course and playing with the professionals.
A chip-in for birdie on the eighth, her 17th hole of the round, was the highlight and brought a loud cheer from the many Elm Park members in the gallery who had been forced to double-up their support in also following Foster.
Whether Fleming also follows Foster into the paid ranks is not clear. As she put it, “I am trying to move forwards with my academics and then maybe [consider pro], you never know, but definitely trying to push my academics now. My family is very academically orientated, we have always valued academics and to have a strong Plan B if you were going to turn pro or whatever. I am into third year now so I have got two more years to decide. We will see,” said Fleming, who is studying economics and business.
Foster, for her part, started brilliantly with three straight birdies (from the 10th to 12th) and was briefly tied for the lead on five-under at one point – when Sagstrom took that triple bogey seven on the fifth to fall from eight-under back to five-under – but suffered three bogeys in four holes coming home.
“I’m happy with how I played. Obviously, like, you’re going to make mistakes. There’s a lot of golf left to be played. And, you know, two-under is, like, still a respectable round,” said Foster in keeping a positive approach.
Donegan – expected to turn professional later this year following the World Amateur Championships – was part of the winning Vagliano Trophy team last weekend but retained sufficient energy to compile a 71.
“Last week was amazing. I am very tired, I can’t wait to go home to bed. We haven’t won the Vagliano since 2005 and we’ve never had it with the Curtis Cup so to have an Irish captain [Maria Dunne] and to have Beth [Coulter] on the team there was a nice Irish contingent there and it was a really good week. I came in off a high,” said Donegan.
For Lauren Walsh, it proved to be a tough day at the office. Currently 12th on the LET order of merit in a strong second season on the tour, the Kildare native shot a 75 (helped by birdieing two of her closing four holes) and is faced with a tough task to survive the cut.
