On the first day at the Santander Golf Tour – Burgos, Czechia’s Sara Kouskova continues her great form and leads the way after firing a seven-under 65 at Golf Lerma.
The LETAS Order of Merit leader started her round with two pars and a bogey on the third hole but she put on another of her birdie shows, scoring on the fourth, seventh, and eighth holes to make the turn in 34 strokes.
“The third was a tough hole today and I took the bogey as if nothing happened. I still remained patient and then the birdies started to sink in,” said the Czech star, who already has four LETAS wins under her belt.
Four pars to begin the back nine had her in a perfect position to then finish her error-free round with birdies on holes 14, 16, 17, and an eagle on the final hole.
“I drove it to the green in one and made a four-meter putt which I didn’t think was going to go in, but it was great to see it drop.
“We had a great group today and it was very exciting to see all the birdies we made. Of course, it feels amazing to be in the lead again but there is still a lot of golf ahead of us!”
Four players produced rounds of 67 (-5) to be in share of the second place.
In the penultimate event of the 2022 LETAS season, Swiss amateur Vanessa Knecht, Germany’s Verena Gimmy, France’s Astrid Vayson De Pradenne, and England’s Gemma Clews all carded five-under-par on the opening day.
Amateur Knecht, who began her round on the 10th tee, started with a birdie on her first hole and made an eagle on the par-four 18th before rolling in further birdies on the fifth and eighth holes.
“The golf course was a great challenge today, so I feel great after my round. I tried not to leave any shots out there and play conservatively, but at the same time, I took all the opportunities that I had,” commented the best amateur in the field.
It was also an error-free day for Gimmy who made five birdies, two on her front nine and three on her back nine, for a round of 67.
“It was windier on my back nine so to play that one better was a great reward for taking all of my chances there. It’s good to be back in Lerma where I played my first professional event in 2020 and I have good memories of that week.”
While Vayson De Pradenne, who won the 2018 Jabra Ladies Open, followed suit with three birdies and one eagle on her way to a round of five-under.
“Today was very eventful in a good way. My professional career is pretty much behind me so I really enjoy playing in tournaments now and I can feel I am more relaxed. To see I can still play that well and under par is a good reward for having a calm attitude on the golf course these days.”
Just one shot back on four-under-par is another quartet with Norway’s Tina Mazarino, England’s Eleanor Givens, Denmark’s Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen, and Spain’s Teresa Diez Moliner all in a tie for sixth.
Four further players round out the top ten as Swiss amateur Elena Moosmann, the Netherlands’ Marit Harryvan, Spain’s Patricia Sanz Barrio, and England’s Sarah Gee share the tenth position at three-under-par.
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