Home favourite Elena Moosmann fired an almost flawless round of 68 (-4) at the Flumserberg Ladies Open Maetzler Mix – Qualifier to lead by one shot after the first day.
Starting on the first tee, the 2019 champion got off to a great front nine rolling in four birdies on the second, fourth, seventh and challenging eighth hole.
Moosmann kept her cool to birdie once more on the par-four 13th hole while a bogey on the 17th was the only blot on her scorecard.
“I felt my round went well,” Moosmann said. “I hit my tee shots onto the fairways pretty much all the time. My iron game was strong today and I gave myself a lot of birdie chances and made some.
“There were some I didn’t make but you can’t complain. I’m happy with my round overall and had a good time with my flight. It was fun playing with Hannah and Karoline.”
Since her win in 2019, the 21-year-old Swiss player has produced strong results at Werdenberg Golf Club placing third in 2021 and eighth last year.
“Maybe I felt a bit of pressure,” Moosmann admitted. “I just wanted to play in Switzerland and enjoy it. Some friends came by to watch which was helpful.
“Tomorrow, I want to do the same with tee shots and just keep the ball on the fairway. I will go and practice some putting to just get more confident and hopefully make some more birdies.”
Moosmann, who tees it up in the second round at 8.50am local time alongside recent Rose Ladies winner Hannah McCook from Scotland Norway’s Karoline Lund, will be hoping she can use her experience to capture victory number two this week.
She added: “I would love to win, but I haven’t thought about it too much. I’m just taking it day by day and see how it’s going. Winning would always be great. It is always your goal to win at the start of the tournament.”
Hot on Moosmann’s heels are two players with England’s Katrina Gillum and Norway’s Tina Mazarino, who both sit in second after firing a 69 (-3).
Chasing her first LETAS victory, Gillum rolled in five birdies on the first day of competition at the second, sixth, ninth, 15th and 18th holes.
Bogeys on the fourth and 13th did not hold the 27-year-old back as she put herself into a strong position going into the final round of stroke play tomorrow.
“The round was pretty good,” Gillum said. “It could have been better but the key around this golf course is keeping the ball on the fairway.
“If you’re in the rough, it’s bad luck! Especially this week where it is boggy underneath. I was a victim and lost one golf ball in the rough on the par-five fourth hole, other than that it was solid play.”
The English player has recorded one top-10 finish on LETAS to date in Switzerland at the 2021 Lavaux Ladies Open, but is excited to go against the more experienced Moosmann.
Gillum explained: “With a strong start today, I feel nervous going into tomorrow. It’s been a while since I was at the top, it’s good to see the game going in the right direction.
“My game plan tomorrow is steady golf, to not try and get too aggressive. I’m very excited about the prospect of match play on Sunday, I love match play! Matchplay is more relaxed and if you have a bad hole, you can put it behind you and try again.”
Also chasing her first win, Mazarino is no stranger to being near the top of the leaderboard having had seven top-10 finishes on LETAS.
“I felt my round went really well,” the Nordic player said. “I was steady from the tee. I hit some good shots into the green, made some good putts and made not too many mistakes. I’m going to stick to the same game plan and hope for a good round.
“Being in second place, I’m not going to think about it as it’s a long tournament with match play as well. It would be good to be in the top-six. I won’t think about tomorrow as a chase, I will just play my game and see what happens.”
Right behind Gillum and Mazarino, there is a four-way tie for fourth place between German amateur Anna-Katharina Brehm, Switzerland’s Anais Maggetti and England’s Georgina Blackman and Spain’s Clara Moyano Reigosa.
The Spaniard, who won the 2021 Santander Golf Tour Order of Merit as an amateur golfer, wants to play strong again tomorrow to give her the best chance of securing a place in the three nine-hole rounds of match play on Sunday.
“I think the round went smooth,” Moyano Reigosa said. “From the first hole I played consistently. I told myself to stay patient because I was getting a little frustrated having so many birdie opportunities and not making them.
“I’m very excited to play match play if I get into Sunday, because I love it. Having grown up in Spain playing golf, we had a few match play tournaments, and it was always fun because it’s a different format.
“It also gives you a little bit of a release throughout the round as you only need one shot less than the other person. In this course it will make a great match play tournament. Everything will change from one hole to another. So, I’m excited!”
The second round of the Flumserberg Ladies Open gets underway at 8:30am local time tomorrow and there will be a cut to the top 48 players (no ties) at the end of play.
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