Manon de Roey
One of Manon de Roey’s goals for 2017 is to finish in the top-five on the LETAS order of merit, thereby earning a card to play full-time on the Ladies European Tour next year. The 26 year-old from Belgium has three top-ten finishes this year on LETAS. With one missed cut from eight events, Roey is currently sixth on the Order of Merit.
On Wednesday, she moved closer to that LET card with an opening round 63 at the par-70 Augas Santas Balneario & Golf Resort in Lugo, Spain. In an otherwise blemish-free round, Roey made one bogey against eight birdies to lead the field by two after the opening round of the €35,000 Ribeira Sacra Patrimonio de la Humanidad International Ladies Open.
“It was a good start (from the 10th) with two birdies. I made a lot of good putts, especially the ones from off the green.”
With weather that was perfect for scoring, Manon took advantage of little or no wind to fire at the flags. For her efforts, she now has the course record to her name.
“Though I’ve shot 7-under before, breaking the course record is a first. I celebrated with some ice-cream!” The previous course record was a 64 shot by Carmen Alonso during the Ocho Golf Ladies Open in 2013.
Right behind on the leaderboard and the OOM, is Austria’s Nina Muehl. A five-under 65 has her in second place. Currently 11th on the merit list, she was part of the three-way playoff for the Foxconn Ladies Challenge won by France’s Lucie Andre in the Czech Republic earlier in the season.
Agatha Sauzon and Nina Pegova shot identical 66’s to tie for third place. Salome Zasio from France is the leading amateur in the field after a two-under 68, tied for eighth place.
Sixteen players shot under under par and the cut could fall at +6 come the end of the second round.
The tournament marks the beginning of the final five events on this year’s LETAS schedule. Meghan Maclaren who is playing this week in the US Women’s Open Championship, leads the Order of Merit with 16,005.42 points.
