Hayley Davis
England’s Hayley Davis leads the way at the Bossey Ladies Championship after a brilliant six-under-par round of 65 on the opening day in France. The 26-year-old has been in fine form on the LET Access Series this year with six top-10 finishes that sees her lying third in the Road to La Largue standings and looks set to challenge once again after a blistering start at the Association du Golf & Country Club de Bossey.
Davis recorded a total of seven birdies in her round, four of which came on the opening nine holes as the Englishwoman found her touch on the greens to roll in a series of impressive birdie putts from range. A solitary bogey came at the long par-4 seventh before a blemish-free back nine, which included consecutive birdies on 17 and 18 to finish the round in style.
After a consistent season, Davis will be eager to finally secure a first victory on the tour, having been there or thereabouts on numerous occasions. One of which was at the Terre Blanche Ladies Open where Davis broke the course record but lost out in a play-off to Austria’s Sarah Schober. One of Davis’ key goals is to secure a top-5 finish on the Order of Merit to get a LET tour card for next season and a victory in France this week will go a long way to achieving that goal.
Three players share second spot with Scotland’s Laura Murray joining Swiss pair Caroline Rominger and Melanie Maetzler on –3. Murray, a former LET Access Series winner back in 2015 is enjoying a return to some of her best form and looks set to challenge once again this week. Rominger’s last outing was at the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge two weeks ago where the 36-year-old finished a one-shot runner-up to champion Sanna Nuutinen. The experienced Swiss looks to have maintained her form and seems poised for another push for a tour win.
Maetzler makes up the second placed trio and had a round to remember on the French course as she hit a stunning hole-in-one at the par-3 171-yard fourteenth. The Swiss putted well throughout, with a new technique credited with the recent improvements on the green, but the putter was not required as a perfect iron from the tee found the hole to the joy of the 31-year-old and playing partners.
“Today my putting really saved me, and when I was in trouble, I had good recoveries with good shots or good putts to save par. And I just made the birdie chances I had; there wasn’t too many but I made them all. And, of course, the hole in one – that helps!”
The experienced professional has been in contention at the business end of the tournament on several occasions on the LET Access Series but hasn’t had the best year in 2019. Maetzler will hope the hole-in-one can inspire a title challenge at the French event and will look to take her own advice over the next 36 holes.
“There’s still two more rounds to go, so it’s just shot by shot, doing the same things that I did today. Just try to do your best on every shot and don’t get ahead of yourself. Stay present and positive and see what happens.”
Round two will see Davis looking to capitalise on her impressive opening gambit and build a healthy lead on the second day in France. Having been in the running on several occasions so far this season, the 26-year-old will be intent on securing an elusive LET Access Series victory in Bossey and fighting off the quality competition in the chasing pack.
