Slovakia’s Katerina Drocarova fired a flawless round of 69 (-3) to lead by one stroke after the first round of the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge.
Drocarova, who started on hole 10, got off to a hot start with two pars and back-to-backs birdies on holes 12 and 13. A birdie on the 18th hole put the Slovak player into the lead.
On her back nine, Drocarova kept calm and consistent to card nine pars in a row and finish the first day in front.
Speaking about her round, Drocarova said: “It was kind of boring golf because I didn’t make any mistakes and on the back nine, I didn’t make any putts, but I was very in the zone out there.
“My mum and my dad are out here supporting me this week which is great.
“Half my family live in Prague so they are coming to watch tomorrow so I’m super excited about that.”
It’s been a slow start to the season for Drocarova who has only made one cut this season in Portugal at the Super Bock Ladies Open.
Drocarova joined the Tour in 2024 and made the cut in all four events she played, including two top 10 finishes.
“I have had a rough start to the season. I decided now that I just want to enjoy the game itself. I don’t want to focus on the scores.
“I think because I had a good start to Tour life last year I had big expectations. That hasn’t helped.
“So, I came into this week just wanting to have fun and see what can happen out there.”
Drocarova has led after the first round before on LETAS at last year’s Lavaux Ladies Open in Switzerland, so she is ready to use what she learnt from that experience.
“It’s a three-day tournament, so anything can happen now from here. I’ve been in this position before so I think that will help.”
Czech star Sara Kouskova, who comes into this tournament having won two consecutive tournaments on the LET, finished solo second on two-under-par after an up and down day.
The recent two-time LET winner carded five birdies and three bogeys to put herself within one shot of the lead.
“It was tough,” Kouskova admitted, “The front nine I thought was very hard. I had a couple of eagle chances out there, including on the 17th, but it was nice tapping in for birdie. To finish on a birdie was encouraging as well.”
Kouskova who is now teeing it up for two weeks in a row at home, enjoyed having local support out.
“We had an Amundi clinic this morning, so they all came out to see me hit the first shot, so that was nice.
“A few people were following me around, so it was lovely to have.”
Kouskova has two goals this week, to enjoy her time back on LETAS and to prepare for her LET home tournament next week, the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open.
“Tomorrow, I want to ease up the pressure on the front nine because I don’t think it should feel that heavy.”
Panorama Golf Resort proved testing terrain once again with only nine players carding rounds under par.
The leaderboard is stacked heading into the second round with seven players finishing on one-under-par; South Korea’s Hyeonji Kang, Austria’s Katharina Muehlbauer, Netherland’s Lauren Holmey, Austria’s Isabella Holpfer, England’s Gemma Clews, Finland’s Elina Nummenpaa and Czech amateur Natalie Saint German are all tied for third.
LETAS’ number two ranked player Clews said: “It’s really challenging. There are some tough flags out there. If you shoot anywhere around level par, you know that you are not going to be far away.
“Today I played really well, I made a seven from not a bad shot so it’s just about sticking to our good game plan and keeping up the positive vibes.”
University of Houston’s Natalie Saint Germain fired five birdies and four bogeys to finish within one shot of her Czech colleague and inspiration Sara Kouskova.
“It’s tough here. Every year I have a lot of respect for the course. I had a great group today and just enjoyed it out there.
“It’s just so special teeing it up with the pros. It’s a great experience and I’m grateful for the opportunity.
“Tomorrow I just want to keep the same mindset, stay in the present and enjoy it.”
The second round of the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge gets underway on Saturday at 7:45am local time.
After which, there will be a cut to the top 45 professionals and ties heading into the final round.
For more information on the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge, visit letaccess.com and follow @LETAccess on Facebook, Instagram and X – #Access2LET.
