Sweden’s Elsa Svensson leads the PGA Championship on home soil after shooting a five-under 67 at Elisefarm Golf Club on the LET Access Series (LETAS).
The 25-year-old mixed an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys to lead by three strokes over the trio of Norway’s Silje Torvund Ohma, Switzerland’s Caroline Sturdza and Ireland’s Canice Screene (all 70) after Wednesday’s first round.
Further down the leaderboard, there are six players — Finland’s Tiia Koivisto, Sweden’s Moa Svedenskiold, France’s Lucie Andre, Danish pair Cecilie Leth-Nissen and Cecilie Nielsen and Japan’s Hazuki Kimura — in a tie for fifth place at one-under.
“I’m really happy about my round,” Svensson said. “I hit it pretty well, but especially I putted well, and that’s kind of what I’ve been struggling with.”
Hailing from the town of Mariestad, a five-hour drive away from Elisefarm, Svensson is staying with her brother in Lund this week.
While she has never played this course prior to the tournament, it is an area she knows well having spent her childhood in the vicinity.
“It’s really nice to feel like home,” she said. “I actually went to high school like 15 minutes from here with Lovisa (Gunnar). I moved away from home for high school, and then I lived here for four years, and then went to college for five years.”
Coming off the back of a seventh-place finish at the Ladies German Challenge last week, Svensson picked up where she left off with four birdies on her front nine.
She said” “That’s kind of where I got my confidence, with my putting and with my approach shots. I hit it very close on a few holes, and then I just rolled the putts in.”
After a bogey on hole 13, Svensson bounced straight back by birdieing the par-5 14th before closing with an eagle on the par-5 18th hole.
“I only had a nine iron in,” she said. “I hit a really good shot to like 10 feet, and then I managed to roll the putt in. So it was a good finish, and feels good before my round tomorrow to end like that.
“My mindset is kind of just keep going. I mean, don’t get my head too far ahead, just be in the present and try and hit a good shot every time and hope it turns out good.”
Norway’s Torvund Ohma, making her LETAS debut, came into the tournament with zero expectations and now finds herself in a tie for second place.
“Super happy with my round,” the 22-year-old said. I mean, I was putting well, and I was hitting my approach pretty good, and yeah, hit a few fairways, so that helps.”
Torvund Ohma had an up-and-down round with five birdies and three bogeys, including a clutch par save on the final hole after needing two attempts to get out of the greenside bunker.
She said: “I just turned graduated from college in May and turned professional. I didn’t expect (to be in this position), but I know my golf is good right now.
“I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing, and hopefully that will be good tomorrow as well.
“Hopefully I can get some more experience on LETAS and then play Q-school in December and then see where it takes me.”
Round 2 resumes tomorrow at 7.30am (local time) and there will be a cut to the top 45 players and ties.
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