France’s Charlotte Liautier sits at the top of the leaderboard at the end of a suspended first day of the 2023 Terre Blanche Ladies Open.
Liautier made a strong start to the tournament, carding three birdies and one bogey in her opening six holes to sit at two-under-par.
Very windy conditions came into play at Golf de Terre Blanche on day one with forecasts of 19mph wind including gusts of approximately 40mph.
At 4:20pm local time, with Liautier on the ninth hole, play was suspended for the day due to the weather conditions.
“Honestly, play being suspended is okay,” said the Frenchwoman. “It was tough today even though my game was super cool.
“My game was strong, I didn’t miss a lot of shots, just one on the ninth hole. I think tomorrow will be different, if there is a lot less wind, but I will just try to focus on the last nine holes and try to do my routine and focus on every shot.
“The course is amazing honestly, as it is pretty tough to have a good course with these conditions. You do have to think about your strategy.
“I’m not thinking about the win, because it’s way too early now but it would be nice to win in France, at home. We will see what the next days bring.”
Six players sit in a share of second place on the leaderboard with four of them having carded rounds of 71 (-1) on the first day in France.
Swiss duo Elena Moosmann and Vanessa Knecht, Sweden’s My Leander and French amateur Sara Brentchenef went out in the morning groups and completed their round, while France’s Emie Peronnin and England’s Eloise Healey teed off in the afternoon wave.
It was a solid start for Moosmann, who made three birdies and two bogeys on her front nine and two birdies and two bogeys on her back nine for a round of one-under.
“I’m happy,” said the 2019 LETAS VP Bank Ladies Open winner. “In the beginning, I had some good putts and then it went bad.
“With the wind sometimes, it was a bit tough because it put you in the trees. I wasn’t sure if the wind was affecting the ball or not, but I enjoyed playing with my group.”
The Swiss star, who came T7 at Santander Golf Tour – Girona last month, is looking to put in a stronger performance tomorrow but is happy with the progress shown in her iron game since Spain.
She added: “I have to go and work a bit on the range, get more confident with some shots and practice putting – always putting.
“I think the course is in good shape, there are a lot of trees, so the wind is not affecting it as much as some other courses.
“I’ve put in a lot of work in my iron game to get more consistency. Putting was hard because the greens weren’t opening so much, so it’s just working on some technique.”
Sweden’s Leander also made a strong start to her first LETAS tournament of the year, despite two bogeys on the first two holes she kept her cool to card five birdies and only one more dropped shot on hole 11 to put her on 71(-1).
“I started off very poorly, my first three tee shots pushed way right. It was an interesting start because this is one of my first rounds of the year,” said the 2022 Rose Ladies Open winner.
“I played my irons very well, and was finishing off the putts very nicely, so I didn’t have to deal with that much on the green.
“Into tomorrow, I want to keep the irons going. The long game and the putts will come, I’ve got a good feeling heading into tomorrow. I do like playing in the wind because It is fun, but this is windy, very windy.”
French amateur Sara Brentchenef also made a very impressive start to this tournament after she rolled in two birdies and one bogey on the front nine, alongside one birdie and one bogey on the back nine.
“The round was complicated by the wind, but it went very well,” the 15-year-old explained. “In the wind you must stay calm and collected and that is what I did.
“I am feeling good, I came to make the cut at first and now that I’m currently in second that’s good. We will see what happens. Going into the next rounds, I have the same game plan as today, to stay calm and collected in the wind and do what I want.”
Eight players are tied for eighth place including Lucie Andre, the winner of the Santander Golf Tour – Girona, which was the first LETAS tournament of the season.
The 2023 Terre Blanche Ladies Open will now be reduced to 36 holes with no cut. Play will resume tomorrow, Friday 14 April, at 8:30am local time.
Round one is expected to be finished around midday where the highest scores will play their second round on Friday afternoon with the best scores to play on Saturday.
Follow all the action on @letaccess on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and LET Access Series on Facebook – #RaiseOurGame.
COMPETITION FORMAT
36-holes, stroke play, no cut
PURSE
€40,000
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow all the action on @letaccess on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and LET Access Series on Facebook – #RaiseOurGame #TerreBlancheLadiesOpen.
PAR AND YARDAGE
36-36-72, 5970 yards/5459 metres
PAST CHAMPIONS AND RUNNERS-UP
2022 at Golf de Terre Blanche: Lucrezia Colombotto Rosso, 209 (-7); Chiara Noja, 209 (-7)
2021 at Golf de Terre Blance: Linn Grant, 206 (-10); Amalie Leth Nissen, 210 (-6)
