Gemma Dryburgh, Patty Tavatanakit and Ingrid Lindblad hit the front with a trio of seven-under-par 64s in beautiful conditions at the Amundi Evian Championship on Thursday morning.
Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow endured sluggish starts carding rounds of one-over 72 and three-over 74 respectively to face a battle to make the cut.
Maguire who won at the Aramco London event last week and finished T6 here in 2021 after a final round of 61 was erratic on Thursday as she carded four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.
Thai star Tavatanakit made seven birdies in her first 14 holes and set the target, before being joined by first year professional Ingrid Lindblad and Dryburgh, who also both made seven birdies each and no bogeys.
“I had a really good finish here last year, finishing in the top 10, so I had some good vibes,” said Scot Dryburgh, who finished eighth in the Major championship last year and is making her third appearance.
“I’ve been working on a few things with my swing and getting in the groove and getting confident with it, so it was nice to have that round today. I might go for a swim in the lake after this. I’ve already been before the tournament and I go every year.”
“I was putting well, kind of just seeing the lines really well. My putting coach, Nick Soto, has been with me this week, so I think the work has kind of paid off. I also struck the ball well. Yeah, obviously no dropped shots, so that was nice to do around here. It’s not an easy course.”
Also starting from the 10th, Tavatanakit (above) made three birdies in her first four holes, picked up two more on 17 and 18 and then came back with birdies on the first and fifth holes.
The 2024 Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented by PIF and HONDA LPGA Thailand champion said: “It was pretty good. I came out and didn’t know what to expect. It was a really early morning tee time. I just played golf and it was a really good round. I hit the ball really solid. A lot of the shots were close to the hole which gave me a lot of looks. I’ve been struggling with six-footers for a while now, so overall, I feel like scoring was really good today.”
Co-leader Lindblad also started at the 10th and made six pars before picking up the pace with a birdie on 16, followed by four birdies in a row from the 18th to the third and then another pair on the sixth and seventh.
Lindblad turned professional in May after the US Women’s Open presented by Ally and the EPSON Tour player is making her first appearance in the Amundi Evian Championship, courtesy of an invitation.
She said: “I would say it was a pretty simple round of golf. I think missed two fairways, missed two greens, so was just in it the whole round. Was just trying to hit the targets that we been talking about. You know, every hole is different. There are no flat lies so you’re kind of always hitting into a green that’s sloping one way and the fairway is sloping the same way, so you’ve just got to be careful where you hit the ball. Just really got to commit to some shots out here and just trust that the ball is going to go one way.”
Past champions Lydia Ko and Jyo Joo Kim were a stroke further back on six-under 65 alongside Gaby Lopez, Hye-Jin Choi, Lauren Coughlin and Ayaka Furue.
The morning session ended with drama when Jodi Ewart Shadoff made a hole-in-one at the 16th and she won a Porsche Macan Turbo Electric.
She said: “It’s incredible. Porsche has always been my dream car,” said the LPGA winner who took a 9-iron for the 132 metres to the flag. “For me, it was clear right away that I was going for the flag if there’s a Porsche at stake. It’s mind-blowing, a very cool moment.” According to Ewart Shadoff, a two-time European Solheim Cup winner, the 16th hole-in-one that she has already hit is “definitely the best I’ve ever hit. 16 also happens to be my lucky number.” The first all-electric SUV from Porsche was only premiered a few months ago and sets new standards with its range of up to 591 km as well as up to 470 kW (639 PS) of power.