Tracey Loveys leads WPGA championship by two

PGA NEWS RELEASE

By MICHAEL SUDDABY

Three-time champion Tracey Loveys is on course to regain her title after impressing during day one of Titleist and FootJoy Women's PGA Professional Championship.

Loveys, who won the £5,000 tournament each year between 2008 and 2010, heads a strong field by two shots going into the final day.

The Bigbury PGA professional has an affection for links golf and admitted the coastal Burnham and Berrow suited her on a day when low scores were at a premium in both the men's and women's events.

Loveys was the only lady to break par as strong winds made life difficult for a field including several Ladies European Tour players and former US Women's Open winner Alison Nicholas.

An eagle at the eighth hole proved to be the defining moment of her round, a five iron to within ten feet of the pin followed by calmness personified as she holed the putt.

Not even a double bogey at the tricky 12^th could derail her as she held out for the best score of the day.

“I absolutely love links golf,” she enthused. “Where I play tends to be windy anyway as it’s on a clifftop so that makes you feel more comfortable when you get out on the links.

“But it’ll be a real test out there tomorrow, the wind is due to change direction and that will turn it into a completely different golf course.

“I love this tournament and it would be great to win it again. I’ve been runner-up four or five times as well so to win it a fourth time would be amazing.

“I’d like to think the experience of winning in the past will help but you never know. It’s a different golf course to the one’s I’ve won on in the past so it really is just a case of going out there and doing the same as I have done today.”

On Loveys’ coat-tails is 2013 Womens’ PGA Professional champion Lucy Williams, who played in the US Womens’ Open last year.

The Mid Herts pro birdied the 18^th to card a level-par round of 74.
SCOREBOARD
Par 72
72 T Loveys (Bigbury)
74 L Williams (Mid Herts)
76 A Smith (Longon)
77 S Dickens (Thorpe Wood)
79 A Nicholas (Hagley)
81 K Edwards (Alice Springs)
82 C Panton-Lewis (Berkshire)
84 K Horsfield (Chase)  

Cathy Panton-Lewis, who works at and plays out of The Berkshire Golf Club, had a nightmare run of six-over-par from the 10th to the 14th on her way to an 82.
She had only one par figure, at the 17th, in an inward half of 43, the highlight of which was her second biridie of the day, at the 15th. The other gain on a day of toil in high winds for the Scot was at the ninth in her outward 39.