Becky Morgan equals course record with 62

NEWS RELEASE FROM LET

FROM BETHAN CUTLER, LET Media Manager

Becky Morgan shot a nine under par 62 to lead by two strokes after the first round of the Tipsport Golf Masters in the Czech Republic.

The Welsh player had two eagles, seven birdies and two bogeys in scorching conditions at Golf Park Pilsen, hosting the event for the third straight time.

After an early tee time, Morgan equalled the course record set by Laura Cabanillas in 2013 and matched by Anne-Lise Caudal in 2014 before temperatures hit 37C later in the afternoon.

Morgan said: “It was a perfect morning and we had no breeze at all. The breeze picked up a little on the last two holes but I’m sure we had the best of the conditions.

“I had two eagles today on par fives which I don’t think I’ve ever done, and a couple of birdies and bogeys.

“I think the key to this golf course is hitting the fairways. It’s not a long golf course at all and if you hit the fairway you’re going to have short irons into the holes which is probably the strength of my game. A lot of courses are so long that I don’t hit a lot of short irons so it’s nice getting to hit some wedges into some holes and the par fives are very reachable.”

She holed eagle putts of 20 and 25 feet respectively on the par 5 14^th and ninth holes where she used a 4 hybrid club to hit into the green on both occasions.

Second year player Nicole Broch Larsen from Denmark also made the most of the ideal conditions to card nine birdies and a double bogey in a seven under par 64, which equalled her best round on the Ladies European Tour.

She said: “I played very solid. I only hit 13 greens, but some were on the fringe so I could putt them. I putted well and it could have been better but I’m happy with seven under. I made a mistake on number eight where I hit it to the right but I made a lot of birdies afterwards so it was a great bounce back.”

She is one ahead of French Solheim Cup hopeful Gwladys Nocera and Fabienne In-Albon of Switzerland, who had a bogey-free round with six birdies.

In-Albon said: “It was a very solid round today. I hit 16 greens and gave myself a lot of chances. I didn’t make all of them, so there was still room for improvement but I’m definitely happy. I struggled on 14 a little and had to fight for my par. Then on the last I had a two metre putt for par so twice where I was a bit tight but it was definitely a very solid round.”

On a day of low scoring, Dutch rookie Anne Van Dam recorded a rare albatross two at the 372 metre par-5 14^th hole.

The 19-year-old from Arnhem canned her second shot using a gap wedge from 114 yards in an opening 73 and said “All my irons today were so bad so I said to my caddie, let’s make this a two or a three. My second shot landed two metres short of the pin and rolled in.”

In the race for Solheim Cup points, Ciganda and Reid, who are playing together, carded matching rounds of two under par 69. Reid needs a top eight finish to overtake Anna Nordqvist into the fourth spot on the LET points list, from which the top four players will qualify on Sunday evening. Ciganda needs to finish second to play her way onto the European team via points.

Earlier in the day, the defending champion Julie Greciet retired with a persistent wrist injury after seven holes in the first round.

Collated scores after round 1:

62 - Becky Morgan (WAL)

64 - Nicole Broch Larsen (DEN)

65 - Gwladys Nocera (FRA) , Fabienne In-Albon (SWI)

66 - Lina Boqvist (SWE) , Emily Kristine Pedersen (DNK)

67 - Emma Goddard (ENG) , Rebecca Artis (AUS) , Nanna Koerstz Madsen (DEN) , Marta Sanz Barrio (ESP) , Miriam Nagl (BRA)

68 - Christine Wolf (AUT) , Beth Allen (USA) , Sophie Walker (ENG) , Melissa Reid (ENG) , Carlota Ciganda (ESP) , Hannah Burke (ENG) , Ashleigh Simon (RSA) , Nicole Garcia (RSA) , Maria Balikoeva (RUS)

69 - Rebecca Hudson (ENG) , Florentyna Parker (ENG) , Ann-Kathrin Lindner (GER) , Jade Schaeffer (FRA) , Amy Boulden (WAL) , Eleanor Givens (ENG) , Celine Herbin (FRA) , Whitney Hillier (AUS) , Csilla Lajtai-rozsa (HUN) , Leigh Whittaker (GER) , Charlotte Thompson (ENG) , Connie Chen (RSA) , Malene Jorgensen (DEN) , Lea Klimentova (SVK) , Nina Holleder (GER)

70 - Lynn Carlsson (SWE) , Alex Peters (ENG) , Lauren Taylor (ENG) , Alexandra Vilatte (FRA) , Maha Haddioui (MAR) , Liz Young (ENG) , Holly Clyburn (ENG)

71 - Minea Blomqvist (FIN) , Marion Ricordeau (FRA) , Maria Beautell (ESP) , Noora Tamminen (FIN) , Cathryn Bristow (NZL) , Georgia Hall (ENG) , Marianne Skarpnord (NOR) , Lien Willems (BEL) , Sarah Kemp (AUS) , Daisy Nielsen (DEN) , Diana Luna (ITA) , Kiran Matharu (ENG) , Camilla Lennarth (SWE) , Stefania Croce (ITA)

72 - Isabella Ramsay (SWE) , Charlotte Ellis (ENG) , Julia Davidsson (SWE) , Sophie Giquel-bettan (FRA) , Felicity Johnson (ENG) , Katerina Vlasinova (CZE) , Karolin Lampert (GER) , Margherita Rigon (ITA) , Vikki Laing (SCO) , Sara Kouskova (CZE) , Johanna Bjork (SWE) , Becky Brewerton (WAL) , Sally Watson (SCO) , Stacy Lee Bregman (RSA) , Isabelle Boineau (FRA) , Holly Aitchison (ENG) , Carly Booth (SCO) , Laurette Maritz (RSA) , Klara Spilkova (CZE) , Pamela Pretswell (SCO)

73 - Rebecca Codd (IRL) , Marie Fourquier (FRA) , Laura Jansone (LVA) , Mireia Prat (ESP) , Anne Van Dam (NLD) , Elina Nummenpaa (FIN) , Kelsey Macdonald (SCO) , Melissa Eaton (RSA) , Lucie Hinnerova (CZE) , Emma Cabrera-bello (ESP) , Josephine Janson (SWE) , Melanie Maetzler (SWI) , Titiya Plucksataporn (THA) , Valentine Derrey (FRA) , Kylie Walker (SCO) , Sophie Sandolo (ITA) , Ursula Wikstrom (FIN)

74 - Karolina Vlckova (CZE) , Klara Kaminska (CZE) , Marika Voss (FIN) , Chloe Leurquin (BEL) , Linda Henriksson (FIN) , Steffi Kirchmayr (GER) , Nobuhle Dlamini (SWZ) , Victoria Lovelady (BRA) , Caroline Rominger (SWI) , Louise Friberg (SWE)

75 - Hannah Ralph (ENG) , Stacey Keating (AUS) , Kristyna Frydlova (CZE) , Rebecca Sorensen (SWE) , Katerina Krasova (CZE) , Bonita Bredenhann (NAM) , Amber Ratcliffe (ENG) , Caroline Afonso (FRA) , Ariane Provot (FRA)

76 - Eva Kozeluhova (CZE) , Nina Muehl (AUT) , Sharmila Nicollet (IND)

77 - Kristyna Abrahamova (CZE) , Georgina Simpson (ENG) , Suzanne Dickens (ENG) , Anais Maggetti (SWI) , Laura Murray (SCO)

78 - Virginia Espejo (ESP) , Sandra Carlborg (SWE) , Emma Westin (SWE) , Hana Ryskova (CZE) , Marie Lunackova (CZE) , Stephanie Na (AUS)

79 - Sarah-Jane Boyd (ENG) , Melodie Bourdy (FRA)

80 - Lucie Andre (FRA) , Anna Christina Kindgren (COL)

RTD - Julie Greciet (FRA), Sideri Vanova (CZE)