When there are sixteen Irish players in the field, someone is bound to do well right? That’s how it played out as a quarter of the home contingent ended the opening day of the KPMG Women’s Irish Open in red figures at Carton House.
Elm Park amateur Emma Fleming is the best of them on four-under-par after a terrific round of 69 catapulted her into the top-10. She is two shots clear of club mate Anna Foster and Áine Donegan, and just two shots off the early pace set by Switzlerland’s Chiara Tamburlini and Spain’s Blanca Fernandez.
Fleming tore into the O’Meara course with birdies on the 12th and 14th and while a bogey on the par-5 15th would have been a blow, she roared to the turn with birdies on the 17th and 18th. Battling a freshened breeze and some squally showers, and surely the odd nerve or two, the UCD student relied on some clutch par putting and a chip in on the 8th for a clean back nine.
“I really enjoyed it. I struggled a bit with pace putting. I holed a couple of nice putts for par, around, 6, 8, 9 feet and that kept my round going,” said Fleming who missed the cut in Carton House last year but played all four rounds in Dromoland Castle the year before, but this week she is aiming higher than just to make the cut.
“I did have a couple of 10 footers, 8 footers, for par and I was more steady. I think it is because we play here so often it didn’t even feel like such a big event but it was fun. And the chip in on 8 (her 17th hole) for birdie was kind of fun, it came out as planned, funny with all the Elm Park crew there.”
The Irish international has brought an attacking mindset into this week and it’s easy to see why after two stunning finishes in Australia of second and a victory at the Victorian Amateur, a prestigious Aussie amateur title. Now with a world amateur golf ranking of 165, the Dubliner is no flash in the pan.
“It is probably the first big event that I’ve won,” she said of her win in Australia. “Especially it being matchplay and such a long event, there is eight rounds, so getting through all of that definitely helped my confidence a bit. Winning that you get an invite into a pro event over Victoria so I can go back for that.
“The courses in Australia are set up for low scoring so I think that shifted my mindset a bit towards going low, making birdies, so I think that helped.”
Fleming will embark on her maiden European Women’s Team Championship campaign with Ireland in France next week and she certainly has the birdie power to be a handful not only in Chantilly but here in Kildare over the weekend.
The Economics and Finance student has watched her club mate Foster turn professional and perform well in her rookie season on the Ladies European Tour, but a move into the paid ranks is not on her immediate radar.
“Anna and I grew up together with our siblings and they are good at bringing juniors up and letting them play at different inter-club events. Even competition between all of us, on intepros together and all of that stuff, Elm Park definitely helped a lot.
“I am trying to move forwards with my academics and then maybe (consider pro), you never know, but definitely trying to push my academics now. My family is very academically orientated, we have always valued academics to have a strong Plan B if you were going to turn pro or whatever, I am into third year now so I have got two more years to decide. We will see.”
Foster carded six birdies in a round of 71 to sit alongside Lahinch’s Donegan in a share of 25th place. She made a sensational start with three successive birdies and moved into the lead on five-under with birdies on the first and second.
As the wind got up, Foster let a few putts slip by the edge and carded four bogeys and a birdie in her next five holes to take the gloss off what was a fine effort.
“I’m happy to have made six birdies in the end. Like, kind of got off to a really nice start, the holes looking big, then kind of was able to steady, kind of made a good few pars there. And I think overall, I’m happy with how I played. Obviously, like, gonna make mistakes.
“There’s a lot of golf left to be played. And, you know, two under is still respectable.”
One shot ahead of Foster and Donegan is pre-tournament favourite Charley Hull who also made rapid start, birdieing four of her first six holes before settling for a slightly disappointing three-under 70 to share 20th place.
“The greens are a little bit bobbly towards the end,” said the Englishwoman. “I think where the rain has been, and they’re just a little bit chundery. That’s why I three putted the last and Georgia hit a good putt for birdie, and it just bobbled. But no, pretty good, pretty happy. And just the wind definitely got up this afternoon. So looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.”
Home favourite Leona Maguire is one-under-par but lamented a cold putter similarly to last year here after making just three birdies.
“I had a pretty much a really good chance in nearly every hole on the back nine, and didn’t manage to convert any of them, but at the same time, played some really nice golf, drove the ball really well bar one shot on 18, but just need to hole a few more putts.
“Had a nasty lip out on third, 10 literally was hanging over the hole. 12 was literally hanging over the hole. So yeah, just more of the same, and try and drop a few more.”
Meanwhile, at the top it’s LET Order of Merit champion Tamburlini who shares the lead with Fernandez on six-under after a round of 67 but they have plenty of pedigree in pursuit.
Madelene Sagstrom carded a five-under 68 that included a three-hole stretch of level-par where she went, eagle, a “brain fart” triple bogey that included a shank and two duffed chips, and a birdie.
The Swede who has an Irish caddie in Shane Codd, shares third place with five other players including three-time winner this season Mimi Rhodes and world number one amateur Lottie Woad.
LET rookie Canice Screene ground out a level-par 73 as Tramore amateur Anna Dawson and Annabel Wilson shot 74s.
Local favourite Lauren Walsh had no luck on the greens in a two-over 75 while Sara Byrne and teenager Róisín Scanlon will hope for better on the same score.
Amateur trio Beth Coulter, Olivia Costello and Marina Joyce Moreno are plus three. Olivia Mehaffey is four-over and Rebekah Gardner plus five.
