Defending champ Davies leads Aus Open

BY Liz White | ALPG Tour | 2010 Women's Australian Open | Round One | 11 Mar 2010

It’s hard to keep a good player down and so it proved today, with defending champion, Laura Davies, blasting her way to a two shot lead after the first round of the Handa Australian Open at Melbourne’s Commonwealth Golf Course.

Ever the perfectionist, the Brit was disappointed with her 8 under total at last week’s ANZ Ladies Masters. She finished fourteen shots adrift of the winner, Karrie Webb. Today, with her clever and strategic 5 under 68, there was some redemption.

“Today is a perfect start,” she said.

“I’ve come here in a confident mood, thinking I am one of the players with a chance to win if I play well and putt well.”

The 46-year-old is two shots ahead of a host of players including Coonabarabran’s Rebecca Flood, Victorian amateur, Alison Whittaker and Korean Soo-Jin Yang.

Davies’ started with a bogey on her first hole of the day, the par 5 10th, but had no problems after that. She played a well crafted round, often taking irons off the tee, because she was not prepared to risk the driver for the potential reward of a shorter approach into the green.

“I took the decision to hit a couple of three irons that left me long shots in but because I was swinging so well, I was not scared,” she said.

It will be hard to keep Davies’ name off the leader board for the remaining three rounds, but she is not exactly engraving her name on the Patricia Bridges Bowl just yet.

“As for winning it, there is so far to go that you don’t even think about it,” she said.

“You just want to be in a position on Sunday where if you are two or three behind, or two or three in front, that is what you are aiming for. It is a perfect start but no more.”

Three consecutive birdies on holes 16 through to 18 had Davies 2 under at the turn and she was able to come home with three more birdies to finish at 5 under.

Incredibly, today’s round was Davies’ 13th consecutive sub-par round and it was all thanks to the flat stick.

“Luckily I putted very well today,” she said.

“I putted well last week but I did not hole anything.

“When you have two eight or nine-footers for par and they go straight in the middle, that’s the sort of thing that keeps me going.”

American college senior, Australian Alison Whittaker, had the best round of the amateurs, a 3 under 70 to be in a tie for second.

She believes it is the tough grounding as a player for Duke University that helped her today.

“We are bred to be number one,” she said.

“I think I learnt how to win since moving away to college. I have had some good results when I’ve come back here and I think that is indicative of the work that my team has done between my two years there.”

21-year-old Rebecca Flood is sharing second with Whittaker and the rookie professional believes she is a more complete player since she won her card for the USLPGA secondary tour, the Duramed Futures, late last year.

“In amateur golf I was starting to lose a bit of enthusiasm and a bit of motivation,” she explained.

“I felt like I had done what I could do in amateur golf and took the plunge into the pro world and it has been really good.

“Just being able to step up to this level and compete with these girls on tour has been great.”

Flood has recorded some strong results in her first handful of tournaments, finishing T18th at the Pegasus New Zealand Open and then T19th at last week’s ANZ Ladies Masters. Her result at the Masters was especially impressive given the strength of the field.

“It’s been awesome,” she said. 

“I am hitting the ball really well and not missing too many greens and hitting it in close and giving myself plenty of opportunities, so I feel really confident.”

Sharing a tie for 8th on 2 under 71, is another amateur, the world No 1, American Alexis Thompson with local hope Lindsey Wright and Austrian Stefanie Michl.

Katherine Hull, Kristie Smith and Sarah Oh are another shot further back on 1 under while Karrie Webb had a roller coaster even par round today. Last week’s Masters winner carded four bogeys and four birdies.

Laura Davies likes the Commonwealth layout and says it suits her game.

“It is good because you can be aggressive on holes like number eight,” she said.

“I hit driver sand iron in, whereas some players are coming in with slightly longer clubs.

“If you can come in with a much higher ball flight, it is going to stop a lot more quickly, then you are not going to be running through the back or going off on those swales.”

It will be fascinating to see if Davies can hold on to her lead tomorrow. She tees off in the afternoon field with fellow star attraction Anna Nordqvist and World No 28, Lindsey Wright.