Nuria Iturrioz (-6) is leading in Australia. The first 18 holes of the Ford Women’s NSW Open have been played, and the Majorcan has put on an impressive display to reach the top of the leaderboard. She shares the lead with local player Kirsten Rudgeley (-5).
This event is the third of a ‘tortuous’ tour that began with a suspended tournament and a second event that was reduced to 54 holes. This is the first week that can be played with almost total normality. We say it’s not complete as the event is held at Wollongong Golf Club, a links course with over one hundred and twenty years of history. The players do not usually compete on this type of course, adding an extra spice to a tournament that is co-sanctioned with the WPGA of Australia.
Nuria has recently enjoyed playing on these types of courses, adapting wonderfully. In fact, last July she finished in the top ten at the Scottish Open, an event co-sanctioned with the LPGA. She also made the cut at the Open, but a modest Sunday prevented her from finishing in the places of honour.
This Thursday, she has once again demonstrated why. The Balearic player delivered a scorecard of 66 strokes with only one mistake along the way, which was a three-putt right at the start of the round, on the third flag, the first par 3 of the day. From that moment on, the errors were over. The player from Son Servera managed to recover immediately with a birdie on the next hole and reached par for the day on the 8th hole.
It was at that moment that the Majorcan magic shone throughout Wollongong. Five birdies in six holes. The Balearic player made the most of a stretch that includes three par fives, two par threes, and only one par four. She completed the long holes with birdie, birdie, birdie, the par four with another one, and only one of the par threes resisted. She came out five under par from that stretch with four holes to go. She managed not to make any more mistakes and added another birdie to her bag on the penultimate flag of the day. Six under par and the lead in the bag.
One stroke behind is Swedish player Anna Magnusson (-5), and two strokes behind is a group of seven players, including Indian Diksha Dagar (-4), Finnish Ursula Wikstrom (-4), and Swiss Kim Metraux (-4).
The second-best Spanish player at the moment is Blanca Fernández (-2), who continues to show very good signs of her ability to adapt to the elite. A scorecard of two under par in her debut as a professional on a links course. The highlight of the day came on the 9th hole when she pulled an eagle out of the hat on the par 5. The only player in the entire tournament to achieve a three on this flag. Blanca will face the second eighteen holes within the top 20.
The other two Spanish players present in Wollongong are on the edge of the provisional cut that will define tomorrow the players competing this weekend. One is just inside the limit, and the other just outside. María Hernández (+1) with her round of 73 strokes is in 54th place, while Luna Sobrón (+2) with one more stroke would currently be out. Both golfers will have a great opportunity this Friday to gain positions on the leaderboard and look upwards.
