– Sara Kouskova (-8) is the first standout leader of the Australian Women’s Classic, the second tournament of the Ladies European Tour in the Oceania continent, taking place at the Magenta Shores Golf and Country Club, north of Sydney. The 26-year-old Czech golfer has had an impeccable performance. She has scored eight birdies without error and has presented her candidacy for the title. She already has two in the LET, won last year (Jabra Ladies Open and Tenerife Women’s Open).
– Kouskova has a two-shot lead over Australian Momoka Kobori, Ecuadorian Daniela Darquea, and fellow Australian Kelsey Bennett, who just four days ago was in the leading group on Sunday at the Ford NSW Open. From here, the leaderboard is really tight, with 16 players separated by just two shots, including Celine Herbin (-5), Trichat Cheenglab (-5), Pia Babnik (-4), Leonie Harm (-4), and Meghan MacLaren (-4).
– The Spanish Armada has had a somewhat lacklustre start, although there is more than enough room for manoeuvre. The best Spaniard is Marta Sanz (-2). The Madrid player has signed a card with four birdies and two bogeys. From tee to green, she has been remarkable. She only missed two fairways and two greens. One of the two bogeys came with a three-putt on the 14th. It was a solid, consistent round, in line with the many good things she showed at the Qualifying School. She comes from making the cut last week.
– Blanca Fernández (-1) has also started under par, with four birdies, one bogey, and a double bogey. The Madrid player maintains the very good line of play from the entire last season. Really, the only thing she’s missing is breaking through with a low round, which she is very capable of doing.
– The provisional cut of the tournament is set after the first round at PAR. This means that the rest of the Spanish players will have to grit their teeth this Friday to play over the weekend. Luna Sobrón (+1), Marta Martín (+2), and Harang Lee (+2) still have much to say in this tournament, but everything depends on playing under par in the second round.
– As for the leading golfers, pay close attention to Darquea. The 30-year-old Ecuadorian, a winner on the Epson Tour a few years ago, has been playing very good golf for some time and showing that she is ready to fight for victories. She earned her card after winning the LET School at the end of 2024. Last year, she already qualified for the circuit’s Final at the Real Guadalhorce Golf Club.
