Carlota Ciganda (-5) has posted a sensational start at the Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba, an LPGA Tour event played in Mexico that serves as active recovery after the Chevron Championship, the first major of the season. The Navarrese golfer has moved into third, one shot behind the two leaders: Melanie Green (-6) and Brianna Do (-6).
Carlota has been very accurate with the birdie opportunities she created. She carded as many as seven birdies, while committing only two bogeys. It is, without a doubt, the best start to the year for the Ulzama golfer and puts her as a serious contender for the win. How good Ciganda feels whenever she hears Spanish spoken. It’s something special. She has shown it many times throughout her career.
A good showing too from Carla Tejedo (-1) and Azahara Muñoz (par). Both have comfortably positioned themselves inside the tournament’s provisional cut, which with 18 holes remaining sits at +1. The two produced a healthy number of birdies, with a total of five. The difference was that Azahara made a double bogey. The rest of their cards are virtually identical.
The fourth Spaniard in Mayakoba, since Julia López has decided to skip this week, is Carolina Chacarra (+3). It was not the best start for the player from Madrid, although she has plenty of room to climb back and make the cut. She needs a sub-par round.
Beyond the Spaniards, one name stands out up top: Gaby López (-4), the big favourite to win this week and, without doubt, the crowd favourite, as well as Nelly Korda (-4), who does not seem to have been too affected by the hangover from her big Chevron victory. For now, she seems determined not to ease off. We’ll see if she can sustain the level of intensity and competitiveness over the coming days. Also worth highlighting is Lizette Salas’s card (-3), a semi-retired player who continues to show when she plays that she still has it
