– The fifth and final Major of the season has begun. The AIG Women’s Open, or perhaps it could be called, the Japan Open? Six Japanese players have started in the lead. The leaders after the first 18 holes are Eri Okayama (-6) and Rio Takeda (-6) and they are accompanied by their compatriots Miyu Yamashita (-4), Shiho Kuwaki (-3), Chisato Iwai (-3), and Mao Saigo (-3).
– Carla Bernat (PAR) and Paula Martín (PAR) have saved the honour of the Armada in a lacklustre start to the tournament by our players. The two amateurs have finished at par and are tied for 51st place. For both, it was their first round in a British and tying on a course like Royal Porthcawl is more than satisfying. They have practically mirrored each other’s rounds. Four birdies each, the only difference being that Paula made two bogeys and a double, compared to the four bogeys committed by the young player from Castellón. Interestingly, it was the two youngest who started the tournament best.
– Paula has been left with the aftertaste of the par fives. The Madrid player emerged unscathed from the two major challenging stretches of the course (1 to 4 and 14 to 17), but she was also unable to gain on the par 5s, which are the main opportunities to pick up strokes on the course. She is clear that this Friday she will need to be more incisive in that aspect.
– Things have gone much worse for the rest of the national contingent deployed in Wales. No half measures. Neither Carlota Ciganda (+5), María Hernández (+6), Julia López (+8), nor Marta Martín (+8) achieved the result they were hoping for. Even making the cut seems a very distant ambition. They will have to fly very low this Friday if they want a chance to play over the weekend. Particularly painful is the case of Julia, who arrived at the event after a great third place in the Scottish Open.
– An Englishwoman who has burst onto the professional golf scene this year is the great standard-bearer of European golf at the start of this tournament. No, we are not talking about Lottie Woad. Mimi Rhodes (-3) has delivered a great scorecard of 69 strokes, placing her in fourth place on the leaderboard. The triple champion this year on the Ladies European Tour is playing the first Women’s Open of her career and the third Major in total. She did not make the cut in the two previous Majors. Alongside her are two other Europeans tied, Laura Fuenfstueck (-3) and Manon de Roey (-3).
– Lottie Woad has seemed human for the first time in the last month and a half. The result is not negative by any means. She is five strokes off the lead with three rounds to go. Plenty of time. However, who knows if it’s a bit of fatigue, a bit of pressure, or simply something called golf, but Lottie appeared more erratic. In 18 holes, she committed almost as many bogeys as she did all of last week.
– Nelly Korda (-2) and Jeeno Thitikul (-2) have drawn level at the start of this tournament. Both have delivered a scorecard of 70 strokes and are three strokes off the tournament lead. Not only is the fifth Major of the year at stake, but the World Number One is also in contention. Nelly needs to finish among the top 25 to have a chance of retaining it. The throne defender, Lydia Ko (+1), has started with a modest round of 73 strokes. She seeks to be the first to defend the crown since Yani Tseng did so in 2011.
– In the last 33 Majors and the last 13 Women’s Opens, the final champion has finished the first day five strokes off the lead. With that equation in play, both Carla and Paula still aspire to the title. The rest of the Spanish players cannot say the same.
