– Noora Komulainen (-7) is the first leader of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España. Honours to her. A round of 65 strokes. By far, the best of the season for the 34-year-old Finnish golfer. Her best result in 2024 has been a fourth place in the Open de France. A veteran. She is playing her 172nd tournament on the Ladies European Tour and has yet to taste victory. She is a journeyman of glory. Since turning professional in 2013, she has never lost her first division card. She has made a living. Which is no small feat. Now, she seeks glory. It’s never too late. Why not on the 172nd attempt?
– The phenomenon Briem is already at the top. The rumours are justified. The powerful German player is chasing her particular hat trick in Spain in 2024. She won in Ávila, she won in La Sella, and now she could be the third in Málaga. We already knew she plays very well, we already knew she hits long. Now we also know that her father carries her bag and that she plays very quickly. The German lacks nothing.
– Sharing that second position with Briem and Ana Peláez is the Indian golfer Pranavi Urs (-6). Quite the opposite of Komulainen. A newcomer. It’s her first full season on the Ladies European Tour. She earned her card through the School. She has four top 10s on the circuit and is among the top 30 in the order of merit. The legendary Alejandro Molina carried her bag, an Argentine caddie with a thousand rounds of golf under his belt and millions of stories, most of them very funny. The latest, his arrival at the club this week via a goat path misdirected by the GPS and at the wheel of a rental Fiat 500. A character. He knows golf and it’s always worth listening to his opinions. “I’m surprised by how bravely this girl plays,” referring to Urs. “She reminds me of Andrés Romero,” he assures. High praise. Pigu Romero is one of the most attractive players of the last 20 years. There was no flag he wouldn’t go for.
– Carlota Ciganda (-5) broke the deadlock on the 18th hole. The Navarrese achieved a valuable birdie on her ninth of the day to get back under par and start a magnificent sequence of five under par, with four more successes on holes 1, 4, 7, and 8. One of the big favourites, if not the main one, shows her head from the start. The best of her golf today has been the irons and the putt, while with the driver she needs to improve. “That club has always been the one that has cost me the most,” she says with a smile. After finishing, she went to hit balls on the practice field to try to straighten her shots from the tee a bit more.
– Marta Martín (-4) has also placed herself in the upper part of the leaderboard, within the top 10. It still wouldn’t be enough to get into the top ten of the order of merit and, therefore, qualify for the Final Stage of the LPGA Tour School. She needs a top 3. Be that as it may, she is still alive and kicking and sending warnings. Here I am, and I’m going to fight. The same goes for María Hernández (-1). The Navarrese has signed a good defence of the tenth place in the order of merit, although she must not lose focus. She is now eighth in the projection. The best thing is that her closest pursuer in the order of merit (Liz Young) is like her, with -1, and the next, Rudgeley, is with +2. More or less, everything is under control.
– The Spanish amateurs in the tournament have gone from less to more. Paula Martín (-2) started with a bogey on the 6th and from there was able to sign a three-under-par partial. Meanwhile, Andrea Revuelta (-1) managed to bring a round to red numbers in which she got to +2. Three under par on the second nine holes. Finally, Carla Bernat (+2) also started with a bogey, managed to level the round with a birdie, but couldn’t change the trend and finished with two bogeys. In any case, there is no cut this week, so the golfer from Castellón has room to demonstrate her quality.
Live results of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España
