Amanda clickety-clicks to take

one-shot lead in ANZ Masters

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
American rookie Amanda Blumenherst opened with a six-under 66 to lead after the first round of the ANZ Ladies Masters at RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Australian Gold Coast.
The 23-year-old former US Curtis Cup team member, who turned professional at the beginning of May and is just three tournaments into her first full season, birdied four of her last six holes to take a one shot lead over the defending champion, Queensland-based Australian Katherine Hull.
The six-time title holder Karrie Webb, Kristie Smith, Becky Brewerton, Anna Nordqvist and Vicky Hurst finished a shot further back in a share of third.
Blumenherst, who was a three time collegiate player of the year at Duke University, went out in two-under 35 but stepped up on the back nine with birdies on holes 13, 15, 17 and 18.
Blumenherst said she found the course, “Very wet, but it was great. Extremely windy but I prefer that. I kind of like it when the conditions are tough and it makes everyone’s game… kind of… it separates the players. You know, you have to hit that drive really solid and also really focus on how the wind is playing and not just hit it up there.”
The 2008 US Amateur Champion finished 10th at the US Women’s Open in her freshman year at college and led the qualifiers at the LPGA’s Tour School late last year. She was offered invitations to the LPGA’s season-opening tournaments in Thailand and Singapore as a result.
She said that she was most happy with her putting:

“I putted really well and that’s kind of been struggling, really, throughout my entire golf career. So I was able to turn that on. And I’m always a fairly solid ball striker, so I’ve been hitting it close, but now I’m getting the putts so that definitely helps.”
Webb, who opened with a 68, said that she was happy with her score, despite a “scratchy second nine holes.”
“This was probably one of my better starts in probably five or six years, I think,” said Webb, who won the event in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2007. “I’ve had a couple of scratchy rounds in the times that I’ve won but it forces you to have a really low one it you don’t have a great first round. So, it’s definitely better to get a good start and it takes a bit of the pressure off you and if you do shot a low round that really puts you in with a great chance.”
The joint runner-up in 2009, South Australian Tamie Durdin, had the day’s most interesting round. She played the back nine in seven under 28 with a four stroke lead over the field but dropped four shots over the front nine. She posted an inward total of 41 and a round of 69 for a share of eighth place with nine other players.
Last week’s Pegasus New Zealand Women’s Open winner Laura Davies of England shot 70 to tie for 19th position, just four shots off the lead.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
66 Amanda Blumenherst (USA)
67 Katherine Hull
68 Vicky Hurst (USA), Anna Nordqvist (Swe), Karrie Webb, Becky Brewerton (Wal), Kristie Smith
69 Bo-Mee Lee (Kor), Vikki Laing (Sco), Ji-na Lim (Kor), Hee Kyung Seo (Kor), Nikki Garrett, Jessica Noh, Gwladys Nocera (Fra), Caroline Afonso (Fra), Florentyna Parker (Eng), Tamie Durdin, Stacy Lewis (USA)
70 Taylor Leon (USA), Hye youn Kim (Kor), Sarah-jane Smith, Ursula Wikstrom (Fin), Karine Icher (Fra), Iben Tinning (Den), So yeon Ryu (Kor), Pernilla Lindberg (Swe), Rebecca Flood, Laura Davies (Eng), Jeong Jang (Kor)
71 Lindsey Wright, Laurette Maritz (Rsa), Eun Hee Ji (Kor), Christina Kim (USA), Tania Elosegui (Spa), Elizabeth Bennett (Eng), Sandra Gal (Ger), Anna Oh (Kor), Stefanie Michl (Aut), Lisa Jean, Joanne Mills, Yani Tseng (Tai), Wendy Berger, Helen Oh, Bo kyung Kim (Kor)
72 Frances Bondad, Hazel Kavanagh (Irl), Jeong Eun Lee (Kor), Brittany Lincicome (USA), Diana D'Alessio (USA), Virginine Lagoutte-Clement (Fra), Becky Morgan (Wal), Sophie Giquel (Fra), Lynn Kenny (Sco), Breanne Alicia Loucks (Wal), Sarah Kemp, Karen Lunn, He-yong Choi (Kor), Dana Lacey, Julie Greciet (Fra), Lee-Anne Pace (Rsa), Bomi Suh (USA), Krystle Caithness (Sco), Soo-jin Yang (Kor), Sophie Gustafson (Swe)
73 Melissa Reid (Eng), Beth Allen (USA), Katie Futcher (USA), Sarah Oh (Kor), Emma Cabrera Bello (Spa), Vicky Hermina Thomas, Ashleigh Simon (Rsa), Angela Harris (Aut), Alison Walshe (USA), Hee Young Park (Kor), Mina Harigae (USA), Linda Wessberg (Swe), Giulia Sergas (Ita), Bree Turnbull, Louise Stahle (Swe), Angela Tatt, You-na Park (Kor), Justine Lee, Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa), Ha-neul Kim (Kor)
74 Jane Wall, Jenni Kuosa (Fin), Marianne Skarpnord (Nor), Danielle Bowers (Eng), Donna Southam, Leah Hart, Azahara Munoz (Spa), Anna-Lise Caudal (Fra), Christel Boeljon (Ned), Ju young Park (Kor), Melanie Bryden, Janice Moodie (Sco), Ran Hong (Kor), Lorie Kane (Can), Bettina Hauert (Ger), Veronica Zorzi (Ita), Carmen Alonso (Spa)
75 Felicity Johnson (Eng), Polly Travica, Kate Combes, Nina Reis (Swe), Martina Eberl (Ger), Rebecca Hudson (Eng), Caroline Rominger (Swi), Hanna-Leena Salonen (Fin), Georgina Simpson (Eng), Bree Arthur (Aut), Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha), Leanne Bowditch, Mi-sun Cho (Kor), Wendy Doolan, Rebecca Coakley (Irl), Hyun-soo Kim (Kor), Vikki Tutt
76 Stacy Tate (Nzl), Cherie Byrnes, Shin-ae Ahn (Kor), Marjet Van Der Graaff (Ned), Sunny Park, Sophie Walker (Eng), Michelle Ellis (USA), Stephanie Na, Jessica Ji (Kor), Jane Kim (Kor)
77 Mianne Bagger (Den), Tamara Beckett, Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin), Meaghan Francella (USA), Jody Fleming, Annie Choi (Kor), Carlie Butler, Cathryn Bristow (Nzl)
78 Rachel Bailey (Eng), Jayde Panos
80 Katy Jarochowicz, Lydia Hall (Wal), Nicole Montgomery, Sarah Nicholson (Nzl)
81 Bronwyn Mullins-Lane
83 Verity Knight