CALIFORNIAN HANNAH JUN TAKES ROUTE 66 IN SCOTLAND

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
By BETHAN CUTLER
Hannah Jun of the United States shot a six under par 66 to lead by three strokes after the opening round of the Aberdeen Ladies Scottish Open presented by EventScotland.
The 25-year-old from San Diego carded six birdies on the Fidra course at Archerfield Links in East Lothian to finish the first day well ahead of England’s Rebecca Hudson and South African Ashleigh Simon.
Scotland’s Catriona Matthew was one of four players a stroke back on 70 alongside Italian Diana Luna, England’s Henrietta Zuel and Caroline Afonso of France.
Jun, whose best finish in two seasons on the LET was a tie for second at last year’s Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open in China, enjoyed the relatively calm conditions, with sunshine and occasional showers.
She reeled off three birdies on the front nine and three on the back, feeling refreshed after a rest period at home in balmy California.
“I made some really big changes while I was home: changed my set up, the line on my ball, everything really. It’s the same putter. It wasn’t the arrow, it was the Indian,” she said. “I love this golf course. The layout suits my eye.”
Her season-best finish is a tie for 11th at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco, but she described her caddie Scott Bailey as a lucky charm, since he also worked for Jeehae Lee when she led at Archerfield last year.
While some Americans are reluctant to travel outwith the States, Jun speaks three languages and has visited most of the countries in the world with her Korean parents, who would spend a month travelling every summer.
She rates nearby Edinburgh as one of her favourite cities and as a graduate of history at UCLA, she adores Scotland, where: “Everything is just old: full of culture!”
Simon, from Johannesburg, also seemed to be enjoying Scotland as the Portugal Ladies Open champion mixed five birdies with two bogeys.
She said: “Three under is always a good steady start to the round. I only had two drops out there. Unfortunately I finished with a drop which isn’t really great, but a good round, nevertheless.”
Hudson also enjoyed her day on the links and credited her score to using her old putter. She swapped her trusty PING B60 for an alternative model last year in Holland but had her old putter re-gripped and put back into commission this week with immediate results.
“I holed one outrageous putt, which I haven’t done in a long time. I also holed a couple of nice 15 footers. The best of the day was a monster from 20 yards short of the flag on the ninth,” Hudson said.
Meanwhile Matthew cannot be ruled out, sitting just four shots from the lead with two rounds to play.
“I’m quite happy. It’s always good to finish well,” said the 2009 Ricoh Women’s British Open champion from nearby North Berwick.
“I birdied three of the last five. I made a hash of the last: was in perfect position for two, a bad chip and raced the putt past so it was a good five from six feet.”
The next best placed Scot was Clare Queen on one under, alongside England’s Sophie Walker, Italian Veronica Zorzi and Germany’s Caroline Masson, the third round leader at Carnoustie last month.