TRISH JOHNSON, OUT IN 30, LEADS ITALIAN OPEN BY TWO SHOTS

           

TRISH JOHNSON IN ACTION ... Image by Tristan Jones (LET staff)

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR

REPORT BY BETHAN CULTER
Ladies European Tour Media Manager
Castiglione di Sicilia, Italy: England’s Trish Johnson opened with a six under par 66 under bright blue skies to claim a two stroke lead in the Sicilian Ladies Italian Open at Il Picciolo Golf Club.
Johnson carded five birdies on the front nine for an outward total of 30 and then mixed four further birdies with three bogeys to come back in 36.
Italian Stefania Croce, making the most of her opportunity to play in front of her family and friends, had five birdies and just one dropped shot in a round of 68. She was later joined at four under by England’s Kym Larratt who had eight birdies, two bogeys and a double on her card.
Czech rookie Klara Spilkova, Spanish rookie Belen Mozo, Beth Allen of the United States and Australian Karen Lunn all ended on three under 69, well before play was suspended due to darkness just after 7pm as heavy rain began to fall.
There were six players still to finish their rounds, but Johnson was safely in the clubhouse having expertly navigated the perilously narrow and winding fairways on the hilly, mountain-side course.
“I’m not counting any chickens,” said the 21-time event winner and lifetime member of the Ladies European Tour.
“I had a good day today, but you’ve seen some scores from very good players who haven’t. I played okay, putted nicely and did well today but two more days around here and it’s a bit of a survival test.”
Excellent wedge play led to tap-in birdies at the first, 12th and 18th holes and Johnson added: “My wedges were a lot better. My wedges have been very, very poor for the last few weeks and they gave me three birdies today from tap-in range and I putted really nicely as well. I changed back to my old putter that I used in France last year and I holed some nice putts.”
Johnson has never previously played at the venue, which hosted the event three years in succession from 1995-1997, but Croce benefited from experience.
The 41-year-old from Como tied for fifth at Il Picciolo in 1995 and then 20th in 1996, but her recollection was dim.
“I didn’t remember the course that well but I had a practice round and it’s very important to have a practice round because you have to have a strategy, especially on a course this narrow,” she said.
A charge of five birdies in 12 holes was only stalled by a bogey at the 17th and Croce added: “I’m very satisfied. I hit the ball straight, so that’s the most important thing on this course.”
Of the Solheim Cup players in the field, United States team member Christina Kim shot 70 and England’s Melissa Reid had a 73.
The two groups of players still to complete their first rounds will start at 8am on Saturday, while the second round will begin as scheduled at 7.50am.

Il Picciolo Golf Club
FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
+Two groups still to finish at 8am Saturday.
66 - Trish Johnson (ENG)
68 - Stefania Croce (ITA), Kym Larratt (ENG)
69 - Klara Spilkova (CZE), Belen Mozo (ESP), Beth Allen (USA), Karen Lunn (AUS)
70 - Christina Kim (USA), Caroline Afonso (FRA), Louise Stahle (SWE)
71 - Barbara Genuini (FRA), Giulia Sergas (ITA), Florentyna Parker (ENG), Linda Wessberg (SWE), Stacey Keating (AUS), Cassandra Kirkland (FRA), Holly Aitchison (ENG)
72 - Adriana Zwanck (ESP), Melodie Bourdy (FRA), Rebecca Hudson (ENG), Anne-Lise Caudal (FRA), Gwladys Nocera (FRA), Hannah Jun (USA), Anja Monke (GER), Becky Morgan (WAL), Kiran Matharu (ENG), Tandi Cuningham (SA), Valentine Derrey (FRA), Sahra Hassan (WAL), Veronica Zorzi (ITA), Zuzana Kamasova (SVK), Julie Greciet (FRA), Line Vedel (DEN)
73 - Melissa Reid (ENG), Felicity Johnson (ENG), Julie Maisongrosse (FRA), Amelia Lewis (USA), Pernilla Lindberg (SWE), Georgina Simpson (ENG), Stefanie Michl (AUT), Marjet van der Graaff (NL)
74 - Lucie Andre (FRA), Sophie Sandolo (ITA), Rachel Bell (ENG), Laura Diaz (USA), Lee-Anne Pace (SA), Rebecca Codd (IRE), Helena Callahan (SWE), Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (FRA), Sophie Giquel-Bettan (FRA), Rachel Jennings (ENG), Minea Blomqvist (FIN), Tara Davies (WAL), Viva Schlasberg (SWE)
75 - Laura Cabanillas (ESP), Kylie Walker (SCO), Margherita Rigon (ITA), Martina Gillen (IRE), Carly Booth (SCO), Mianne Bagger (DEN), Caroline Rominger (SWI), Jaclyn Sweeney (USA), Julie Tvede (DEN), Caroline Martens (NOR)
76 - Marion Ricordeau (FRA), Garrett Phillips (USA), Sara Brown (USA), Carmen Alonso (ESP), Mikaela Parmlid (SWE), Vikki Laing (SCO), Bianca Maria Fabrizio (AM) (ITA), Joanna Klatten (FRA), Kim Welch (USA), Jessica Ji (KOR), Marieke Nivard (NL)
77 - Eugenia Ferrero (Am) (ITA), Tania Elosegui (ESP), Sophie Walker (ENG), Jenni Kuosa (FIN), Christine Hallstrom (SWE), Isabella Ramsay (SWE), Lynn Kenny (SCO), Bree Arthur (AUS), Marianne Skarpnord (NOR), Chrisje de Vries (NL), Anna Rossi (ITA) [15]
78 - Ana Larraneta (ESP), Louise Larsson (SWE), Kaisa Ruuttila (FIN), Vittoria Valvassori (ITA) [15]
79 - Kirsty J Fisher (UK), Benedicte Toumpsin (BEL), Riikka Hakkarainen (FIN), Alessandra Averna (Am) (ITA)
80 - Morgana Robbertze (SA), Elizabeth Bennett (ENG)
81 - Clare Queen (SCO), Becky Brewerton (WAL), Ursula Wikstrom (FIN), Matia Maffiuletti (ITA)
82 - Connie Chen (SA), Patricia Beliard (FRA) [15]
83 - Stefania Avanzo (AM) (ITA)
85 - Charlie Douglass (ENG)
86 - Roberta Liti (AM) (ITA)
Retired - Federica Piovano (ITA)

FEDERICA PIOVANO (29) RETIRES FROM LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR TO BECOME A GOLF TEACHER
Federica Piovano retired with a wrist injury after eight holes during the first round of the Sicilian Ladies Italian Open. In so doing, she also stepped away from her career as a professional golfer on the Ladies European Tour.
“I’m sad because I would have liked to have finished my last tournament but that’s the way it is,” said the 2005 Siemens Austrian Ladies Open winner who joined the LET eight years ago following a successful amateur career.
“I played until number eight and couldn’t hit it any more. I had a bad drive on six and had to play out of a hole so it was a pretty hard shot. I had some problems already practising from mats. Today it felt like a sharp injection.
“Since the beginning of the year I decided this was going to be my last season because I have another passion in my life which is teaching golf. My motivation for playing is not the same as when I started so I decided I want to teach full-time.”
In a country of approximately 100,000 golfers and 30 professionals, Piovano hopes to help continue the development of the Italian golf scene by producing more world class female players to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Matteo Manassero and the Molinari brothers.
“I think we are doing pretty well. We don’t have a lot of numbers so we are 10 pros and six of us have a full card on tour and one with a full card on LPGA. With the number of female golfers we have in Italy that’s impressive,” she said.
Federica, who turns 30 next week, is continuing to work as a coach at Parco di Roma and hopes to attract more youngsters to golf.
“I have a lot of passion for this game and I love to teach as well so definitely want to keep it up and hopefully I will get some good juniors to grow up and do this as a job. This is my new goal,” she said.
Federica’s most successful season on Tour was in 2005 when she won her sole LET title at Golfclub Fohrenwaldh in Austria and finished 21st on the money list. She had three additional top ten-finishes on the LET including a tie for fourth at the 2008 Ladies Irish Open and as an amateur, she won the Italian national championship six times and represented Europe at the Junior Ryder Cup.
“I’m glad with what I did. I’ve been travelling around with golf since I was 13 so first with the national amateur team and now as a professional and I had a victory on tour, so I wouldn’t change anything. I’m pretty satisfied with what I did,” she said.