FIVE SHARE LEAD IN TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN AT BELEK

PERNILLA LINDBERG, in action in the Turkish sunshine today. Image by courtesy of the Ladies European Tour.

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
By BETHAN CUTLER, LET Media Manager
Christel Boeljon, Diana Luna, Pernilla Lindberg, Florentyna Parker and Charlotte Ellis all shot three under par 70s to share the lead after round one of the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open in Belek, Antalya, Turkey today.

Defending champion Boeljon, from the Netherlands, continued her love affair with the National Golf Club after mixing six birdies with three bogeys.

“It was a little rough around the edges I think but for a first round it’s good and I’m pleased with it,” said Boeljon, who won the Gold Coast RACV Australian Ladies Masters in February.

“The course is fairly tight and I’m a pretty straight player off the tee so I get the ball in a good position and then it’s just getting on the green and making a few putts. I think off the tee, it’s one of the strongest parts of my game, but today, it was so-so, could have been better, but I made plenty of birdies and a few bogeys but it’s a good score.”

Playing under sunny skies, Boeljon started at the 10^th and opened with four pars and two successive birdies, but a bogey on the par-four 17^th checked her progress. She bogeyed the par-three second after pulling her tee shot, but then carded four birdies against one bogey over the next four holes. 

Parker, the 2010 Dutch Ladies Open champion, also showed great resolve, coming back from a double bogey on her opening hole to share the lead.

The Royal Birkdale member found the pine trees on the par-four 10^th hole, but birdied the 16^th, first, third, sixth and ninth.

“I’d have taken level par after my first hole so I’ll take that,” said Parker, who tied for second in Scotland last week.

“I started with a double bogey so that was a bit slow and then one birdie on the back nine, which was my front nine. I got it going on the front nine with four birdies and played really well.”

Luna, Lindberg and Ellis each had four birdies against one bogey. Italian Luna started well with birdies on the first and fourth holes and her momentum only stalled momentarily with a three-putt on the 10^th hole before she birdied the 13^th and 18^th.

“I played very well and hit many shots around the pin, but not many putts dropped,” said Luna. “I was always around the pin with my approach shots. I hit 15 greens and one fairway I was putting from outside, so like 16. It was very good.”

Sweden’s Lindberg, who is leading the Ladies European Tour’s Solheim Cup standings after six top-10 finishes since late September, started on the back nine and set out with three birdies and one bogey before picking up a further shot at the par-five fourth hole.

“This is a tough golf course and it’s very tight. I kept the ball in play all day. We know everyone is going to be in the trees at some point this week. I only made one bogey out there so it was a good day,” Lindberg said.

England’s Charlotte Ellis, pictured left, was the only player of the later starters to make an impact and played under threatening skies.

Although competing in only her second Ladies European Tour event since qualifying in January, she reeled off four birdies on the back nine and showed maturity by scrambling an excellent par on the 18^th, a par four that plays to the green over water.  

“I struggle with really sweaty hands and so much so I actually used a rain glove the whole way round,” explained the 26-year-old from Cheltenham. “I just slipped and hit the trees that were either side of the tee there. I’ve left myself such a long way in, I thought to myself it was probably going to be a bogey so I just laid up and got on the green as close as I can but ended up fancying the putt and holed it from 12 feet for a par.”

Lucie Andre, Stacey Keating, Caroline Masson and Swiss rookie Anais Maggetti finished on two under with a further seven players on one under par.

Last week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open winner Carly Booth, English amateur star Charley Hull, Solheim Cup player Laura Davies and former European Money List winner Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa were among the 14 players just three shots behind the leaders on level par.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 73
70 Charlotte Ellis (ENG), Diana Luna (ITA), Florentyna Parker (ENG), Christel Boeljon (NLD), Pernilla Lindberg (SWE)

71 Anais Maggetti (CHE), Lucie Andre (FRA), Stacey Keating (AUS), Caroline Masson (GER)

72 Rebecca Hudson (ENG), Anne-Lise Caudal (FRA), Lindsey Wright (AUS), Carin Koch (SWE), Tania Elosegui (ESP), Danielle Montgomery (ENG), Minea Blomqvist (FIN)

73 Sophie Giquel-Bettan (FRA) , Sarah Kemp (AUS) , Carlota Ciganda (ESP) , Linda Wessberg (SWE) , Hannah Burke (ENG) , Henrietta Zuel (ENG) , Laura Davies (ENG) , Carly Booth (SCO) , Lee-Anne Pace (ZAF) , Bree Arthur (AUS) , Valentine Derrey (FRA) , Ursula Wikstrom (FIN) , Charley Hull (ENG) (amateur) , Joanna Klatten (FRA)

74 Dawn Shockley (USA)  , Holly Aitchison (ENG)  , Emma Cabrera-Bello (ESP)  , Alexandra Vilatte (FRA)  , Miriam Nagl (GER)  , Anja Monke (GER)  , Celine Palomar (FRA)  , Hannah Jun (USA)  , Cassandra Kirkland (FRA)  , Georgina Simpson (ENG)  , Karen Lunn (AUS)

75 Becky Morgan (WAL) , Sophie Walker (ENG) , Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (FRA) , Giulia Sergas (ITA) , Tara Davies (WAL) , Jenni Kuosa (FIN) , Vikki Laing (SCO) , Louise Larsson (SWE) , Esther Choe (USA) , Veronica Zorzi (ITA) , Trish Johnson (ENG) , Sahra Hassan (WAL)

76 Stacy Lee Bregman (SAf) , Caroline Martens (NOR) , Marianne Skarpnord (NOR) , Jessica Yadloczky (USA) , Melissa Reid (ENG) , Julie Greciet (FRA) , Marieke Nivard (NLD) , Malene Jorgensen (DNK) , Stefania Croce (ITA) , Julie Maisongrosse (FRA) , Laurette Maritz (SAf) , Line Vedel (DNK) , Lynnette Brooky (NZL) , Beth Allen (USA)

77 Nikki Garrett (AUS) , Jaclyn Sweeney (USA) , Lotta Wahlin (SWE) , Dewi Claire Schreefel (NLD) , Mikaela Parmlid (SWE) , Elisabeth Esterl (GER) , Becky Brewerton (WAL) , Connie Chen (SAf) , Caroline Afonso (FRA) , Felicity Johnson (ENG) , Margherita Rigon (ITA)

78 Louise Stahle (SWE), Liebelei Lawrence (LUX), Lucy Williams (ENG), Lisa Holm Sorensen (DNK), Stephanie Na (AUS), Ashleigh Simon (SAf), Benedicte Toumpsin (BEL), Lydia Hall (WAL), Chrisje De Vries (NLD), Frances Bondad (AUS), Kiran Matharu (ENG), Maria Verchenova (RUS), Laura Cabanillas (ESP)

79 Smriti Mehra (IND), Rachel Bailey (AUS), Marjet Van Der Graaff (NLD), Tandi Cuningham (ZAF), Kylie Walker (SCO), Mireia Prat (ESP), Klara Spilkova (CZE), Carmen Alonso (ESP)

80 Elena Giraud (FRA), Maria Hernandez (ESP), Elizabeth Bennett (ENG), Caroline Westrup (SWE), Caroline Rominger (CHE), Helen Alfredsson (SWE), Rachel Jennings (ENG), Danielle Mcveigh (IRL), Kym Larratt (ENG), Gwladys Nocera (FRA)

81 Steffi Kirchmayr (GER), Clare Queen (SCO), Nicole Gergely (AUT)

82 Maria Beautell (ESP), Lynn Kenny (SCO), Zuzana Kamasova (SVK), Rebecca Artis (AUS), Sophie Sandolo (ITA)

83 Titiya Plucksataporn (THA), Sharmila Nicollet (IND)

84 Martina Eberl-Ellis (GER), Nina Syvertsen Reis (SWE), Rebecca Codd (IRL), Yasemin Sari (TUR)

85 Eleanor Givens (ENG)

88 Barbara Genuini (FRA)

91 Sara Djos (SWE)