PAMELA PRETSWELL LEADING SCOT WITH A ONE-UNDER 72

KORDA AND BURNETT SHARE LEAD IN AUSSIE LADIES MASTERS

NEWS RELEASE

  Gold Coast, Queensland: American Jessica Korda loves coming to Australia and it certainly showed when she carded a five-under-par 68 to be co-leader after the opening round of the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters being played on the beautiful Gold Coast.

Korda shares the lead with fellow compatriot Katie Burnett who was out late in the day and birdied her last two holes, the eighth and ninth, to join Korda at the top of a truly international leader board.

The Americans are on top and they hold a slender one shot lead over the chasing pack, which is led by South Africans Lee-Anne Pace and Stacy Lee Bregman, Canadian Lorie Kane,  France’s Valentine Derrey and fellow American Cheyenne Woods.

Australians Kristie Smith, Sarah Kemp, Rebecca Artis and amateur Minjee Lee, the Netherlands Dewi-Claire Schreefel , Denmark’s’ Line Vedel and China’s Yu Yang Zhang share eighth position at three-under-par.

On a windy and cloudy morning, the 20-year-old, Korda, started her round on the 10^th tee got off to a perfect start with a birdie.  Birdies on the 15^th, 17^th and 18^th holes saw her go out in four-under-par 32.  Another four birdies on her front nine were mixed with three bogeys to come back in 36.

After her round the affable player was explaining why she seems to play well down under: “I’ve been coming here since I was a baby so I love it here, the people are so nice. I basically feel like I am at home every time I come here and that’s why I love spending so much time here. It’s a beautiful place, why wouldn’t you love it?”

She was delighted with her first round performance and added: “Yeah, I actually hit my driver quite well today and I only missed one really, really bad shot, but I got away with it and ended up making birdie. But I’m just taking every shot as it is, if I hit it upward to the right, I hit it up to the right. I need to figure out why I did that and try and put that to the next shot. I’m learning how to figure out this swing that I have, but I like what’s going on right now.”

For the 2013 LET Players Player of the Year, Pace, she was very happy with her four-under-par, “I didn’t expect a 68 today but I am very happy about that.  I hit some really good shots and some really bad shots but very happy with that score.”

France’s Derrey had a great finish to her round to jump onto the leader board from the morning field, “I played pretty good, I made a lot of putts, I was even par up to 15^th, then birdied 15^th, 16^th, then I eagled 18^th.”

For Kemp, her 20 metre putt for birdie on the 13th hole, her fourth, kick started a rush of three birdies in her round.

"The ball just hung on the edge of the hole for a few seconds before dropping in. That's never happened to me before but it got the round going for me," Kemp said.

"It's nice to be up the leader board and I want to compete there with Karrie and the other Aussie girls."

For defending champion, Karrie Webb, it wasn’t the start she was after. She posted a one-over-par 74 to be tied 59^th.

A highlight of the day was England’s Eleanor Givens’ hole in one on the par-3 fifth.  She holed out with a 6-iron.

FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 73

 

68 - Jessica Korda (USA) , Katie Burnett (USA)
69 - Cheyenne Woods (USA) , Lorie Kane (CAN) , Lee-Anne Pace (RSA) , Stacy Lee Bregman (RSA) , Valentine Derrey (FRA)

70 - Minjee Lee (AUS) , Kristie Smith (AUS) , Yu Yang Zhang (CHN) , Rebecca Artis (AUS) , Dewi Claire Schreefel (NED) , Line Vedel (DEN) , Sarah Kemp (AUS)

71 - Cathryn Bristow (NZL) , Gwladys Nocera (FRA) , Rebecca Codd (IRL) , Amelia Lewis (USA) , Melissa Reid (ENG) , Trish Johnson (ENG) , Caroline Hedwall (SWE) , Katherine Kirk (AUS) , Tiffany Joh (USA) , So Young Lee (SKOR) , Camilla Lennarth (SWE)

72 - Felicity Johnson (ENG) , Chella Choi (SKOR) , Liz Young (ENG) , Stacey Keating (AUS) , Breanna Elliott (AUS) , Marianne Skarpnord (NOR) , Ann-Kathrin Lindner (GER) , Bree Arthur (AUS) , Sarah-Jane Smith (AUS) , Char Young Kim (SKOR) , Tania Tare (NZL) , Pamela Pretswell (SCO) , Minsun Kim (KOR) , Nancy Harvey (CAN)

73 - Beth Allen (USA) , Sophie Gustafson (SWE) , Marina Alex (USA) , Mi Hyang Lee (KOR) , Lindsey Wright (AUS) , Charley Hull (ENG) , Linda Wessberg (SWE) , Maria Hjorth (SWE) , Jia Yun Li (CHN) , Laura Davies (ENG) , Yani Tseng (TPE) , Caroline Martens (NOR) , Connie Chen (RSA) , Maria Hernandez (ESP) , Marion Ricordeau (FRA) , Su-Hyun Oh (AUS) , So Young2 Kim (SKOR) , Belen Mozo (ESP) , Shin-Ae Ahn (SKOR)

74 - Kyu-Jung Baek (SKOR) , Karrie Webb (AUS) , Bree Turnbull (AUS) , Ashleigh Simon (RSA) , Eleanor Givens (ENG) , Courtney Massey (AUS) , Kelly Tan (MYS) , Anne-Lise Caudal (FRA) , Thidapa Suwannapura (THA) , Joanna Klatten (FRA)

75 - Xi Yu Lin (CHN) , Christine Song (USA) , Mireia Prat (ESP) , Alice Hi Kim (SKOR) , Florentyna Parker (ENG) , Hyun Soo Kim (KOR) , Louise Larsson (SWE) , Patricia Sanz Barrio (ESP) , Noora Tamminen (FIN) , Caroline Bon (NZL) , Hannah Burke (ENG) , Alison Whitaker (AUS)

76 - Ginny Brown (USA) , Adriana Brent (AUS) , Danielle Montgomery (ENG) , Victoria Elizabeth (USA) , Carly Booth (SCO) , Lauren Mielbrecht (USA) , Diana Luna (ITA) , Jessica Speechley (AUS) , Jean Chua (MYS) , Vikki Laing (SCO) , Becky Brewerton (WAL) , Tamara Johns (AUS) , Kylie Walker (SCO) , Caroline Afonso (FRA) , Jenna Hunter (NZL)

77 - Sarah King (AUS) , Giulia Molinaro (ITA) , Song Yi Park (SKOR) , Tamie Durdin (AUS) , Giulia Sergas (ITA) , Stacey Tate (NZL) , Holly Clyburn (ENG) , Vicky Hurst (USA) , Titiya Plucksataporn (THA) , Nikki Garrett (AUS) , Kyla Inaba (CAN)

78 - Julia Boland (AUS) , Stephanie Na (AUS) , Hyun Myung Kim (SKOR) , Hsin Ning Yeh (TPE) , Ashlee Dewhurst (AUS) , Nikki Campbell (AUS) , Lee Park (AUS) , Lauren Hibbert (AUS) , Alexandra Vilatte (FRA) , Da Eun Kim (KOR) , Brooke Pancake (USA) , Grace Lennon (AUS) , Marta Silva Zamora (ESP) , Emma De Groot (AUS)

79 - Whitney Hillier (AUS) , Elmay Viking (NZL) , Phillis Meti (NZL) , Hee Won Na (SKOR) , Elissa-Jayne Orr (AUS) , Minea Blomqvist (FIN) , Chloe Leurquin (BEL) , Karen Pearce (AUS)

80 - Anya Alvarez (USA) , Jiae Hwang (SKOR) , Rebecca Green (AUS)

81 - Nicky Henderson (AUS) , Jiwon Jeon (AUS) , Corie Hou (AUS) , Mi Hee Jung (SKOR) , Daniela Holmqvist (SWE)

82 - Joanne Mills (AUS) , Cindy Lacrosse (USA) , Amy Walsh (AUS) , Ashley Ona (AUS)

84 - Jana Welsford (AUS)

86 - Mianne Bagger (DEN)

87 - Georgina Simpson (ENG) , Jody Fleming (AUS)