BRITISH WOMEN’S OPEN : SANDRA GAL took the first-day lead in the Ricoh Women’s British Open just after 9 o’clock last night and with two spectators in the grandstands around the 18th green at windy Royal Lytham.
After nearly 15 hours play without a single score in the 60s the 24-year-old from Dusseldorf played a brilliant chip to within three feet of the final flag and holed for a three-under-par 69.
It gave Gal, 69th in the world, a one-stroke lead over American Angela Stanford and Korean Song-hee Kim.
“There were a few gutsy people out there, so that was nice,” she said. “You don’t win majors in the first round but it’s definitely always nice to be on top.”
After a six-foot birdie putt on the 17th put her back in front, Gal missed the last green and finished in heavy rough. But her flop shot over the bunker worked out like a dream.
“I just tried to get it up in the air as high as I could,” she explained.
Gal, who gained an LPGA card in America while still an amateur, is not currently a member of the European Tour and therefore ineligible for next month’s Solheim Cup, but that could change if she wins on Sunday.
Sandra Gal tames conditions at Royal Lytham in Ricoh Women's British Open
In an easterly wind Royal Lytham & St Annes is a difficult course. In a westerly wind gusting up to 35 miles per hour, such as blew yesterday in the first round of the Ricoh Women's British Open, it is almost impossible.
Make your score on the way out, hold on to your hat on the way back is the general advice but that was little use to most on a brutal day when only five out of 144 competitors broke par.
Angela Stanford set a target of 70, two under par, that remained until well past 9pm, when it was bettered by one stroke by Sandra Gal, of Germany. Gal, 24, who is ranked No 69 in the world, is ineligible, however, for the Solheim Cup squad to be named on Sunday evening because she is not a member of the Ladies' European Tour.
Source: British Women's Open, Irish Times, Friday, 31 July, 2009
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