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Australian leads by two shots after damp start in Holland
Photography: Tristan Jones/LET
Australia’s Stephanie Kyriacou shot a first round of 66 to lead by two strokes over England’s Lily May Humphreys at the Big Green Egg Open. On a damp and drizzly day, the 2020 LET Rookie of the Year got off to the best possible start when she opened her round with a birdie at the tenth. After dropping a shot to take her back the level par, the Australian made birdies on four of her next six holes and despite dropping another shot, she closed out her round with three further birdies to reach six-under-par. Kyriacou, who won the 2020 Geoff King Motors Australian Ladies Classic Bonville while still an amateur, was pleased with her day’s work. “It was good. I think I had a little bit of luck today, but I did also hit some pretty good shots. I had a couple of short putts, which I holed, and I managed to sink a couple of long ones, which turned out to be six-under-par,” the 20-year-old explained. “I like the look of the course. I think I hit a fairly straight ball, so I guess I have a little bit of an advantage but there was also a little bit of luck today because if you miss the fairway, it can be like cactus there.” Humphreys comes into the tournament fresh off the back of her maiden professional win, and sits two strokes behind Kyriacou on four-under-par. The English golfer, who is playing in her third LET event, carded a round of 68 which included six birdies and two bogeys. The 19-year-old triumphed at the Golf Flanders LETAS Trophy last week in Belgium and she believes Rosendaelsche is a similar golf course. “Last week was great, it was nice to get myself in contention. Only being a professional for a few weeks, it was nice to get near the top again and finish it off. It gave me a big confidence boost,” said Humphreys, who turned professional at the start of June. “I just came out and tried to do the same routine as I did over my shots last week and just see what happens because the course is similar. Last week it was quite narrow off the tee, like today, and you just need to keep the ball in play and take your opportunities when you can, and I did that pretty well.” Four golfers are a shot further back on three-under-par with Spain’s Maria Hernandez, Wales’ Lydia Hall, Austria’s Christine Wolf and Netherlands’ Dewi Weber all carding a first round of 69. While six players sit in tied seventh on two-under-par including the 2021 Tipsport Czech Ladies Open champion Atthaya Thitikul.
