Ashleigh Back on Course

 

Ashleigh Simon is back into gear after a few weekends off, as she settled for a share of second place, two off the lead of Swiss Nora Angehrn, after the first round of the Northern Ireland Ladies Open, at the Hilton Templepatrick Golf Course near Belfast.

 

The conditions seem tough on Friday, with only seven players under-par for the day, and Simon in a bunch of six on one-under, also including France’s Patricia Beliard, Australians

 

Leah Hart and Sarah Kemp, Italy’s Sophie Sandolo and Libby Smith from America.
Two shots back is Laurette Maritz, with a 1-over par 73 for a share of 26th’s place, closely followed by Morgana Robbertze, playing a solid round for a first-round score of 74.

 

Lee-Anne Pace finished fourth of the South Africans competing, her 78 a disappointment after a series of competitive rounds the previous weekend at the Italian Ladies Open, in Rome.

 

Overnight leader Angehrn, 27, from Zurich, played the back nine first and she carded five birdies and one double bogey in total.

 

“My putter was really hot today from the start and I was playing really nicely,” said Angehrn, a keen snowboarder in her third season on the Ladies European Tour.

 

“I had one bad drive and one bad hole in total. I had a double on the par-five third. I pushed my tee shot right behind a tree and I could only chip it out with a sand wedge. From there I hit it right again so I had to take a double. But I’m really happy to finally shoot under par,” she said.

 

The 25-year-old Hart, on one-under, is one of a crop of talented young Australians making their mark on the European circuit this season.

 

She said: “It was a little breezy but I didn’t think it was that difficult. I think the scores are a little bit higher than what I expected them to be coming up the last I saw a couple of leader boards. It was a one or two club wind but it was gusting so pretty hard to judge.

 

“The greens are firm and so big so you can get an 80 foot-putt. It was pretty consistent. I hit 15 greens and had 33 putts, which doesn’t sound good on paper but I had a lot of two putts. I made two bogeys but backed them up with birdies and had another one coming home.”

 

Sandolo, famous for her racy calendars, played in the more difficult afternoon conditions and she said: “This is a tricky course. I didn’t make any mistakes and I only had one three-putt.”

Northern Ireland Ladies Open
Hilton Temple Patrick
1st – 3rd June 2007
Scores at End of Round 1

69 – Nora Angehrn (SWI)
71 – Patricia Beliard (FRA), Leah Hart (AUS), Ashleigh Simon (SA), Sophie Sandolo (ITA), Sarah Kemp (AUS), Libby Smith (USA)
72 – Danielle McVeigh (Am) (IRE), Sara Beautell (ESP), Helena Alterby (SWE), Becky Brewerton (WAL), Kirsty Taylor (ENG), Kiran Matharu (ENG), Stefanie Michl (AUT), Elizabeth McKinnon (NZ), Joanne Mills (AUS), Kristie Newton (AUS)
73 – Kris Lindstrom (USA), Laurette Maritz (SA), Natalie Claire Booth (ENG), Samantha Head (ENG), Felicity Johnson (ENG), Marina Arruti (ESP), Lynn Kenny (SCO), Tania Elosegui (ESP), Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (FRA), Danielle Masters (ENG), Louise Stahle (SWE), Jade Schaeffer (FRA), Rebecca Hudson (ENG), Rui Yokomine (JPN)
74 – Morgana Robbertze (SA), Nicole Gergely (AUT), Maria Boden (SWE), Tamara Hyett (AUS), Rebecca Coakley (IRE), Stefania Croce (ITA), Lisa Hall (ENG), Federica Piovano (ITA), Eva Steinberger (AUT), Katy Jarochowicz (AUS), Anna Temple (USA), Beatriz Recari (ESP), Marianne Skarpnord (NOR), Lill Kristin Saether (NOR)
75 – Melodie Bourdy (FRA), Shani Waugh (AUS), Lynn Brooky (NZ), Martina Eberl (GER), Nuria Clau (ESP), Lora Fairclough (ENG), Elisabeth Esterl (GER), Trish Johnson (ENG), Anna Rawson (AUS), Ludivine Kreutz (FRA), Anna Knutsson (SWE), Elin Ohlsson (SWE), Hanna-Leena Salonen (FIN), Nikki Garrett (AUS), Gwladys Nocera (FRA), Claire Coughlan (IRE), Sophie Walker (ENG), Victoria Brashshaw (Am) (IRE)
76 – Jo Clingan (ENG), Vanessa Bell (ENG), Maria Beautell (ESP), Debbie Hanna (IRE), Carlie Butler (AUS), Emma Zackrisson (SWE), Sarah Heath (ENG), Jenni Kuosa (FIN), Rikke Rasmussen (DEN), Cassandra Kirkland (FRA), Clare Queen (SCO), Sarah Nicholson (NZ), Lisa Jean (AUS)
77 – Shelley McKevitt (ENG), Asa Gottmo (SWE), Antonella Cvitan (SWE), Christine Hallstrom (SWE), Diana Luna (ITA), Kathryn Imrie (SCO), Laura Terebey (USA), Valerie Michaud (FRA), Karen Lunn (AUS), Ellen Smets (BEL), Barbara Paruscio (ITA), Kirsty S Taylor (ENG), Julie Tvede (DEN)
78 – Katie Bakken (USA), Cherie Byrnes (AUS), Johanna Westerberg (SWE), Suzanne Dickens (ENG), Karen-Margrethe Juul (DEN), Cecilie Lundgreen (NOR), Fame More (ENG), Margherita Rigon (ITA), Lee-Anne Pace (SA), Titiya Plucksataporn (THA), Martina Gillen (IRE), Laura Wright (ENG)
79 – Anne Lise Caudal (FRA), Brenda McLarnon, Zuzana Kamasova (SVK), Julie Berton (FRA), Joanne Oliver (ENG), Bree Turnbull (AUS)
80 – Caroline Grady (ENG), Georgina Simpson (ENG), Liza Walters (ENG), Frederique Seeholzer (SWI), Annamaria Milie (ITA)
81 – Kirsty J Fisher (ENG), Michelle Smith (ENG), Fany Schaeffer (FRA), Lynn McCool (IRE)
82 – Sophie Hunter (ENG), Lisa Maguire (AM) (IRE), Denise Simon (GER)
83 – Jehanne Jail (FRA), Florence Luscher (SWI), Leona Maguire (AM) (IRE)
84 – Clare Lipscombe (ENG), Ana Larraneta (ESP)
86 – Kaisa Ruuttila (FIN), Sandra Carlborg (SWE)