14th March 2014 | Sunshine Ladies Tour
Dlamini, Pace in touch in Morocco
Nobuhle Dlamini fired an opening 69 and Lee-Anne Pace carded a 70 to finish within striking distance of England’s Rebecca Hudson and Sophie Walker, who share the first round lead at five-under-par 66 at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco.
Dlamini from Swaziland reeled in seven birdies against five bogeys in her Ladies European Tour debut in Agadir to claim a share of ninth.
The Swazi golfer said her first tee nerves were compounded by a bout of flu, but she settled down immediately after a birdie at the opening hole.
“I was pretty nervous, but I took my three-wood and hit is smack down the middle of the first fairway,” she said. “I had only 68 meters to the pin and I left the approach just a meter from the flag. Once I knocked in the putt for birdie, the nerves were a thing of the past. I thought, ‘I’m on my way.’
“I made a couple more birdies to turn in three under, but it was a bit tougher on the back nine, because the wind blew harder. I had a couple of bad drives coming down the stretch, but I held it together.”
Meanwhile eight-time LET champion Pace dropped just one shot for a share 16th, while Stacy Bregman navigated the Golf de l’Ocean layout in even par to tie for 25th.
Kim Williams, also making her debut on the LET, and compatriot Connie Chen joined the bus of 18 players parked at three-over-par 74, while the final South African in this week’s line-up, LET rookie Nicole Garcia, returned a 76.
PHOTO – Nobuhle Dlamini on the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s SuperSport Challenge; credit Catherine Kotze / SASPA.