The first day of the Bank of Hope LPGA Classic, in Florida, has ended with good and bad news for Spanish women’s golf and for the interests of Azahara Muà ± oz and Carlota Ciganda who have started with uneven luck in this first confrontation.
Azahara Muà ± oz faced in her first match with a tough nut to crack like the English Mel Reid in the new group, defeating her by 2 Up. The match started very well for the Malaga player who won holes 1 and 3 to get two up and start with a certain advantage. In hole 7 Reid recovered a hole thanks to a good birdie but Azahara immediately reacted by winning hole 8 and after drawing the nine, closing the first part of the game with those two down, a more than acceptable income to face the second part of the game .
In it, Reid gritted his teeth to equalize the confrontation after winning the 11 and 14 and leaving the game in high gear with four holes remaining. And in them the best was the Spaniard, winning on the 15th and 18th and getting the victory with a spectacular birdie on the last hole of the game that gave her a lot of air to face her next two games.
The Navarrese Carlota Ciganda was not so lucky as she made her debut in the tournament against the North American Sara Schmelzel, who was finally defeated by 1Up after eighteen very even holes. After the first nine holes and with two wins for each one, equality reached the scoreboard to decide everything in the nine seconds.
The 10th was for the North American and the 12th for the Spanish. Once again tied, the match became a Match Play in which the American had more fortune reaching the 18th hole and taking the victory in this first Round Robin match.
Other players within the group of favorites who have won their first match have been Moriya Jutanugarn, Jin Young Ko, Dannielle Kang, Nasa Hataoka, Stacy Lewis, So Yeon Ryu and Brittany Lincicome, while Natalie Gulbis stands out among those defeated in this first round. Anna Nordqvist, Brooks M. Henderson, Sarah Kemp, and Shanshang Fen.
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