New South Welshwoman Sarah Kemp shot a superb opening round of 8 under par 64 to take a commanding 7 shot lead after day one of the Anita Boon Pro-am at North Shore Golf Club in Auckland.
Kemp, playing alongside Kiwi TV personality Peter Williams, was off to the perfect start today, making a birdie 4 at her opening hole before making five straight pars. Another birdie at the short par 4 8th hole was followed by further birdies at the 10th, 14th and 16th holes, before an eagle at the par 5 18th hole moved her to 7 under par for the round. Another birdie to finish at the 1st hole saw Kemp signing for a 64, an "unofficial" course record due to preferred lies being in place as a result of recent heavy rain in the Auckland area.
The Aussie star was clearly delighted with her round,
“I drove it really well today, I don’t think I missed a fairway and just missed a couple of greens but got up and down when I needed to. I played the par fives well, I made 3 birdies and an eagle and didn’t have a 5 on my scorecard”
Kemp has endured a disappointing season so far on the US LPGA Tour in 2017, but crucially broke a run of missed cuts two weeks ago at the Indy Women in Tech Championship in Indianapolis after re-shafting her irons and putting a new putter in the bag.
She followed that up with a solid week last week at the PTT Thailand LPGA Masters where she finished in a tie for 23rd place.
“I put new shafts in my irons and a new putter in the bag 2 weeks ago and it has made a huge difference. It is basically like using a new set of clubs”
Kemp, in her 10th straight season on the US Tour has long been touted as a potential superstar of the game, with her swing admired by many as being one of the most technically sound in women’s golf.
There is no doubt if she turns up with her “A” game as she did today she has the quality to match it with the very best.
Tied for second place are talented Kiwi duo Munchin Keh and Hanee Song after shooting rounds of 1 under par 71, while tied for 4th place are Breanna Gill and American Brooke Baker at even par. Victorian Grace Lennon is alone in 6th place after a 1 over par 73, while rookie Chizuru Ueda is in 7th place after shooting a 2 over par 74.
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