Davies enjoys rare good start
English duo Laura Davies and Karen Stupples did well to match the par of 71 on a day of gusting winds and heavy showers at the Michelob ULTRA Open in Virginia.
On a day when Australia’s Karrie Webb led on 66 and only a dozen players broke 70, Davies received a welcome boost in a season of despair.
The former world number one has missed every cut in seven starts in America this year, but three birdies and three bogeys raised hopes she would make the weekend this time.
Webb had a strange round, but one that was good enough for a one-shot lead over South Korean Jimin Kang.
She had eight birdies – one from a chip-in and three from 45-foot range – and her three dropped shots included hitting into a hazard at the eighth.
“It wasn’t pretty, but I’ve learned that it’s the score that counts, not how you get the ball in the hole,” reflected the former world number one who bounced back to form with a win in the first major of the season, the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
“At one time, I might have been embarrassed by holing 40-foot putts. But I’ve seen so many players who don’t do it pure but go out and beat me every day that I’ve learned not to expect to hit every shot perfectly.”
Stupples highlighted her round with an eagle at the long third (her 12th).
It was the fourth round in a row that the long hitter has made a three at a par five. But she was disappointed to miss out on a sub par round by dropping a shot at the last.
Wales’ Becky Morgan drooped a shot at the last for a 72, while Scot Janice Moodie, who is five months pregnant, bogeyed the last two holes for a 73.
World number one Annika Sorenstam struggled with her putter and had to settle for a disappointing 73, but American Cristie Kerr, the defending champion and a winner in Nashville last week, was well in touch on 69.
