The USA’s Lauren Stephenson leads the Australian Ladies Classic at Bonville after an execllent 66 in the first round by the LPGA pro from South Carolina. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

AMERICAN Lauren Stephenson carded a six-under 66 to lead after the first round of the Geoff King Motors Australian Ladies Classic, at Bonville Golf Resort – a shot better than Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh.

The latter was joined by Finland’s Noora Komulainen, Australian Breanna Gill and Korean trio Min A Woon, Ayean Cho and Hye Ji Lee – all a stroke off the lead after posting 67s in perfect scoring conditions, on Thursday.

Dryburgh, who is no stranger to golf in Australia, also started on the ninth hole and tallied six birdies and one bogey, crediting a hot putter as the key to her success.

“Everything was pretty good today,” said Dryburugh from Aberdeen“Everything was pretty good today,” said Dryburugh, from Aberdeen, who played in the 2014 Curtis Cup. “This is my third time back in Bonville and I’ve been in Australia for six weeks now.

“So I’m loving life out here and the heat is much better than the weather at home. There were six birdies and one bogey, so I was rolling it well with the putter,” added Dryburgh who won the 2017 Oatlands Ladies Pro Am on the Australian Ladies PGA.

Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh during the first round. Picturey by TRISTAN JONES

Stephenson, from South Carolina, teed off from the ninth hole and began her round with a fast start, carding birdies on four of her first six holes.

The second-year LPGA player added three more birdies against one bogey to ease ahead of Dryburgh and the chasing pack.

“It was a great day. I had seven birdies and one bogey, where I missed a short putt,” said Stephenson. “I made a lot of good putts on the other holes so I couldn’t be too upset about it.

“The first nine holes are really scoreable so it’s important to get off to a great start. I made a birdie on my second hole and then just continued that and had three birdies in a row.

“The back nine was really important and it was great to go into the harder holes knowing that I had already had a couple of birdies.”

Stephenson spent last season as a rookie on the LPGA Tour. In 20 starts, the University of Alabama graduate made 11 cuts.

She produced one top-10, which was a tie for eighth in her first tournament, the ISPS Handa Vic Open in Australia. She ended the season ranked 85^th on the Race to CME Globe.

This is her fourth week of competition in 2020, as she played in the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, tying for 35th before missing the cut in the ISPS Handa Vic Open.

Stephenson tied for 48^th in last week’s ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

Lauren added: “I love Australia. I’m super happy to be here for a month. I think I would move here if I didn’t live in the United States.

“The people are so nice and the golf is so fun. This course is extremely different to what we played the last two weeks in the Vic and Australian Opens, but this course is amazing.

“It’s nice to play something that’s more familiar to me, because my courses at home have a lot of grain and are similar to this style. I feel at home.”

Stephenson, playing out of a bunker, made seven birdies. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

ALPG rookie sits second at Bonville

MIN A Yoon who was making the third start of her professional career, had a solid, bogey-free round.

The ALPG Tour rookie said: “This is my third year of coming to play in Australia. I came here for two years as an amateur and now I have a different mindset as a pro.”

Komulainen started from the first hole and went out in 33, two-under-par, before coming back in three-under 34.

The Finn said: “That was my first round of the season, so I’m happy to start like this. I hit the ball really well and had a lot of birdie chances.

“I like the course. It’s beautiful and it’s always nice to be here.”

Both Lee and Cho – the top ranked player in the field at 35th on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings – finished well with four birdies on the back nine to get within one of the lead.

Meanwhile Western Australian Gill, who has won three titles on the ALPG Tour, revealed she played aggressively from the word ‘go’.

Sweden’s Lina Boqvist and Ireland’s Leona Maguire are tied for eighth place on four-under, with a further seven players tied for tenth.

The defending champion Marianne Skarpnord opened with a level par round of 72 to sit in a share of 38^th place.

Hertfordshire’s Hannah Burke, who was playing in her first event for eight months after a serious achilles injury, shot a two-over par 74 to lie in 73rd place.

•To see the first round leaderboard and follow Gemma Dryburgh in live scoring in round two click here.

Finland’s Noora Komulainen is tied for second place after a 67. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

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Añoreta Golf Club in Malaga – just one of some 70 courses on the region’s tourist board will help to promote through its sponsorship of the LET’s Race to Costa Del Sol in 2020

A NEW Ladies European Tour season starts on Wednesday night UK time – with the Geoff King Motors Australian Ladies Classic at Bonville Golf Resort, in New South Wales.

The first event on the 2020 Race to Costa del Sol – which is the official LET ranking from this season – offers a €250,000 bonus pool to the top three finishers (see below)

The race begins in Australia with the first of 25 LET tournaments spanning 18 countries in a greatly enhanced schedule.

It concludes with the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open in Spain, in late November.

The new era begins at Bonville Golf Resort, situated halfway between Sydney and Brisbane on the beautiful Coffs Coast.

An international field of 151 competitors will play on the “Favourite Golf Course” Down Under from 2016-19, according to Golf Australia magazine’s poll.

Defending champion Marianne Skarpnord will be joined by fellow 2019 tournament winners Diksha Dagar, Annabel Dimmock, Esther Henseleit, Nuria Iturrioz, Céline Herbin, Meghan MacLaren, Christine Wolf and Anne van Dam – as well as many of the LET’s rising stars who came through December’s Qualifying School.

It will tee up a fortnight of competition Down Under, with the Women’s New South Wales Open taking place at Dubbo Golf Club the following week.

The action then moves to the other side of the Indian Ocean for the Investec South African Women’s Open, at Westlake Golf Club, followed by the Saudi Ladies Championship, at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, where Graeme McDowell won on the European Tour at the start of this month.

The main European leg of the schedule begins with the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian Resort Golf Club, in early May, followed by the La Reserva de Sotogrande Invitational at La Reserva Club de Sotogrande and then the Mithra Belgian Ladies Open in Naxhelet.

The Lalla Meryem Cup, which is co-located with the men’s Hassan Trophy at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, will be followed by an innovative mixed field event, the Scandinavian Mixed hosted by Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam at Bro Hoff Slott Golf Club.

European Tour and Ladies European Tour members will go head-to-head for the first time on the same course, competing for one prize fund and one trophy at the club just outside Stockholm.

The players will remain in Europe for the Dutch Ladies Open at Rosendaelsche Golfclub and the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open at Club de Golf Terramar.

The Evian Championship, which has been played as the fifth major since 2013, will take place in mid-July.

After everyone catches their breath for a week, a new event will be played in the United Kingdom in early August, alongside the Tokyo 2020 women’s Olympic Golf Competition.

LET bosses have promised to reveal the details of the event shortly. The UK swing continues with a fortnight in Scotland and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club,

That will be followed by the AIG Women’s British Open, the final major of the year, at Royal Troon.

The European odyssey continues with the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open at Golf Course Karlstejn, the Creekhouse Ladies Open at Kristianstads Golfklubb, the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open at Golfpark Holzhäusern and the Lacoste Ladies Open de France at Golf du Médoc, in Bordeaux.

The action then moves to Asia for the Ladies European Thailand Championship at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club, the Hero Women’s Indian Open at DLF Golf and Country Club – and a new event in the Philippines – before moving on to the Middle East for the Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic at Emirates Golf Club, and then Africa, for the second Magical Kenya Ladies Open, at Vipingo Ridge.

The LET then returns to Europe for the season finale at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open – one of the most popular stops of the year, where the winner of the season-long competition will be crowned.

•You can follow live scoring in the first LET season event of 2020 – the Australian Ladies Classic – by clicking here.

Race to Costa Del Sol’s €250k pool

THE Race to Costa del Sol will offer an additional bonus pool of €250,000, split between the top three finishers.

The player who tops the Race to Costa del Sol rankings will receive an additional €125,000, with the second highest finisher receiving €75,000 – and €50,000 for the third placed player following the season-long race.

The winner will also receive a seven-year exemption for the LET.

The Race to Costa del Sol will showcase the tourism excellence of both the Costa del Sol and Andalusia while providing a tremendous incentive for LET members.

Costa Del Sol Tourist Board promotes golf

IN 2020, the Costa Del Sol Tourist Board became a partner of the Ladies European Tour by sponsoring the Order of Merit, which will be called the Race to Costa del Sol.

The Costa del Sol Tourist Board is dedicated to the promotion of golf in the region, and provides advice and support to its partners throughout the golf industry.

The Costa del Sol has been recognised as a “top European Golf Destination” by IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators) and is the exclusive destination in continental Europe of PGA Germany.

The Costa del Sol is the leading destination for golfers who seek a wide variety of quality golf courses and ideal golfing weather through 12 months of the year.

With more than 70 golf courses, many of which were conceived by masters of golf course design, the Costa del Sol enjoys worldwide prestige.

Many top-level championships have provided unforgettable days of competition on its courses – from the Ryder Cup, to the World Golf Championship, the Estrella Damm Masters and the LET’s Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de España.

Golfers of all levels visit this unique destination, year after year, to enjoy the golf, and explore all that this unique destination offers including top class restaurants, a vibrant nightlife, great shopping and a wide range of hotels, apartments and villas with an astounding array of services, combined with the legendary sights of Andalusia.

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