Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley was sharing a three-way tie at the top with Fatima Fernandez Cano and Tiffany Arafi after the opening day of the Italian Open at Golf Nazionale, Sutri.
The trio opened with rounds of 66, leaving them six under on a sun-soaked day, a shot clear of Indonesia’s Diksha Daga.
West Australian Whitney Hillier marked her return after a year out because of illness to end four shots off the leaders.
Rudgeley, who was born in London but brought up in Perth, set the early standard, signing a bogey-free card which included a wonderful chip-in on the par-4 18th, her ninth hole.
Rudgeley, 23, said: “It was a nice round of golf. I didn’t really do much wrong. It was quite a relaxing round of golf, which was a bonus. There’s holes which you have to really think about and there’s others where you have to be careful off the tee.
“I keep saying I’m getting there. There’s just a few little things I still need to work on. Probably just minimising mistakes. I’ll keep plugging away and see how I go.”
Also chasing a maiden Ladies European Tour win, Rudgeley was followed by Fernandez Cano. the Spaniard bounced back brilliantly from a bogey on the par-4 first to post seven birdies.
The duo were joined by Switzerland’s Arafi who continued her excellent momentum having finished runner-up on the LET Access Series last week. All three players are yet to record a victory on the LET.
Source Agencies
