Germany’s Helen Briem leads the Hulencourt Women’s Open after firing eight-under-par through 36 holes, heading into the weekend atop the leaderboard.
Related: Kelsey Bennett quick off the tee in Belgium, Avani Prashanth lurks
Briem delivered a solid second round, dropping her only shot of the day on the fifth hole. Starting the day just one shot off the lead, the composed 19-year-old rolled in five birdies – capped by back-to-back birdies on her final two holes around a sun-soaked Hulencourt.
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“Overall, it was pretty solid, even though I made a few mistakes,” said Briem. “I recovered well from most of them, made a lot of up-and-downs, so I’m really happy with how I played.”
She noted that the course set-up demanded power and precision: “I hit a lot of drivers -it’s a pretty long course. The greens are very firm, which is something I’m not really used to. Usually my wedges spin back up to 10 metres, but here they’re rolling forward five to seven metres, so I’ve had to adjust. But overall, I think I’m handling it pretty well.”
The teenager’s putting has been a standout strength over the past two weeks: “Last week I putted really well, even with tough greens. My speed control was good, and it’s been the same this week. I haven’t had a three-putt yet in two rounds, which is pretty good for me.”
“I’ve rolled in some nice birdie putts, and I’m really pleased with where my game is right now – especially my short game and putting.”
As well as having her Dad on the bag, Briem will be joined by her sister and mum from tomorrow, something she’s looking forward to.
“This year, I’ve actually watched my sister play more than she’s watched me, which is quite unusual,” she said with a smile. “I think I’ve been to around four of her tournaments, so now it’s nice that she finally gets to come and watch me for the first time this season.”
Just one-shot back is 18-year-old rookie Avani Prashanth, who capped off her round with a closing birdie.
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“It was a pretty good round overall,” she said. “The putter wasn’t quite as hot as yesterday, but it still held up. I did struggle a bit with distance control because of the heat – the ball was flying a lot further than usual – but I was really happy with my game.”
Reflecting on her last hole, she said: “The last hole was interesting. I didn’t hit a great drive or second shot, so I was definitely glad to make that 30-footer coming in.”
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Prashanth has been encouraged by her recent form and consistency: “I’ve been playing well, but wasn’t quite getting the strong starts I wanted. This week, I’ve had that, and I’m happy to have built on it.”
“Mentally, I’m in a confident place. I’ve been closing out tournaments well lately, which has helped put me in a really positive headspace.”
Conditions tested players in the latter stages of the round: “It was definitely tough out there. On the back nine, it took a lot to stay focused – the heat was getting to everyone. I think that’s why I pulled it left on the last hole; I was just really tired. But I’m glad I was able to recover and finish strong.”
Australia’s Kelsey Bennett – yesterday’s overnight leader – finished the second round six-under par, to sit in solo third place. Bennett dropped her only shot of the day on the second hole, but followed it up with back-to-back birdies on the 6th and 7th holes to make it a solid round.
“It was definitely a rollercoaster out there today. I saved so many unbelievable pars, so I’m not whinging”, said Bennett. “I was very happy with my scrambling today, that’s for sure”, she continued.
The Australian headed into today one shot ahead of the pack. “I feel like after such a good day yesterday, it was hard to back it up. I was just happy to still shoot under-par today and give myself a chance for the weekend.”
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England’s Meghan MacLaren and Wales’ Darcey Harry both fired rounds of five-under par after 36 holes, to sit in a tie for fourth place.
MacLaren produced a spirited fightback today, carding a bogey-free round to bounce back from a second-from-bottom finish at the Tenerife Women’s Open.
After a difficult run of form, the three-time LET winner admitted it’s been a challenging period, but one that may have turned a corner.
“It’s been a while,” she said. “I came into this week feeling good, but Tenerife was a bit of a wake-up call. Things have been tough for a while, and just when I thought I was turning a corner, it felt like I was right back at square one.”
Following that difficult weekend, the 31-year-old had a meeting with her coach.
“I saw him on Monday and left that session actually feeling like I knew what I was doing again. Full credit to him for being as honest as he was and he really simplified things. It sounds strange, but I’m not entirely surprised to be playing well this week – it’s just nice to feel like myself again on the course.”
She admitted that recent months haven’t delivered many highs.
“It just feels like it’s been one low after another. But one thing I’ve always been proud of is my mental strength. I think it would have been incredibly easy to just stop at some point over the last couple of years. Whenever I’ve felt like there’s been something to improve or something to work on, I know where to go, but recently it’s felt like I’ve not known where to go so many times, and that’s what last week was.”
Tenerife, she says, was a particularly low point.
“It’s one thing to miss the cut by a little bit, it’s another thing to be way off out there.”
MacLaren also spoke candidly about the mental toll of slipping from a high level.
“When you’ve been at a certain standard, the last thing you want is to feel average. It’s not just about playing badly – you never want to go into a week just hoping I’ll scrape through the cut. That’s not how I see golf, and that’s why this stretch has been so tough.”
Encouragingly, her strong finishes over the last two rounds have reminded her that she can compete at the top again.
“What it really comes down to is whether I trust where I am with my game and my swing. If I do, then I can put a score together. Everything else is just noise.”
Harry dropped her only shot of the day on 18 and made a couple of impressive long putts – describing one of them as the longest she’s ever made.
“As soon as I hit it, I thought, ‘Oh, it’s going in,’” said the 21-year-old. “I had another long one on 17 as well, which was really nice. Definitely the highlight of the day – I don’t think I’ve ever holed a putt that long. It was great to see it drop.”
Following her runner-up finish at Q-School in December, Harry has enjoyed a strong start to her rookie season and currently sits fourth in the Rookie of the Year standings.
“It was a really good day today. I started with a birdie which is always nice. Holding another good one on the second to keep par was good which gave me the confidence to have a go at all the holes and I played really well.
“Fairways, greens – that was kind of the goal today, and putts dropped in which they didn’t yesterday,” she continued.
Harry has enlisted the help of a DP World Tour player on the bag this week – someone she credits with sharpening her putting performance.
“I just had a good feel on the greens today. My caddie’s a great putter, so I trusted his reads and went with it – and it really worked.”
She also feels the course plays to her strengths: “The course is playing lovely, the conditions are really nice this week, and my game’s been solid. It was pretty solid in Tenerife but nothing really dropped, so I thought, this is the week that hopefully the putts will drop, and they’ve started doing it, so hopefully I’ll keep going like that.”
