French flavour order of the day on home turf

Ladies Open de France co-leader Anais Meyssonnier loves the Golf Club du Medoc as the layout favours the driver off the tee. Photo: Tristan Jones/LET
Ladies Open de France co-leader Anais Meyssonnier loves the Golf Club du Medoc as the layout favours the driver off the tee. Photo: Tristan Jones/LET

It’s a French one-two after Day One of the Lacoste Ladies Open de France, with Agathe Laisne and Anais Meyssonnier shooting rounds of 66 (-5) on Thursday to share the lead at Golf Club du Medoc.

India’s Tvesa Malik started well, shooting a 2-under 69 to lie T11.

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The French duo put on an excellent performance in their home country, with Meyssonnier securing vital birdies around the turn to soar up the leaderboard, while Laisne picked up shots on her final three holes to make a late charge for the top of the standings.

 

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After starting on the tenth hole, Meyssonnier finished the back nine in 33 (-2), before rolling in birdies on holes one and two to put her into the ascendancy at Golf Club du Medoc.

Even a bogey on the fourth couldn’t stop her momentum, as she picked up two more shots on the way back to the clubhouse to see her card for a first round 66 (-5).

“It was a perfect day for me, I hit my irons really well and managed to hit 16 greens and my putting was good too, so it was a really good day,” Meyssonnier reflected.

“The conditions were perfect as there was only a little bit of wind, I love this golf course as well, I think it’s a good golf course for me – it’s a bit longer and you can hit the driver off the tee, so I love that.”

 

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Sitting alongside her at the top of the standings is compatriot Laisne, with the 22-year-old recovering from a bogey on her first hole of the day to also shoot five-under-par.

Birdies on the 11th and 12th soon vanished any memories of the early dropped shot before another picked up shot on the second saw her join a cluster of players on -2 as the clock ticked past midday.

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But by the time she had played her final shot of the day, Laisne had clambered above all her competitors, with birdies rolling in on holes seven, eight and nine to see her finish her day with aplomb.

Laisne, who triumphed in the Grand Prix du Medoc at this very course a year ago – certainly knows the lay of the land in these parts and is looking to impart that knowledge as the week goes on in France.

 

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“I trusted myself to do what I can do, and it was a good day for me. It’s nice to play well here in France, I have people here following me this week so it’s nice to play well in front of them as well,” she said.

“I really like knowing the course before because you can remember what you did right or wrong the last time and then you can try to make it better.

“I’m enjoying what I’m doing so I think it will be great this week, but I’ll just take it day by day and see where it takes me.”

Sitting a shot behind the leading duo are the quartet of Virginia Elena Carta, Karoline Lund, Hannah Burke and Leticia Ras-Anderica, with all three players registering a first round score of 67 (-4) on Thursday.

A strong performance from Lund saw her roll in two birdies and a bogey on her first nine holes, before picking up three shots on her next nine to put herself into contention after the first 18 holes of the competition.

Burke shot out the blocks in Bordeaux to get herself to three under par after six holes, before a bogey and birdie on the 18th and the first respectively, before ending her day with another birdie on the ninth.

Ras-Anderica also finished her day strongly, with an eagle on her final hole of the day propelling her into a tie for third spot in Bordeaux, having expertly recovered from two bogeys in her first four holes to turn her day around.

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