Caroline Hedwall hole-in-one lifts her into two-shot lead at Dubai Moonlight Classic
Solheim Cup star enjoys a slam-dunk ace at the par-three 17th and fires seven-under opener to go two shots clear of Solheim Cup team-mate Celine Boutier after first round, with Lydia Ko three behind
Thursday 5 November 2020 10:34, UK
Caroline Hedwall shone under the floodlights as she made a hole-in-one in a 65 that earned her the first-round lead at the Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic.
Hedwall parred her first 10 holes before putting together a sparkling run of scoring, with four birdies and an ace at the par-three 17th propelling her past early leader Laura Fuenfstueck and Solheim Cup team-mate Celine Boutier at The Emirates Golf Club.
Former world No 1 Lydia Ko enjoyed a strong start as she opened with a 68, one of only 13 players to break the par of 72, while Georgia Hall and veteran Dame Laura Davies both carded level-par rounds.
But day one belonged to Hedwall, who started at the sixth and ground out the pars before getting under the card with a birdie at 16, and even better was to follow as her six-iron to the 162-yard 17th pitched straight in the cup and stayed there, much to her surprise.
"I heard it hit the pin and then I thought it came out because something white flew off the flagstick," said the Swede. "I thought my ball was in the bunker. I walked up and saw a ball in the bunker, but my Pro-Am partner said that it was his ball. So I walked up to the hole to double-check and it was there!"
An energised Hedwall then birdied three of the next four holes and added another at the fifth, her last, to complete a bogey-free round which gave her a two-stroke advantage over Fuenfstueck and Boutier.
Ko made six birdies and also eagled the long third on the Faldo Course, but the two-time major champion littered her card with four bogeys and ended the day three off the pace.
Defending champion Nuria Iturrioz returned a 69 along with British duo Meg MacLaren and Alison Muirhead, with Bronte Law one further behind.
Hall had a quiet start as she made just one birdie against a solitary bogey, while Charley Hull endured a poor finish as she had a penalty drop before finding water with her fourth to the 16th, running up a triple-bogey eight which saw her slip to three over par.
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