Olivia Cowan, with a devastating proposal of 65 strokes, has starred in the most dazzling debut in the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino, a tournament subjected from the first tee to an intense spectacle.
First came Christina Kim, Anne Van Dam and, to a lesser extent, Azahara Muñoz, protagonists of a stellar match that did not disappoint anyone. Five under par for the American in the clubhouse, four for the Dutchwoman and one for the Spaniard, the three established an exquisite duel from which the first two especially benefited, tremendously solid from tee to green and, more importantly, with a finesse with the putts that the golfer from Malaga lacked to climb to the top of the ranking.
“The result is good, lowering the par is important, but I have a slight resentment because things could have gone much better. Many putts were left on the edge of the hole, and if they had gone in, it would have been a very different story,” said Azahara Muñoz without losing her smile after submitting her 71-stroke card and placing 18th.
The American Christina Kim, pure fun, both for the efficiency of her strokes and for her way of celebrating them and her peculiar attire, celebrated her great result of 67 strokes with obvious jubilation. Six birdies -the last one on her 18th hole after hitting the flag from more than 80 meters and leaving the ball practically given- showed her ability to generate pressure that Anne Van Dam, the defending champion, with 68 strokes and from fourth place, kept intact her aspirations of repeating the feat.
Christina Kim’s joy, however, lasted only a few hours, the time it took for the sensational proposal of Germany’s Olivia Cowan, who at 23 years of age is aiming for her first victory in the revitalized Ladies European Tour, to materialize. The German, a solid birdie machine, kept her card bogey-free, an exclusive distinction that earned her a well-deserved lead.
The Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord, at the end of the day, dared to snatch the top spot, although her 66 strokes did not reach the 7 under par of the German. Cheyenne Woods, Tiger’s niece who was leader at the end of the first day of the Women’s Spanish Open in 2013, also joined the party and was fourth this time with 68 strokes.
The qualified group of Spaniards who aspire to repeat the victorious feats of Azahara Muñoz in the 2016 and 2017 editions responded to such a level of success, from a certain distance. Beatriz Recari, in the morning, and María Parra in the afternoon, equaled the record of the Malaga native with 71 strokes, a good result improved at the edge of the conclusion of the round by Nuria Iturrios, Fátima Fernández and Harang Lee, all of them eleventh with 70 strokes, a brilliant performance that allows them to continue to aspire to everything.
CLASSIFICATION (after the first day)
1.- Olivia Cowan (Ger), 65
2.- Marianne Skarpnord (Nor), 66
3.- Christina Kim (USA), 67
4.- Anne Van Dam (Hol), 68
+Cheyenne Woods (USA), 68
+Karolin Lampert (Ale), 68
11.- Harang Lee (Eng), 70
+Nuria Iturrios (Esp), 70
+Fatima Fernandez (Esp), 70
18.- Azahara Muñoz (Esp), 71
+Beatriz Recari (Esp), 71
+María Parra (Esp), 71
AROUND THE GREEN
Cheyenne Woods, Tiger’s niece who was the leader of the 2013 Women’s Spanish Open.
Cheyenne Woods, American golfer who fights with significant success to make a place among the best in the LPGA, is one of the reference golfers in the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino. Her debut has been outstanding, fourth classified with 68 strokes, although not as much as in 2013, her previous presence in this tournament, when she concluded the first day leading the classification. On that occasion the headline to describe the day was ‘Woods leads the Open’, the dream headline, the four words most longed for by half the world at that time, focused on the evolution of everything that was happening at Muirfield, the cathedral of The Open. Her uncle Tiger did not achieve the goal, but she did, his niece, who finished in 23rd place.
A new addition to the Navy’s future
Galician Fátima Fernández Cano makes her debut in a Women’s Spanish Open after spending all this year in America playing in the Symetra Tour, a satellite circuit of the LPGA. Thanks to a great year, she has had the opportunity to play her first `major’, the US Open, after a great qualifying round. Now, Fatima Fernandez arrives at Aloha Golf with the desire to consolidate among the group of the Armada and be one of the references in the future. Her debut could not have been more promising, 70 strokes that have placed her in eleventh place.
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