Murray on a high but Boeljon has early lead

CHRISTEL Boeljon delighted her home gallery with an opening round of four under par 69 to take the outright lead at the Deloitte Ladies Open in the Netherlands..

The 27-year-old from Beverwÿk was the sole player to break 70 on a cold and blustery first day at The International, Amsterdam. Her closest challengers were England’s Rebecca Hudson and Cathryn Bristow of New Zealand on three under par 70, followed by four players on two under par.

One of those was rookie professional Laura Murray, from Alford in Aberdeenshire, who was delighted that her strategy for the day paid dividends.

“I spoke to my coach before I came out, who is also my boyfriend, Keil Beveridge, and he was just like, ‘go round and if it’s really windy, play punch shots all day’.” said Murray. “We play in the winter alliance at home and literally the only shot you play is a punch shot, to keep it under the wind.

“That was my gameplan today and it seemed to work out for those first six holes. I was four under through six, so it was good. I popped them in and a couple were close: one was a foot and I holed a 40-footer on the par three, my fourth [the 13th]. The others were from ten feet so it gave me a boost so that I wasn’t chasing it towards the end.

“It’s not as daunting out here as I thought it was going to be and a lot of girls have come through the LET Access Series as well. My best finish there was third in Kristianstad last year and I finished 12th on the order of merit.”

Boeljon, a member of the victorious European Solheim Cup team and winner of the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open in 2011, set off from the 10th and recorded back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th before dropping a shot on the par-3 17th. She then birdied three of her last four holes, finishing with a birdie on the ninth to gain a one-stroke lead.

“Before I started the round I thought level par would be a good round so four under par was even better. It just happened to go my way and I’m very pleased,” said Boeljon, who finished second three weeks ago at the Shoprite LPGA Classic.

“The back nine, my swing just felt a little better rhythmically. I hit some shots close, played the par fives well and the last hole was unbelievable, because it’s a tough hole.”

Along with Murray, England’s Holly Aitchison, Linda Henriksson from Finland and Laura Jansone of Latvia were all on two under par, with Englishwoman Holly Clyburn, winner at The International as a rookie in 2013, a shot further behind on one under par with eight others.

Defending champion Kylie Walker, from Glasgow, had a one-over-par 74 to lie in a share of 28th place, five shots from the lead heading into the weekend.