Start but Pretswell Asher bounces back
ing taken time out before and after the birth of her daughter, Kristy, last November, it was an encouraging start for the Lanark-born player, who is playing through an exemption as she feels her way back into things.
“Given it had been more than a year and a half since I last played, I’d be nervous if it was a club medal, much less the Scottish Open, and I was more nervous than I realised and have been for a long time,” said Pretswell Asher after signing her first card since the Omega Dubai Ladies Classic in December 2017.
“When I gave my driver back to Ryan (caddie and husband) at the opening hole, my hand was shaking. But that’s my best score in an Lpga-sanctioned event by quite a bit, so maybe I should have had Kristy a while ago!”
After calming those nerves with a run of five straight pars, she got up and down from just short of the green for a birdie at the par-5 16th, holed tenfooters for birdies at both the first and second then completed a brilliant fightback by converting a five-footer for a 4 at the par-5 seventh.
“I thought I’d make it a bit dramatic with the start!” she said, laughing. “Tee shot was fine, edge of the fairway. I just pushed it and found the bunker on the right of the green. Had the dream lie – absolutely not – there was a heap of sand behind it and I didn’t get it out.
“But after that I didn’t really put a foot wrong. I was quite calm because I’ve been playing pretty well in practice. I just kind of hung in there. As Ryan was saying, the start was probably a pretty good thing for me to get the rubbish and drama out of the way first and then be pretty much stress-free.”
Carly Booth and Kylie Henry were next best among the home contingent with 70s, while Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew, who finished bogey-bogey, and Kelsey Macdonald both opened with 71s. “Obviously a disappointing finish,” said two-time winner Matthew. “I played pretty well, really. I had a couple of silly three-putts then messed up the last.”
Gemma Dryburgh, who has been enjoying an encouraging second season on the LPGA, had to settle for a 73 after starting bogey-bogey, with Michele Thomson also facing a battle to be among the top 70 and ties progressing to the weekend after a disappointing 75. Collated first-round scores in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, The Renaissance Club, East Lothian
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 71):
63 Jane Park (USA), Mi Hyang Lee (Kor), Anne Van Dam (Ned)
64 Moriya Jutanugarn (Tha)
65 Su Oh (Aus), Caroline Hedwall (Swe), Chella Choi (Kor)
66 Sei Young Kim (Kor), Hyo Joo Kim (Kor), Mi Jung Hur (Kor)
67 Cydney Clanton (USA), Holly Clyburn, Elizabeth Szokol (USA), Madelene Sagstrom (Swe), Anna Nordqvist (Swe), Hannah Green (Aus), Jeongeun Lee (Kor)
68 Ariya Jutanugarn (Tha), Tiffany Joh (USA), Ayako Uehara (Jpn), Xi Yu Lin (Chn), Louise Ridderstrom (Swe), Muni He (Chn), Camille Chevalier (Fra), Karolin Lampert (Ger), Angela Stanford (USA), Katherine Kirk (Aus)
69 Cheyenne Woods (USA), Minjee Lee (Aus), Karine Icher (Fra), Pajaree Anannarukarn (Tha), Jenny Shin (USA), Giulia Molinaro (Ita), Sarah Schmelzel (USA), Kim Kaufman (USA), Jing Yan (Chn), Wichanee Meechai (Tha), Linnea Strom (Swe), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Den), Katherine Perry (USA), Luna Sobron Galmes (Spa), Georgia Hall, Ursula Wikstrom (Fin), Charley Hull, Lindsey Weaver (USA), Alena Sharp (Can), Gaby Lopez (Mex), Youngin Chun (USA), Pamela Pretswell Asher, Kelly Tan (Mal), Carmen Alonso (Spa)
70 Dana Finkelstein (USA), Isi Gabsa (Ger), Celine Herbin (Fra), Christine Wolf (USA), Carly Booth, Hee Young Park (Kor), Noemi Jimenez Martin (Spa), Celine Boutier (Fra), Lindy Duncan (USA), Paula Creamer (USA), Amy Olson (USA), Kylie Henry, Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa), Lynn Carlsson (Swe), Lauren Kim (USA), Yu Liu (Chn), Laura Fuenfstueck (Ger), Bronte Law, Jenny Haglund (Swe)
71 Valdis Thora Jonsdottir (Isl), Kendall Dye (USA), Whitney Hillier (Aus), Pornanong Phatlum (Tha), Silvia Banon (Spa), Sarah Kemp (Aus), Annie Park (USA), Jaye Marie Green (USA), Aditi Ashok (Ind), Emma Talley (USA), Christina Kim (USA), Catriona Matthew, Morgan Pressel (USA), Ashleigh Buhai (Rsa), Suzann Pettersen (Nor), Wei-ling Hsu (Tai), Florentyna Parker, Cheyenne Knight (USA), Kelsey Macdonald, Maddie Mccrary (USA)
72 Emily K Pedersen (Den), Beth Allen (USA), Melissa Reid, Katja Pogacar (Slo), Gabriella Cowley, Lina Boqvist (Swe), Jasmine Suwannapura (Tha), Jennifer Kupcho (USA), Haeji Kang (Kor), Annabel Dimmock, Sian Evans, Nicole Broch Larsen (Den), Na Yeon Choi (Kor), Laura Davies, Kanyalak Preedasuttijit (Tha), Isabelle Boineau (Fra)
73 Felicity Johnson, Stephanie Meadows, Marianne Skarpnord (Nor), Jacqui Concolino (USA), Lee Lopez (USA), Marita Engzelius (Nor), Jessica Karlsson (Swe), Becky Morgan, Leona Maguire, Mina Harigae (USA), Cajsa Persson (Swe), Liz Young, Louise Stahle (Swe), Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras (Tha), (a) Julia Engstrom (Swe), Gemma Dryburgh
74 Linda Wessberg (Swe), Brianna Do (USA), Caroline Masson (Ger), Becky Brewerton, Astrid Ger Pradenne (Fra), Maria Torres (Pue), Lydia Hall, Ana Menendez (Mex), Sarah Schober (Aut), Tiffany Chan (Hkg), Pei-yun Chien (Chn)
75 Meghan Maclaren, Charlotte Thomas, Dottie Ardina (Phl), Marissa Steen (USA), Olafia Kristinsdottir (Isl), Amy Boulden, Kris Tamulis (USA), Michele Thomson, Olivia Cowan (Ger), Maha Haddioui (Mor), Trish Johnson
76 Esther Henseleit (Ger), Celine Borge (Nor), Diksha Dagar (Ind), Eleanor Givens
77 Ruixin Liu (Chn), Emma Nilsson (Swe), Noora Komulainen (Fin), Camilla Lennarth (Swe)
78 Manon Molle (Fra)
79 Tonje Daffinrud (Nor)
80 Valentine Derrey (Fra)
84 Leticia Ras-anderica (Ger)