South Africa’s Paula Reto rocketed to the top of the leaderboard with a seven-under-par 64 at the ShopRite LPGA Championship after the first round on Friday.
‘I’m really excited. I played good today, steady, especially with irons and putting. So I got a way with a couple of the shots. I told myself, one shot at a time, don’t focus and doubt yourself. Everything paid off and I’m really happy and I’m excited to come back out tomorrow morning’ she said after her round.
The 26-year-old started her round on the 10th at Stockton Seaview Golf Club with a birdie. Reto would go on to par the next five holes before picking up birdies at the 16th and 18th (her seventh and ninth holes of the day) to climb to three-under-par and go out in 31 strokes.
The Cape Town-born golfer started her second nine with two solid pars before her round took off. From the third to the ninth hole, she collected a solitary par and five birdies. She did however drop a shot at the par-four fourth (her 13th hole of the day). This all added up to her round of 64, a major reversal of fortunes from her opening round of 82 at the Volvik LPGA Championship last week, after which she withdrew.
She is joined at the top of the leaderboard by defending champion Anna Nordqvist and playing partner Ai Miyazato who both also shot 64.
Other South Africans in the field include Bertine Strauss at one-under-par and Ashleigh Simon at even-par after the first round.
