South Africa’s Kaleigh Telfer mixed it up with the world’s top-ranked amateurs and the 2018 SCFA Women’s Amateur Championship runner-up in a dream start at the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Wednesday.
The GolfRSA Elite Squad member fired four birdies in an opening round of three-under-par 69 at the Champions Retreat Golf Club to finish within one stroke of the leaders, number one ranked Jennifer Kupcho and 16-year-old junior Zoe Campos.
‘I am very happy with that 69,’ said the second-year Auburn University student.
‘I started off nervous and missing greens, but making a lot of putts and then, towards the end of the first nine and on the back nine, I started hitting the greens and the putts kept dropping. It was a good round.’
Kupcho returned a flawless 68 with birdies at eight, 14, 15 and 18, while her compatriot Campos countered bogeys at eight and 16 with half a dozen birdies.
The South African began her campaign on the back nine and was two-under through the turn after birdies at the par four 12th and par-three 17th. She offset a lone bogey at the par four fourth with further gains at the par four seventh and par five ninth.
‘I actually hit a good drive down the middle of the fairway at the fourth,’ said Telfer.
‘There’s a tree in the middle of the fairway, and I hit a punch shot and it came out a little bit high off the face. I thought it was a good shot, but it hit the tree at the last minute and fell through.
‘The seventh is a driveable par four, but in the practice round, I hit 3-wood long. I was hitting it quote long again today, so I went with a 5-wood. I finished 10 yards short of the green and made a great up-and-down for birdie.
‘My caddie (Andrew Pratt), who is the associate head golf coach at Auburn, said to me we should finish strong at the par five, so I hit it to about 15 feet at the ninth. He gave me a great line and I made it. Coach has a friend who is a member at Augusta and he gave us a few tips, and that worked out nicely for us.’
