French rookie leads with five-under 67
in Tenerife Ladies Open

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
French rookie Julie Greciet shot a five-under-par 67 to take the first-round lead at the Tenerife Ladies Open today.
The 21-year-old carded five birdies at Golf Costa Adeje for a one-stroke lead over England’s Trish Johnson and Russian Maria Verchenova. It was Greciet’s lowest round in six tournaments on the Ladies European Tour this year.
Her previous best finish was a tie for 54th last week in Portugal and she began the tournament ranked 131st on the New Star Money List.
“My driving was the key,” said Greciet, who hails from the town of Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse near Biarritz in south western France.
“My putts were very short today. It felt easier and I had a little bit more confidence. I’ve not made too many cuts this year and it’s been difficult but I’m enjoying the experience.”
Greciet played the back nine in two under par, after sinking putts from six and 20 feet at the 11th and 15th holes respectively. She then carded three birdies on the front nine, her run of solid putting continuing when she holed from 15 feet at the first and from 18 feet at the par-three seventh.
A chip to three feet at the eighth ensured her final birdie of the day and a one-shot lead over Johnson and Verchenova. Johnson had a roller-coaster day with five birdies, an eagle and three bogeys.
She said: “It was nothing spectacular but a solid round. I made a couple of mistakes: I went into the rough and it’s very difficult to get out. But then I made an eagle on the 13th with a three wood and a ten foot putt.”
Johnson was joint second in last year’s event at Golf del Sur and tied for sixth when the event was last played at Golf Costa Adeje in 2005.
Meanwhile Greciet and Verchenova are both visiting Tenerife for the first time.
Verchenova, 22, from Moscow, is playing in her second year on tour and posted six birdies and two bogeys. She said: “I’m quite happy with the way I played on this golf course because it’s really tough. You need to be really good with your irons as well and put them in the right place.” Nine players tied for fourth place on three-under-par, including the current European number one Gwladys Nocera from France and the highly decorated Spanish teenager amateur Carlota Ciganda.
Joining them on three-under were Laura Terebey from the USA, who had two eagles in her opening round, Germany’s Anja Monke and Denise-Charlotte Becker, Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom, Spain’s Carmen Alonso, Australia’s Dana Lacey and Sweden’s Louise Stahle.
FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72
67 J Greciet (Fra).
68 T Johnson (Eng), M Verchenova (Rus).
69 A Monke (Ger), L Terebey (US), U Wikstrom (Fin), G Nocera (Fra), D Lacey (Aus), C Ciganda (Spa) (amateur), L Stahle (Swe), D-C Becker (Ger).
70 M Reid (Eng), Z Kamasova (Slov), A-L Caudal (Fra), E Ohlsson (Swse), F Johnson (Eng), D Luna (Ita), R Hudson (Eng).
Other scores:
71 C Queen (jt 20th).
72 R Coakley (Ire), L Hall (Wal) (jt 27th).
73 K Imrie (Sco), E Lyons (Eng), B Brewerton (Wal), M Gillen (Ire) (jt 39th).
74 L Hall (Eng), J Clingan (Eng) (jt 51st).
75 L Fairclough (Eng), D Masters (Eng) (jt 64th).
76 R Bell (Eng), S Dickens (Eng) (jt 78th).
77 L Kenny (Sco), K S Taylor (Eng) (jt 96th).
78 L McKinnon (NZ), J Morley (Eng) (jt 105th).
79 J Wilson (Sco), L Shervill (Eng), K J Fisher (Eng) (jt 110th).
80 N C Booth (Eng) (jt 120th).