Piovano (67) leads by two strokes
from Pettersen at Portmarnock

FROM THE LADIES' EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
By BETHAN CUTLER
Italy’s Federica Piovano holds a two-stroke lead over world No 3 Suzann Pettersen after the opening day at the AIB Irish Open, supported by Fáilte Ireland.
A run of birdie, eagle, par, birdie from the 12th hole on the Bernhard Langer-designed Portmarnock Links in Dublin gave the 26-year-old from Rome an opening round of five-under-par 67, with Pettersen on 69.
Piovano, the 2005 Austrian Ladies Open champion, chipped in for eagle at the par-5 13th hole and held a three-stroke lead with one hole to play but a wayward drive led to a bogey at the tricky par-4 18th.
“I played the way I wanted to play, kept it calm and my concentration was good,” said Piovano, currently ranked 79th on the Ladies European Tour’s New Star Money List.
“I accepted my mistakes. It was pretty hard with the wind. I just managed to make birdies and recovered whenever I needed to.”
Piovano added that remodelling her swing with coach Denis Pugh had affected her recent form. She began the year with four consecutive missed cuts but improved to a season-best tie for 17th at the Tenerife Ladies Open a fortnight ago.
“I’ve changed my swing since last year and I’ve been struggling for a year and a half now. I started with a psychologist four or five months ago. It’s a very long project. When you change things in golf it takes a while. I’ve been working out a lot in the gym with a trainer, things I didn’t do as often before. I think it’s just a habit and will try to keep it going,” she said.
Pettersen posted an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys on a dry opening day. Like Piovano, she has been working on some swing changes with her new coach David Leadbetter.
She is hoping that adopting a slightly different posture will help her to make a move over the weekend.
“I would have taken a three or four under at the start of the day so I’m pretty happy,” said Pettersen. “You’ve just got to get in your own bubble for a couple of days and see where it gets you on Sunday.”
Wales’ Becky Brewerton is one of four players three shots off the lead on two-under-par 70, along with Sweden’s Maria Hjorth, Finland’s Kaisa Ruuttila and Germany’s Martina Eberl. Brewerton said: “I played really well. It couldn’t have been much better apart from a couple of putts. I gave myself loads of chances and you’re not going to make everything. They were tough conditions so it was a really good start.
“I love this course. To me this is a proper golf course. It’s a tough test. Every hole is great. I don’t think I’ve played many better. You know what you are going to get with a links with the wind and stuff. Even if you were to play here on a calm day it’s a fabulous golf course and you’ve got to plot your way round. That’s what makes it my favourite one I’ve played this year so far. “We don’t get to play links golf very often so it’s a bit of a treat to be honest. Sometimes it’s nice not to be playing pitch it by the hole and stop it. There is a bit more to it. You can’t just say land it by the flag. It’s much more challenging that way.”
Martina Gillen, who completed a two-over-par round of 74, was Ireland’s leading player while recent double winner Rebecca Hudson from England shot 76.