Nocera and Boden share lead in Scotland

Gwladys Nocera from France birdied her last three holes to tie for the first round lead with Sweden’s Maria Boden at the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open.

Both Nocera and Boden carded rounds of two-under-par 69 on a day of changeable weather conditions at the Carrick on Loch Lomond.

Nocera, a five-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, was one of only two players to score below par in the more breezy afternoon conditions.

Tania Elosegui from Spain also played in the afternoon and shot 70, one-under-par. She shared third with Austria’s Nicole Gergely, South Korea’s Amy Yang and Australia’s Nikki Garrett.
England’s Felicity Johnson, Sweden’s Johanna Westerberg and France’s Melodie Bourdy, whose brother Gregory won the the Estoril Open de Portugal on the European Tour a month ago, tied for seventh on level par 71.

Nocera, a two-time Solheim Cup player, shot one-over on the back nine but recovered with birdies on holes seven, eight and nine coming in.

“I can’t ask for better,” she said. “The wind is kind of turning around and it’s hard to get good speed on the greens. Some pin positions were tough as well.”
Nocera has been working out with the Biarritz rugby team over the winter, as well as training with her golf coach Olivier Leglise.

“I’ve been playing well in Spain. I’ve been hitting the ball well. I worked a lot last week to get back and this week I’m hitting the ball even better. I’m putting well too,” said the 32-year-old, who finished tied for 38th a fortnight ago in Spain and is ranked 10th on the New Star Money List.
Boden’s round was bogey free with two birdies on the first and fourth holes. The 30-year-old is aiming for her first victory on the Ladies European Tour where her previous best finish was a share of third at the 2002 Irish Open.

“I’m very happy. I would take two more rounds like that. I made three good putts to save par, including one on 18,” said Boden.

Commenting on the unusually high scores, she said of the course: “It’s very wet but I like the layout. It can’t really take any more rain so I hope there isn’t going to be any more. The greens are really tough to putt on now, because they are so wet.”

Clare Queen, who is attached to the Carrick, was the leading Scottish player in a share of 10th place on one-over-par.

Luckily, the fact that her driver’s shaft snapped the day before didn’t affect her at all.

“The driver was okay today, it behaved itself,” she said. “I got it back last night about quarter past 10 so I slept a bit easier knowing I had it. A pro locally had one of the shafts and he fixed it for me.”

Scores at the end of round one:
-2 - Maria Boden (SWE), Gwladys Nocera (FRA)
-1 - Nicole Gergely (AUT), Amy Yang (KOR), Nikki Garrett (AUS), Tania Elosegui (ESP)
Par - Felicity Johnson (ENG), Johanna Westerberg (SWE), Melodie Bourdy (FRA)
+1 - Emma Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Clare Queen (SCO), Rebecca Hudson (ENG), Joanne Morley (ENG), Zuzana Kamasova (SVK)
+2 - Olof Maria Jonsdottir (ICE), Janice Olivencia (PR), Kathryn Imrie (SCO), Lotta Wahlin (SWE), Joanne Mills (AUS), Samantha Head (ENG), Karen Lunn (AUS), Laurette Maritz (SA), Julie Tvede (DEN), Nathalie David-Mila (FRA), Ursula Wikstrom (FIN), Sophie Walker (ENG)
+3 - Lisa Hall (ENG), Becky Brewerton (WAL), Martina Eberl (GER), Karen-Margrethe Juul (DEN), Kaisa Ruuttila (FIN), Denise-Charlotte Becker (GER), Jehanne Jail (FRA), Anna Knutsson (SWE), Fame More (ENG), Jade Schaeffer (FRA), Stephanie Arricau (FRA), Mhairi McKay (SCO)
+4 - Florence Luscher (SWI), Cecilia Ekelundh (SWE), Lora Fairclough (ENG), Lynn Kenny (SCO), Sophie Gustafson (SWE), Lara Tadiotto (BEL), Ellen Smets (BEL), Stacy Lee Bregman (SA), Lee-Anne Pace (SA)
+5 - Stefanie Michl (AUT), Natalie Claire Booth (ENG), Yuki Sakurai (JPN), Mette Buus (DEN), Isabella Maconi (ITA), Ana Larraneta (ESP), Frederique Seeholzer (SWI), Beatriz Recari (ESP), Sofia Renell (SWE), Marjet van der Graaff (NL)
+6 - Martina Gillen (IRE), Trish Johnson (ENG), Natascha Fink (AUT), Eva Steinberger (AUT), Caroline Afonso (FRA), Camille Fallay (FRA), Marina Arruti (ESP), Ludivine Kreutz (FRA), Kiran Matharu (ENG), Anja Monke (GER), Melissa Reid (ENG), Frances Bondad (AUS), Lill Kristin Saether (NOR), Vittoria Valvassori (ITA)
+7 - Laura Terebey (USA), Cassandra Kirkland (FRA), Danielle Masters (ENG), Anna Rossi (ITA), Marianne Skarpnord (NOR), Kylie Walker (Am) (SCO), Margherita Rigon (ITA)
+8 - Asa Gottmo (SWE), Emma Zackrisson (SWE), Megan Briggs (Am) (SCO), Sarah Heath (ENG), Jo Clingan (ENG), Lydia Hall (WAL), Elisabeth Esterl (GER), Eleanor Pilgrim (WAL), Rebecca Coakley (IRE), Diana Luna (ITA), Katharina Schallenberg (GER), Kate Combes (AUS)
+9 - Bronwyn Mullins-Lane (AUS), Christine Hallstrom (SWE), Dale Reid (SCO), Gillian O'Leary (Am) (IRE), Jenna Wilson (SCO), Georgina Simpson (ENG), Dana Lacey (AUS), Lisa Holm Sorensen (DEN)
+10 - Anne-Lise Caudal (FRA), Amanda Moltke-Leth (DEN), Anna Tybring (SWE)
+11 - Cherie Byrnes (AUS), Kerry Smith (Am) (ENG), Anne Norman Hansen (DEN), Kirsty S Taylor (ENG), Rui Yokomine (JPN)
+12 - Patricia Beliard (FRA), Elizabeth McKinnon (NZ), Federica Piovano (ITA), Rachel Bell (ENG)
+14 - Corinne Dibnah (AUS), Kelsey Macdonald (Am) (SCO), Emma Lyons (ENG)
+18 - Emma Goddard (Am) (ENG)