Lejan Lewthwaite got a good start on Thursday in the opening round of the Ladies European Tour’s Access Series event, the Santander Golf Tour-AVILA, Naturavila Golf in Avila, Spain, carding a four-under-par 68.
Lewthwaite made three birdies on the front nine, and two on the back nine, dropping just a ingle shot when she made bogey on the par-four 17th. Her strong start gave her a share of eighth after the first round, four shots behind the leader.
At the top of the leaderboard Spaniard Marta Munoz Jimenez, who fired the best round of her career, an eight-under-par 64 to lead by two.
Munoz Jimenez dreamt of playing in a professional tournament at her home course when she was undergoing a brain tumour 12 years ago, but she could not have dreamt of a better start.
The 34-year-old started strong with a birdie and a hole-in-one within her first three holes before firing another three birdies on holes five, six and nine.
At the turn, the local legend kept up the momentum to card another three birdies and one dropped shot on hole 14 was her only flaw of the day.
“I’m excited now. I think I was concentrating well. Playing at home is lovely. I know the course so well and on the greens it is easier. I don’t have to think a lot.
“I didn’t see the hole-in-one until we approached the green, it was nice to have a hole-in-one on a new hole as I’ve had them on sixteen before.”
