Lee-Anne Pace returned a superb second round of five-under-par 67 in wet conditions at Golf Club Margara on Friday to jump to the top of the leader board at the Ladies Italian Open presented by Regione Piemonte on the Ladies European Tour.
Pace leads by one on eight-under-par, ahead of Italy’s Roberta Liti, first-round leader Morgane Metreuz of Switzerland and Italian amateur Carolina Megrati. One shot further back is fellow South African Casandra Alexander, who also carded 67 to take up fifth spot on her own in the 54-hole tournament.
Pace, ranked sixth on the Race to Costa del Sol after winning the Investec South African Women’s Open title in April, said: “I hit it well off the tee and had a birdie chance on almost every hole, which was good. Yesterday, it played quite firm on the greens and you had to pitch it short but when the rain started, you could be a little bit more aggressive, especially on wedges. The greens slowed down a little bit.
“I think if you are long on the greens, it can be quite tricky. There are a couple of pins where you’ve got to stay short, but otherwise it’s quite accessible.”
Pace made seven birdies and double-bogeyed the par-four eighth hole and she explained: “We were in between clubs and I took the aggressive one and hit it over the green and that was one of the ones where, if you’re downhill, you’re not in a good position, so I three-putted from a metre, because it was so fast.
“I think I’m playing the course well and driving the ball fantastically, which is key, but I’m also making some clutch putts, so I’m happy about that.”
Pace is reunited with caddie Andy Dearden this week and the last time they worked together, in 2014, they won the South African Women’s Open and the Blue Bay LPGA tournaments back-to-back, so she is feeling good vibes.
Stacy Lee Bregman signed for a second round of level-par 72 to make the cut on two-over for the week in a share of 38th.
Nobuhle Dlamini and Lejan Lewthwaite missed the cut.
