Four players share the lead after the opening round of the Buccellati Ladies Italian Open, with Casandra Alexander, Noora Komulainen, Patricie Mackova and Alexandra Försterling all carding rounds of five-under 67 on Friday at Golf Club Milano.

Finland’s Komulainen, Czechia’s Mackova and South Africa’s Alexander set the pace during the morning wave in Monza before Germany’s Försterling joined them later in the day.

England’s Eleanor Givens sits alone in fifth place on four-under-par, while home favourite Alessandra Fanali is among a group of nine players tied for sixth on three-under.

Order of Merit leader Alexander continued her excellent recent form with a composed five-under-par round featuring six birdies and just one dropped shot.

“Doug and I weren’t really sure what a good score around here would be, so I’m happy to be up there and kind of know where we need to be,” she explained. “It wasn’t the most unbelievable round, but I was very tidy. I had one hole where I got a bit unlucky, but I still feel there were putts that could have dropped.”

The recent KPMG Women’s Irish Open champion feels increasingly comfortable on the course.

“It’s a cool layout. You can be very defensive out here, but that’s not Doug and my style. It’s very tree-lined and we have a lot of those courses in South Africa. If you’re hitting it nicely and playing aggressively, I think there are a couple more birdies out there.”

One unique feature of the week is the unmistakable soundtrack from the nearby Monza Circuit, which is hosting the International GT Open alongside the tournament. Both Alexander and Försterling admitted they enjoyed the atmosphere.

“It’s not really distracting,” said Försterling. “It’s quite a nice sound and you can see a little bit of the track, so that’s quite cool.”

Alexander added: “Everyone’s complaining because of the noise, which is quite loud on the golf course, but I’m like, this is spectacular. I’m absolutely loving it. We’re definitely going to go and check out some racing because we really enjoy the cars.”

Caitlyn Macnab opened with a two-under-par 70 for a share of 15th, while Nadia van der Westhuizen carded a level-par 72 for a share of 30th.