Nicole Garcia bogeyed her final two holes on Thursday but still held a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series-Singapore after signing for a five-under-par 67.

Before that, she made seven birdies without dropping a shot and she held a one-stroke edge over Christine Wolf of Austria, England’s Eleanor Givens, Klara Davidson Spilkova of Slovenia, France’s Pauline Roussin and Linn Grant of Sweden.

Garcia went out in five-under 31 after starting her round on the 10^th as she set the early pace in a field which incudes world number one Lydia Ko of New Zealand. “It was really nice to start like that,” said Garcia. “A bit disappointing that I couldn’t finish it off nicely, but at the end of the day, I’m still happy with my score. It’s nice to come in with a low round, especially starting that way, as you’re not chasing anything. I was having a lot of fun with the amateur and the two other pros, and I think that was part of it.”

She is the undisputed queen of the format which involves selection of pro ‘captains’ of teams, and an amateur, and two other pros drafted into each team. In between all the fun, she got the recipe for the tight Laguna National golf course. “I think these are the smallest greens I’ve ever played on,” she said. “That makes for really interesting approach shots, and you’ve got to be really precise off the tees, because if you don’t get a good angle in, it’s quite difficult to hold. It was a very interesting round.”

She has spent a lot of time working on her short game, and she credits that work for the great start. “If I look back over the last year, what’s improved most is definitely my putting,” she said. “So I’ve focused on wedge-play, putting, chipping, and that’s helped me save three or four shots a round, which, at the end of a tournament, can be massive. I wish I’d realised that a lot earlier.”

Kaleigh Telfer, the young South African rookie in the tournament by virtue of her top-five finish in last week’s Investec South African Women’s Open, started with a two-under 70 for a share of 13^th. Casandra Alexander had a two-over 74 for a share of 42^nd in the 54-hole event.