Cara Gorlei opened her campaign in the Ladies European Tour’s Amundi German Masters at Golf & Country Club Seddiner See with a one-under-par 71 in in windy conditions on Thursday.
Her three birdies and two bogeys put her in a share of 11th, just three strokes off the lead. Patricia Isabel Schmidt of Germany headed the field with a four-under-par 68, which gave her a one-stroke lead over Austria’s Emma Spitz and Swedish amateur Meja Ortengren.
There were seven players in a share of fourth on two-under, and Gorlei shared 11th with seven other players.
Rookie Danielle du Toit was the next-best of the South Africans in the field at one-over-par in a share of 29th. Lee-Anne Pace was on two-over in a share of 44th, while Nicole Garcia had a three-over 75. Casandra Alexander battled her way to a five-over 77 and a share of 94th, Stacy Bregman was on six-over together with Lejan Lewthwaite.
The 28-year-old Schmidt, who won the 2023 Belgian Ladies Open on the LET, began her first round from the 10th tee with the wind in full force. “When we started, the wind we had was the most,” said Schmidt. “I barely covered some bunkers where usually they would not even be in play. I think it was 30 metres we lost off the tee box with the drives and then on the back nine on some holes, you couldn’t feel it at all. Then it dropped but we had those gusts at the end.”
