Magnificent Melgrati shares lead in Sweden
Tournament: Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed
DP World Tour Rankings: Tournament 19 of 44 events
Venue: Halmstad GC, Tylösand, Sweden
Prize Fund: $2,000,000
Hashtag: #VolvoScandinavianMixed #DPWT #RaiseOurGame
Carolina Melgrati - Getty Images.
Round One Report
Amateur Carolina Melgrati said her dream was coming true after she fired an opening 65 to sit in a four-way tie for the lead alongside three male professionals on day one of the 2022 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed.
The Italian opened her round with back-to-back birdies before dropping her first shot of the day at the eighth at Halmstad Golf Club but a back nine of 30, which contained an eagle and four birdies, saw Melgrati join Craig Howie, Matthieu Pavon and Santiago Tarrio at the summit on seven under par.
Scotland's Howie and Frenchman Pavon each made seven birdies and no bogeys in their first rounds, while Spaniard Tarrio carded eight birdies - including four in a row from the 14th - and a solitary bogey.
Swedish pair Linn Grant and Kristoffer Broberg were another shot further back in a tie for fifth alongside England's Liz Young and Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond.
Tournament host Henrik Stenson carded an opening round 70 and enjoyed being in the company of two fellow Swedes at opposite ends of their golf careers with big crowds following his morning feature group.
Playing alongside him were 44-year-old Peter Hanson, who will call time on his DP World Tour career after this week's event, and 22-year-old Maja Stark - a rising star on the Ladies European Tour.
Stark has claimed three LET titles inside the past 12 months and matched Stenson's first-round 70, to sit five shots behind the clubhouse leaders. Co-host Annika Sörenstam finished the day two over.
Craig Howie - Getty Images.
Player Quotes
Carolina Melgrati: "It is probably a result of working hard and it is paying off. I'm just trying to focus on hitting fairways and hitting greens and then making putts. When it works it's great, when it doesn't you just have to go back and practise it some more.
"I didn't feel a difference between the front and back nine, but I just tried to stick to my processes - nothing really changed in my mind.
"It is crazy! It is so great. As soon as I got the invitation, I said yes, I'm playing because it is great to compete with professional golfers. It is amazing and that is also my dream, so it is coming true."
Craig Howie: "Really pleased, I played nicely, quite solid. It was difficult to know how the scoring would be this week, so I was just kind of freeing it up and going.
"I had a bit of an injury at Catalunya and that was maybe five events ago, so I missed three events in a row, but before then I was playing really well. Just having a month off, I maybe came back a bit rusty, maybe came back a little too early, but I have been working hard the last couple weeks. I feel like although I've missed the cut the last few weeks, I haven't actually played that badly, I think maybe just a bit of ring rust and I feel like having done a good bit of work over the last two weekends that my game is in a good place.
"I have been thinking a lot about it the last few days. It is going to be really difficult for the people setting it up to make it fair for both. It is a different style of golf that we play from the women, but I do think this golf course is a perfect mix for both and I think it sets up well for us and the women, so I think in terms of venue there couldn't really be a better venue for fairness."
Matthieu Pavon: "Really pleased, I think I managed the course pretty well. It wasn't my best day of golf out there, but I was in play every time on the open side, and I had some great opportunities on the par five which I succeeded and then I had a nice put on 17 for six under.
"It is a very good round of scoring. Last week, in the last round I shot one over and that was one of the best rounds I ever had on the golf course. The thing is sometimes you have a good bounce, or sometimes you make a chip or a nice up and down on the par five, and it's just the momentum and gives you more opportunities. This is a little bit of what I had today, it wasn't my best ball striking day, but my ball was in play all the time and no big misses.
"It is good, I think score wise it must be my best start of the year so far. I struggled a bit for a few tournaments, the two Spanish events, but it didn't really hurt my confidence. We have a plan with my team, and we try to follow this plan and this is what I have done this week."
Santiago Tarrio: "I play very good. I made some putts and was very consistent today. I am very happy because it is my first good showing of the year. I played well the last round, but I have always had two or three bad swings, make a double or triple bogey which was hard, so I have finally turned this around.
"I think the putting. I made some good putts and the driver is ok, but on his course you only need to hit the driver in play and the key is the second shot and the putts. Today that was working for me."
Henrik Stenson: "I think the way I played I am pretty pleased with that score. Got a couple of birdies in the middle, well three birdies in a row, and that kind of got me into red figures and it was a lot of scrambling to stay there coming home. A little wobbly in the start and a little wobbly in the finish, and a couple birdies in the middle.
"Even though we played earlier, there were still a fair amount of people that made it out of bed early and came out to watch us play, so good fun. I am playing alongside Peter Hanson in his final DP World Tour start, he is going into retirement, so it was great to be out with him.
"Also to see one of the great up and coming Swedish players in Maja, she played nicely, she was a little frustrated with the score I think and herself a couple times, but that is great for the future you know to really see that drive and hunger to do better, so she is going to be just fine."
Annika Sörenstam: "It was great to be out here, great fan support. I had a nice pairing with Kristoffer and Linn and they played very well, and it was fun to watch. You know I am disappointed in my own round and I fought back really hard and was level par with three to go, and then made a mistake on 16. That hurts a little bit, you know I can't afford mistakes, I don't really have that in my bag anymore. So, I am going to do a quick analysis, and then have a good dinner with the family and rebound tomorrow to give it all I've got.
"I am disappointed. You know I was telling my husband, I worked hard to be here, I worked on my game and feel good about my game, and I just feel that I do some silly things out there. I drove the ball beautifully, so I cannot drive it any better, put myself in good positions and then I just didn't finish up, it is not necessarily sloppy golf, but it is hard-fought golf, and I am not enjoying that as much.
"I know I have much better in me. I just want to go out there and have a good time and play my game, you know I am missing some of those shots that I just can't afford to do anymore, but you know I am a grinder, I don't give up, I want to get into the red numbers and that is what I am going to try and do."
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