Áine Donegan is the best of the Irish after the opening round of the South African Women's Open, with Patricia Schmidt leading the way after her round of 63.
Donegan carded a 70 at the Royal Cape GC, the highlight being an eagle at the par-5 14th, with earlier birdes coming on five and 11. Her only dropped shot came on the ninth as the Co Clare competitor lie on three under overall.
A shot further back is Anna Foster. Her 71 was made up of four birdies but she encountered trouble at nine and 10, with a double-bogey and bogey respectively.
Olivia Mehaffey shot 72.
Germany's Schmidt had a two-shot advantage, the highlight of her round came with an eagle on 11 to go alongside eight birdies.
Schmidt's scorching scorecard is her lowest ever on the Ladies European Tour and betters her career-best by one shot.
She said: "Honestly, I didn’t even know I’d shot 10-under until I got a high five on the last hole." the 30-year-old said.
"I wouldn’t say it was the greatest round off the tee box, but my whole approach game and my recovery game was just really good.
"It was just one of those days where you stand behind a putt and read it and just clearly see the line. It’s the type of feeling you look for but which is really hard to find. Today it was just there for my putting."
Schmidt has one victory to her name which came at the 2023 Belgian Ladies Open. Last week in Joburg she went out in 31 (-5) on the final day before eventually finishing tied for 19th. The result was her best of the season so far.
"What has helped me this year is my consistency," Schmidt said. "Even though I’ve not hit every fairway, the misses I have are way smaller. So if I need to make a recovery I’ve managed to save par, which I’ve done way better now compared to last year."
Smilla Soenderby of Denamrk lies second after her 65, with five players sharing third: Alessia Nobilio, Emma Spitz, Eseme Hamilton, Emma Grechi and Pia Banik.
