Lisa Pettersson and Elina Nummenpaa carded opening round scores of 63 (-6) to share the overnight lead after the first 18 holes of the Didriksons Skaftö Open.
The Scandinavian duo seemed to relish the tranquil conditions on the Swedish West Coast on Friday, as they rolled in putts for fun on a low-scoring start to the competition.
It was a day to remember for Nummenpaa, who birdied half of the holes she played in the opening round to take a share of the lead heading into the weekend.
The Finnish star took inspiration from a fellow sporting compatriot as she went on an incredible run of five birdies in her final six holes, to bounce back in fine style after a double bogey on the 12th.
“I made the most of the par-fives and picked up some shots there, I hit some nice approach shots today and felt quite alright with my drives as well, so overall it was a good day,” she said.
“My double on 12 was terrible, I missed my six iron so much to the right, the same as I did on the second, so I need to go and hit some irons in practice tomorrow.
“There’s a famous NHL ice hockey player from Finland called Teemu Selänne and his number was eight, so it’s been my goal to make eight birdies in a round.
“But when I made my eighth on 17 I thought it would be even better to make nine birdies because that’s half of the golf course, so on the last I wanted that ninth birdie so badly.”
After a month back in her homeland, Nummenpaa seemed ready and refreshed on course in Friday’s action, with birdies on holes one, five, six and seven seeing her start the day in fine fettle.
Despite the blip on the 12th, a strong finish puts the Finn right in the mix after the first round, who started the week making the most of her surroundings with some canoeing in nearby Grundsund.
She continued: “Usually I don’t do much in tournament weeks, but since we arrived here on Monday I thought there was time to go and do something else as well.
“I was home for four or five weeks and wanted to do something, but I never really did. I wanted to go hiking in Switzerland but didn’t get round to it, just some boating in Finland.
“So when we got here I wanted to go canoeing to do something different and it was perfect. The weather was so nice and warm.”
After starting the day with a dropped shot on the second, Pettersson roared back into life on the fifth, as she reached the par-five green in two, before rolling in a short putt for eagle to get her…
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