Dubai: Local invitees to the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, Sana Tufail and Lindsay Brown, carded respective rounds of 73 and 77 on day one yesterday, as they bid to become the first UAE-based amateurs to make the cut in the event's history.
Briton Tufail, aged 15, of Abu Dhabi, who currently tops the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) Ladies Gross and Girls Nett Order of Merits, bogeyed the first hole but recovered with a birdie on the fourth. She then parred all the way to the last four holes, where two bogeys book-ended a birdie on 16 to leave her at one over par.
South African Brown, aged 24, of Al Ain, who won the Ladies Gross and Nett EGF Order of Merit double last season, started with three bogeys, but followed that up with three birdies, before a poor back nine including three bogeys and one double bogey on 15 left her on five over.
Tufail said: "It was a relatively consistent round. It was disappointing to finish with a bogey but I can't really complain too much. I was quite anxious and rushed into my first tee shot [to bogey]. But the chipped rough shot to save par on two settled me down.
"My target is to make the cut, but I don't really want to think too much about that because it may make my score high. I don't want to think about it just yet. Obviously I'd like to make it, but I'm just taking it one shot at a time — shot by shot, hole by hole," she said.
"The field did make me a bit nervous but you can't get overawed. Don't get overawed because you're in there as well, you're competing with them, you just have to believe you're good enough to compete with them."
LET hopes
Brown, who is aiming for the Ladies European Tour (LET) qualifying school in January, said: "I was terrified. I started off very nervous, but I kind of survived, which is the main thing.
"Five over par is not great, but I'm happy. It's an absolutely amazing experience. This is a whole new world for me — I've never played in any event of this calibre.
"It's such a huge thing for me to play in this tournament. I could still make the cut if I par out a little. Today could have been so different, it's just my iron shots were missing the green right and I was getting penalised for plug bunker shots, but I had a couple of decent shots."
