Jacqueline Sneddon bounced back to top form with a two-under-par round of 71 to take a two-stroke lead at the end of the first qualifying round of the 101st Scottish women's amateur championship at Monifieth Links.
The early starters had the best of the day with a strong wind getting up near lunchtime and bringing with it squally showers and even hailstones. Sneddon, who played the American women's college circuit as a student at Grand Canyon University, had a varying round with par at four holes, birdies at the seventh, eighth and 17th, and a solitary bogey at the 12th.
"Generally I played really well," said Sneddon. "I went out with a game-plan of hitting fairways and then middle of the greens and to get a good pace on my putts. All of it came together and seemed to work.
"Surprisingly I never actually birdied a par-5 but managed to birdie two of the harder holes (7 and 17) on the course. I have played Monifieth quite a lot in the past so know the course well and have always enjoyed playing it.
"In previous Scottish championships I have managed to qualify for the match-play stages but have never got very far after that. Today everything just seemed to work.
"I have been graduated from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix Arizona for 4 years now so am now working full time. My mum Jennifer is my caddie."
Defending champion Gabrielle MacDonald shot 81 over the par-73 links. She had three double bogeys in a row from the 12th to the 14th.
Shannon McWilliam was down in the dumps after returning an 81 which leaves her, along with MacDonald, struggling to reach the leading 32 after 36 holes, who go forward to the match-play stages.
Said Shannon, who pulled her own clubs: "I played terribly ... couldn't get the pace of the greens and three-putted five times. There wasn't any wind to speak of for most of the round so I couldn't use that as an excuse.
"I am going away to practise my putting for the rest of the day. I need to putt a lot better in the second round."
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