Olivia Mehaffey emerges from doldrums with 64 to lead German Masters

Olivia Mehaffey. Credit Tristan Jones/LET.

Olivia Mehaffey put her two-year struggles behind her and opened with a scintillating eight-under 64 to grab a first round lead at the Amundi German Masters.

The former Curtis Cup star (25) made 10 birdies at Golf & Country Club Seddiner See near Berlin to lead by a shot from 16-year-old Indian amateur Avani Prashanth.

She took a break from tour life midway through last season to work on her mental health and heal following the death of her father Philip in December 2021.

“It’s been a struggle for me,” she said. “I’ve had my battles the last couple of years and I’ve got a really good team around me. It’s been really nice working with them, we have been battling to make less bogeys and make less doubles. It’s fun when you have a round like that.

“I felt like it’s been piecing together quite nicely, I have done a lot of work on the mental side. I have a great psychologist and a great coach and it’s really fun to add David my caddie into the mix as well.

“I actually changed my driver on Friday, I had been struggling off the tee, so it’s a new driver and it’s been much better. That had been the thing letting me down, so it’s nice to see that change is working nicely. I’ve been slowly getting a little bit of confidence and it was nice to go out there today. I felt like my old self again which was really nice.”

Meanwhile, Leona Maguire made four birdies in a three-under 69 to lie eight shots behind South Affrica’s Ashleigh Buhai at the Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythefield Country Club in Michigan.

The Cavan star was tied 23rd with Stephanie Meadow 38th after making three birdies in a two-under 70.

At the Challenge Tour’s Kaskáda Golf Challenge in the Czech Republic, Paul Dunne and Stuart Grehan posted one-under 70s to share 33rd place, six shots behind Italy’s Lorenzo Scalise.