Rookie Walsh hits the front in Kenya as Mehaffey finds her happy place again
Lauren Walsh of Ireland plays her stroke from the No. 12 tee during round one of the Augusta National Women's Amateur at Champions Retreat Golf Club, Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Lauren Walsh wants to mark her rookie season with an LET win, and she got off to the perfect start by firing a bogey-free four-under 69 to grab a share of the lead at the season-opening Magical Kenya Ladies Open.
The Castlewarden and Wake Forest star (23) got LET status at Q-School in December and like Olivia Mehaffey, whose 70 left her tied for fourth, Walsh had momentum heading to Vipingo Ridge.
"I played really nicely," said Wake. I was bogey-free for four-under, so everything was very solid today.
"I drove it really nicely, hit some good irons as well, and my putter was solid as well. I put a new putter in the bag this week. So, to start off the season, it's so far, so good. I really enjoyed it out there."
Walsh shares the lead with England's Eleanor Givens and South Africa's Cara Gorlei, one clear of Mehaffey, Italy's Alessandra Fanali and Denmark's Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen,
"I think you have to be quite accurate off the tee, which probably suits me," Walsh said. "I kept myself in position all day. I think I only missed one green, and the one I did miss, I made a really good up and down.
"I said to my caddy, I think that's the best up and down of the week. So yeah, it was it was really good. Happy with where my game is."
While she didn't win a full card at Q-School, missing out by a shot, Walsh was delighted to get LET status and she's not out there to make up the numbers.
"I was happy with how I played at Q-School and I'm excited for a full year on LET," she said. "I think my big goal is to win out here this year. The schedule is really strong and it's really cool to see all these places we get to go to. So I'm excited about the travel and getting used to that.
"It's been very hot out here this week, so I've been getting a lot of fluids and electrolytes. I'm still yet to see any zebras or giraffes or anything. So I'm hoping that over the next three days, they will appear somewhere for me to see. I saw monkeys in my practice round, but I'm excited to see some other animals, too."
A win would be a dream scenario for Walsh, but a top-10 finish is also worth its weight in gold as the top two non-exempt players this week will earn spots alongside Leona Maguire and some of the world's best in next week's $5 million Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented by PIF in Saudi Arabia.
It was also an excellent day for Mehaffey, who returned to tour life after a mental health break last year and then finished strongly at Q-School to also make sure she retained her status.
The former Curtis Cup star (26) closed with rounds of 67 and 68 to finish just two shots outside the full cards and spent much of her short winter break in Arizona, where she kept her game sharp by playing money games with some fellow professionals.
"Yeah, it was good," Mehaffey said, "Off-season for me didn't feel long because I played Q-School, and then I've been in Arizona. So, I've done a lot of work out there.
"I've been playing a lot of money games, so it didn't feel like I had a break if that makes sense. It just felt like I'd been playing a lot. So it was nice. It's nice to shoot under par on the first one of the year. So I'm happy with that.
"I felt like I had some chances coming in and didn't make them, but it's still a good one. When it's windy. It's a tough course. Scoring is never too low, so it's a good test to start there."
The Royal County Down Ladies star dropped just one shot in her three-under 70 and she's looking to push on this year after admitting she was lost in the latter half of 2022 when she took a long break.
"After the regular LET season finished, I had a really good meeting with my coach and my psychologist, and we just sat down as a team and made a very good plan of what we want to happen in the offseason, and we really stuck to it," explained Mehaffey, who finished 83rd in the LET Rankings last term.
"We've done the same drills we said we were going to do, focused on the same areas we wanted to focus on, and I feel like we just had a really good plan.
"So I feel it was nice to have those good rounds at Q-School, and I definitely felt like I had momentum, and then obviously playing in Arizona and playing money games competing against a lot of pros out there, it's definitely felt pretty solid. So it's nice.
"For me, Arizona feels like a second home, and it always will because, obviously, I went to college (at ASU) there, and it's just nice to catch up with people.
"I think I've been a lot happier off the golf course in the last three or four months. And I think when you're happier off the golf course, you're probably happier on the golf course, too.
"So I felt like last year we were just trying to rebuild and try to find myself again because I was totally lost. And I just feel like okay, I feel back to my old self and I'm happy and I think it's nice going back. I have so many good memories from college and it's busy. Everybody wants to see me. It's like I think I'm never going to come back. So it feels busy when I'm there, but I love it."
As for her game, she was pleased to hit fairways and greens on a tough course and give herself chances.
"It was definitely tough," she said. "I knew coming into this tournament you have to be very patient. There are a lot of really tough holes, but then you can have some chances as well, and I think it was just pretty solid.
"I didn't really hit any shots that were way off, and when I missed the greens, I was able to get up and down, and then I give myself a lot of chances even though I didn't make them all.
"I think it was just sold. There wasn't anything, you know, crazy. It was just pretty much fairways and greens — boring golf — but it's always good, I think."
