Esterl takes early Irish lead

Elisabeth Esterl from Germany takes the early lead on six under par halfway through day one of the £100,000
Waterford Crystal Ladies Irish Open at Faithlegg GC.

The 25-year-old from Dingolfing fired seven birdies and one bogey for her 66 to lead by two shots over Spain's Raquel Carriedo, Australian Karen Lunn,
and France's Virginie Auffret.

Defending champion Sophie Gustafson from Sweden is a shot further back after carding a faultless 69, tied with compatriot Mia Lojdahl, South African
Laurette Maritz and last year's runner up Marine Monnet from France.

Esterl, who has yet to win on Tour began the day in blistering fashion with a trio of red figures from the opening hole. Thoughts of matching the Tour
record of seven straight consecutive birdies, equalled by South African Laurette Maritz in Thursday's Pro-Am, entered the German's head. But at the fourth, she left the 10 foot putt "short and in the jaws."

Despite a bogey at the long par three sixth, Esterl bounced back with a birdie at the 469 yard par five tenth, following it with another hat-trick
of birdies from the 14th to move into the lead and post her best round of the year.

"I got off to a great start and just kept it going," said Esterl, whose only professional win came at the Princess Lalla Meriem Cup in 2000.

"I was going for Lolly's record (Laurette Maritz), but I left the putt on the fourth an inch short and in the jaws," she laughed.

"I was having a lot of fun out there with Marine (Monnet) and Nicola (Moult) and that showed off.

"I am looking forward to it. If I keep playing well, I hope it is going to happen. I come out here each week aiming to win, but you can't win in one round, but I have given myself a pretty good chance with that start.

"I was doing everything that I normally do and today, the putts obviously dropped for me."

And unusually, there have been two holes-in-one today - Scotland's Julie Forbes negotiated the trickiest of the par threes with a "pure" 5-wood at the 178-yard sixth, and England's Laura Davies sank her 8-iron tee shot at the 135-yard ninth hole.

It was the Scot's first hole-in-one in eleven years on Tour, but for Davies, it was her second in her 16-year career.

"I hit a 5-wood absolutely pure," said Forbes. "It hit the down-slope and just rolled up and in and the first I knew about it was that someone was jumping up and down at the green while the group in front was teeing off!

"It was the quietest hole-in-one ever!"