Johnson and Hudson excel

Trish Johnson and Rebecca Hudson helped England to a one stroke lead in the European Ladies Golf Cup near Alicante today.

The duo’s eight-under-par 64 in the fourball better-ball round means they lead Belgium by one, with Denmark and Germany sharing third on six-under.

Johnson produced six of their eight birdies and Hudson, who added the other two at the sixth and 18th, said: “Trish played great, she was very steady.

“We gelled very well together with the worst score being a par on a hole. You can’t really complain at that. There were a couple of nice putts for birdies and pars.”

The ’Valencian Cup Format’, a variation on greensomes, will be played in the second and fourth rounds at La Sella Golf Resort, with fourballs being played again in round three on Saturday.