Alexander takes command at K Club as Screene leads Irish challenge

South Africa's Casandra Alexander, LET Order of Merit leader and highest-ranked player in the field, holds a five-shot advantage at the Women's Irish Open

Canice Screene shot a 67 on Friday to go with her opening round 72. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Round one leader Casandra Alexander has extended her hold at the head of the KPMG Women’s Irish Open leaderboard with a follow-up six-under par round of 66 to stretch her lead out to five strokes.

Best of the Irish midway through the day is Canice Screene whose superb 67 on the back of an opening 72 left her ten shots back but still in a tie for sixth at the time of writing.

Sitting on nine-under after that initial 63, Alexander opened with a blistering eagle-birdie-birdie run from the 10th hole. The rest of the South African's front nine was played to par before a second eagle, at the par-five 3rd, helped solidify her standing.

Alexander is the LET Order of Merit leader and highest-ranked player in the field and she is looking to win for the first time this year after six runner-up slots. She is going about it with a tunnel-vision approach.

The 27-year-old had no idea of her final score finishing up on the Thursday, so engrossed had she become in the ‘process’.

And there was a light-hearted moment when she was asked about what went through her head after that superb trio of opening holes on Friday.

“Well, my caddie said to me yesterday, if we could just get a red number going for day two, like if we could get two or three-under, that would be pretty good.

“Because your expectations go up once you've shot nine-under. Then I started eagle-birdie-birdie and I just looked at him and laughed. And he's like, “shut up, let's go to the next tee, let's carry on!” 

Nearest to Alexander on the leaderboard as the morning groups began to come back in was Czechia’s Sara Kouskova who added a 66 to her opening gambit of 68. She sits on her own on ten-under, five back.

Louise Rydqvist is on -9, Lisa Petterson one more in arrears, both having finished for the day.

There are low scores to be made at the Palmer South course where, unlike the heavy rains of day one, the sun has been shining.

Screene caught the mood perfectly with her five-under round that started with two bogeys in the first four holes and ended with seven birdies in the last 12.

The London-born Irish international of parents from Mayo and Galway (with a Tipperary link in there too), took huge confidence from rolling in the first birdie putt on the par-five 7th and fed off the positivity that brought.

She competes here a year on from a brilliant closing round of 66 at Carton House. That too is something she will utilise as she looks to improve on a tough spell in the gruelling surrounds of the LET Access Series.

“To know I've done it once, to play well at the weekend, I feel like it's given me confidence I can do it again. And also just leaning on how I played today and the confidence I had in my irons particularly makes me feel, you know, good going into the next few days.” 

]Áine Donegan[/url, best of the Irish on Thursday, could only add a one-over 73 to her 69 on a day when nothing seemed to drop. Lauren Walsh, who was +5 at one point on Thursday and reached two-under before a double bogey at the last today, sits on level par.

That leaves her just the right side of the projected cut.

Leona Maguire is in the early stages of her day’s work and sits on two-under for the tournament through three holes today. Most of the record number of 16 Irish players will have their weeks cut short.