INDIANA — Israel’s Laetitia Beck wowed with a six-under 66 to claim clubhouse leadership at the start of the Epson Tour’s French Lick Charity Classic suspended on account of darkness on Thursday.
Filipino Bianca Pagdanganan was also six-under through 10 holes when play was halted at Pete Dye Course.
Dottie Ardina was through 11 holes and at one-under for joint 23rd.
Abegail Arevalo turned in a 70 for joint 12th, while Chanelle Avaricio shared 72nd spot after a 74. Clariss Guce only got through 15th hole and was one-over at joint 59th. Pauline del Rosario limped with a 75 for joint 88th.
Americans Mariel Galdano and Karen Chung fired similar 68s to chase Beck before fog descended on the area.
The players in the afternoon wave could not finish their rounds, but the morning wave was able to post some low numbers on a challenging golf course.
Beck posted the round of the morning, ending the day with the solo lead. The six-under 66, with a closing birdie on her last hole of the day, was good enough to tie the all-time tournament low round.
A closing 32 on the back nine for Beck included five birdies and a bogey, giving her a one-shot lead with golfers close behind still on the course.
“It feels good to be done with a six-under,” said Beck with a smile. “This is one of the toughest courses we play, so I’m very happy. I wasn’t expecting to shoot that low.”
This is the second strong start for Beck in a row, opening the Twin Bridges Championship with a five-under round. Despite some shakiness off the tee today, the 31-year-old carded her second-best round of the season.
“It shows me that I can score well,” said Beck. “I’m struggling a little bit off the tee, so it’s nice to see that even when I don’t have my A-Game, I can still shoot low. I just have to keep reminding myself and remember that I have the game to shoot six-under and even lower.”
Beck’s missed cut in French Lick last year gave her insight into her gameplan this week and how to approach the tournament.
“We play golf enough here, so we know how it is. We know that people are going to make mistakes and people are going to hit bad shots,” said Beck.
Chung turned in one of the best rounds of the morning with a four-under 68 that currently has her in a tie for fourth. Chung made it around the course with only one blemish on the card, a bogey on the par 3, 8th hole.
The bogey was quickly forgotten after three birdies in six holes from Chung, who, like Beck, took advantage of the back nine with a 33.
