Golfer Vani Kapoor among four leaders, Tvesa lying ninth in Swiss Ladies Open

Rotkreuz, Switzerland (IANS) India’s Vani Kapoor was among the four players in shared lead at the end of the first round at the Swiss Ladies Open. Vani was tied with Kirsten Rudgeley, Caroline Hedwall and Anne-Charlotte Mora, who were all on five-under par.

Among others Indians, Tvesa Malik Sandhu, who was tied third when she finished was tied ninth at the end of the day, while Ridhima Dilawari and Amandeep Drall were tied 57th with 1-over 72 and Seher Atwal (77) was T-108.

Aussie Rudgeley, chasing her maiden Ladies European Tour (LET) win, got the ball rolling on Friday morning as she posted a bogey-free 66 (-5) at Golfpark Holzhäusern.

A little later, Solheim Cup star Hedwall followed suit, carding six birdies and dropping just the one shot at the par-4 5th to match the score.

In the afternoon wave, Vani Kapoor, starting on the 10th hole, went on a birdie spree on her back-nine firing five birdies after going out level-par.

"It's a big relief," the Indian said. "My game has been feeling good for quite some time, but I feel like everything wasn't coming around. So it's good to see some positives. I'm just trying to believe in myself a bit more. I think that's helped. I was playing in Italy a couple of weeks ago and I had someone in my bag, he was a professional, and he said, 'you have it in you.' He said to believe and that's what I did today."

Finally, Mora continued her excellent record at Golfpark Holzhäusern - the Frenchwoman finished T10 in 2021 and T3 in 2023 - recovering well after opening with a double-bogey at the par-4 1st to post seven birdies.

Four players sit just behind in a tie for fifth on four-under par. This quartet includes Spain's Maria Hernandez, Morocco's Maha Haddioui, Sweden's Sofie Bringner and Poland's Dorota Zalewska.

Twelve players share ninth on three-under par including home favourite Kim Metraux, last week's runner-up Rosie Davies, and the in-form Emma Spitz from Austria.

Another one of the home stars, Joburg Ladies Open winner Chiara Tamburlini, is one shot further back from them all on two-under par.