Swiss sisters Kim and Morgane Metraux fired identical rounds of five-under-par 67 to take the clubhouse lead on a gorgeous opening day at the Ladies Italian Open presented by Regione Piemonte.
Morgane, who is two years younger than Kim, closed with four birdies in a row to set the target at Golf Club Margara, before Kim, playing two groups behind, birdied the par-5 18th to tie with her sister in an LET event for the first time. Morgane said afterwards that their goal this week is to get into a play-off against each other.
“We’ve played together in the same group three times as amateurs, but not as professionals, because they never pair us together,” said Morgane, who graduated from the Epson Tour to become a rookie on the LPGA Tour this season.
“In college and in amateur tournaments, we always played together. Since graduating and turning pro, we haven’t played on the same tour, so it’s fun to have a few times where you can be together and share dinners and so on.
“We push each other to do better and at the same time we don’t want to be beaten by the other. It’s good, healthy competition.
“I always love coming to Italy. My mum’s Italian so we always used to come here every year. I love the food and it’s good vibes for the week.”
On their friendly rivalry, Kim added: “It’s fun. We always have that kind of inside competition. When I saw that she was one shot ahead on the last, I thought, I’ve got to tie it, so it was a bit of extra motivation to make that on the last.”
The sisters started playing together, went to the same US College and turned professional at the same time and although they are carving their own paths, their careers are inextricably linked.
When Morgane chose to forego last year’s Olympic Games in order to earn her LPGA card via the Epson Tour, Kim went to represent Switzerland in Tokyo.
“I was playing in America on the Epson Tour and I won the qualifying event for Evian (the 2021 Island Resort Championship),” Morgane explained. “Evian and the Olympics were back-to-back and if I had played in both I would have missed four tournaments in a row in America and I may not have finished in the top 10 and lost my opportunity to get my LPGA card. Evian was my dream growing up but it was a hard decision. I definitely do not want to miss the next Olympic Games in 2024.”
Both players are in a rich vein of form. Morgane tied for third place in the Mithra Belgian Ladies Open on Sunday, while Kim finished second in the recent Joburg Ladies Open and feels that her game is trending in the right direction, so there is a real possibility of them featuring in a play-off together on Sunday.
However, with two-and-a-half rounds to go, Italian amateur Carolina Melgrati is two strokes back on three-under-par, alongside Tereza Melecka from the Czech Republic. The 19-year-old from Monza, Lombardia, could become the second amateur to win the tournament, as Lucie Malchirand from France won before turning professional last year.
Meanwhile, Spanish pair Nuria Iturrioz and Carmen Alonso were both on three-under-par early in their afternoon opening rounds.
The post METRAUX SISTERS SHARE LEAD IN ITALY appeared first on Ladies European Tour.
Article Link: METRAUX SISTERS SHARE LEAD IN ITALY - Ladies European Tour