Valerie Hassett made a solid if unspectacular start to the defence of her British senior ladies open amateur golf title at Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire, England yesterday.
The Ennis golfer fired an opening round 79 to be five strokes off the pace set by Toni Wiesner, a left-hander from Texas who did very well to match the par of 74.
Hassett, who apart from being a member of Ennis, has just completed her year of office as captain of Lahinch, said: "I am happy to break 80. It gives me a platform to build on over the next couple of days."
She had a couple of hiccoughs on the closing stretch yesterday. She carded a double bogey six at the 15th after driving into a bunker and then took three to get down from the edge of the green. A wayward drive also cost her a stroke at the 17th.
Irish veteran, Geraldine Costello, whose competitive appearances have been very limited in recent times, did well to return an 81. It was a steady performance with halves of 42 and 39.
Sally Casey, who left Cork for a new life in Baltimore, USA, two decades ago, had an 84, and her aim this week is to finish in the top 25 as she did in both the USGA and Canadian seniors championships.
