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<\/p>\nNelson and Heath share early lead at Frilford Heath<\/p>\n
The R&A <\/p>\n
Tags<\/p>\n Women’s Senior Amateur<\/p>\n Championships<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nelson and Heath share early lead at Frilford Heath The R&A Danny Nelson of the United States and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-680672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Danny Nelson of the United States and Australia\u2019s Richard Heath enjoy a share of the lead after the opening round of The R&A Senior Amateur Championship at Frilford Heath.
\nThe leading duo recorded matching five-under-par 67s on the Blue Course at the Oxfordshire venue, putting them one stroke clear<\/a> of defending champion John Kennedy, who returned a four-under-par 68.
\nIn the Women\u2019s Senior Amateur Championship, a four-way tie sits at the top of the leaderboard<\/a>. Canada\u2019s Shelly Stouffer, 2019 champion Lara Tennant of the United States, England\u2019s Elaine Ratcliffe, and Wales Golf President Julie Thomas all opened with rounds of two-over par.
\nNelson is making his fourth consecutive Senior Amateur appearance, while Heath is making his championship debut after celebrating his 55th birthday in May.
\nNelson setting the pace
\nNelson, a native of Savannah, Georgia, reached six-under-par for the day after recording his third consecutive birdie on the 17th hole, before dropping a stroke with a bogey at the last.
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t make many mistakes today and I took my chances when I got them,\u201d said the 64-year-old. \u201cI putted well when I had to.\u201d
\nNelson finished tied second at Walton Heath last year, seven strokes behind Kennedy.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve been playing well at home recently. I shot 65 in US Senior Open Qualifying last week, so I came here with confidence,\u201d added Nelson, who led the qualifying field at Stillwater Golf & Country Club in Florida by six shots.
\n\u201cThis is my fourth straight year here and I\u2019ve loved every one. I\u2019d love to win this tournament but I\u2019m taking nothing for granted. I never do in this game.\u201d
\nHeath, a sports management consultant, is also keeping his expectations in check.
\n\u201cI turned 55 on 6 May so I\u2019ve been really looking forward to this tournament,\u201d said Heath, who was born in Canberra but has resided in Switzerland for the past 20 years.
\n\u201cI kept the ball in play, but I got lucky with a couple of chips that went in the hole [at the 3rd and 15th]. That made a big difference because I wasn\u2019t striking the ball particularly well with my irons.\u201d
\nThe championship is providing a welcome distraction for Heath, who is currently studying for a Master\u2019s degree in Major Programme Management at the nearby University of Oxford.
\nElite field tightly bunched
\nRatcliffe is another player making her Senior Amateur debut. The 53-year-old former Curtis Cup<\/a> player and captain is well-versed in major amateur competition, but admitted to some surprise at sharing the opening-round lead despite winning the English Senior Women\u2019s Amateur Championship in May. She carded a two-over-par 76 on the Red Course.
\n\u201cI had no expectations because this is all new to me,\u201d Ratcliffe said. \u201cI\u2019m really pleased because I\u2019m not playing a lot of competitive golf. This is only my second event as a senior.\u201d
\nTennant, who lifted the trophy at Royal St David\u2019s seven years ago, carded a 74 on the Blue Course, aided by three consecutive birdies from the 3rd hole.
\n\u201cI just tried to play as conservatively as I could because it\u2019s a very difficult golf course,\u201d said the 59-year-old. \u201cIt\u2019s a course where you have to think on every shot.\u201d
\nThomas, who assumed the role of President of Wales Golf in April, successfully balanced her executive duties with competitive play, returning a 76 on the Red Course.
\n\u201cI\u2019m in the mix and happy to be there because I\u2019m trying to split my time between being President of Wales Golf and playing a bit of competitive golf, so I\u2019ve got the best of both worlds,\u201d Thomas said.
\nStouffer, the 2022 US Senior Women\u2019s Amateur champion, is making her second appearance in the event after finishing ninth at Walton Heath last year. She returned a 74 on the Blue Course.
\n\u201cToday was a bit of a struggle because it was challenging out there,\u201d Stouffer said. \u201cThe ground is so firm and it was a bit windy. I try not to have any expectations but, on my bucket list, I\u2019d like to win this tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n