Wind and rain nothing compared to spider bite for Dani Holmqvist

Swede leads Women’s Open after staying out of Troon’s web

Dani Holmqvist after teeing off at the 18th on day two of the AIG Womens’ Open. Picture: R&A

Two tough days at Royal Troon may have brought some of the world’s top players to their knees but not Dani Holmqvist.The Swede is made of stern stuff. Put it this way, a bit of wind isn’t much of a problem when you’ve found yourself removing venom from a redback spider from your leg in the middle of a tournament.

That’s the scary situation that Holmqvist, who leads at the halfway stage in the AIG Womens’ Open as she bids to follow in the spikemarks of compatriot Henrik Stenson by winning a major at the Ayrshire venue, was faced with in the 2013 Australian Women’s Open.

“I will take these conditions over spider bites any day of the week,” said the 32-year-old of a redback, a relative of the black widow, nipping her leg before she managed to swipe it away then used a tee peg to pierce her skin and squeeze out the venom.

“Looking back, I don’t know if what I did was cool, smart or stupid,” she added of that instinctive action. “I honestly don’t know, but, after that, I actually went and forced myself to pet spiders to get over it.”

Over the first two days, Royal Troon has been akin to a golfing spider’s web, with some big names being caught in it. Stacy Lewis, the newly-crowned ASI Ladies Scottish Open champion, missed the cut, as did world No 10 Lexi Thompson and defending champion Hinako Shibuno. In short, they were all blown away by strong winds over two days that never really let up until the final couple of hours in the second circuit.

By then, overnight leader Amy Olson had discovered that you just can’t take anything for granted in links golf. Her opening 67 was a thing of beauty in the conditions. In contrast, a second-day 81 was downright ugly, dropping her outside the top 30. Three ahead at the start, she’s now five off the pace, with Holmqvist leading the way in the battle to join not only Stenson but also Bobby Locke, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson in being crowned as a major champion here.

Like a few others in the field, Holmqvist has experience of playing this course from the Helen Holm Trophy, one of Scotland’s top amateur events. “I didn’t remember too much about it, to be honest, because I didn’t want to due to the fact I didn’t play too well on it,” she said, smiling, having fared much better on this visit to card opening rounds of 71 and 70 for a one-under-par total.

“But it’s always great to come back to one of these traditional courses with so much history. Of course, we’ve got Swedish history here, too, now after Henrik’s win (in the 2016 Open), which is pretty cool. I think just watching someone like Henrik hitting golf balls is inspiring, but that is especially the case after his showdown here with Phil [Mickelson]. That was impressive.”

Swiss-born Holmqvist, whose father, Hans, was a professional footballer who won 27 caps for Sweden, leads by a shot from American Austin Ernst (70) and Germany’s Sophia Popov (72), with American Lindsey Weaver, Kiwi Lydia Ko, Dane Emily Pedersen, Australian Minjee Lee and Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura all on one-over.

While Weaver has mainly caught the eye so far through pulling her own clubs, which is a rare sight in majors, Ko has put herself in the spotlight by recapturing the brilliant form that saw her become the youngest world No 1 in either the men’s or women’s game at just 17 before suffering a huge dip in form in recent seasons.

Still just 23, Ko is planning to retire at 30. On the evidence of her work here so far, she’ll be adding to an impressive haul of 15 LPGA Tour title triumphs before too long and maybe even as early as Sunday night.

“I don’t know where my career is going to go,” she said, having shown no scars whatsoever from losing a five-shot lead in the final round of the Marathon Classic in Ohio just under a fortnight ago. “I think at one point I was comparing myself to when I was world No 1 but physically and mentally so many things have happened that I can never be that same person as I was a few years ago. I just have to be the best person and best golfer I can be right now. As long as I am playing aggressively and freely and playing happy, confident golf, then I feel I can do well.”

On a day when world No 8 Lee and 2015 winner Inbee Park carded two-under 68s, an early birdie moved Catriona Matthew into a share of the lead at one point before she had to settle for a 76, slipping six shots behind on five-over.

“It was really tough out there, a lot tougher today actually,” said the 2009 winner. “It was a crosswind all day, so downwind played as tough as going out. I didn’t hit it great, to be fair, and made a couple of miraculous up and downs around the turn and they were important for momentum.”

After an agonising wait, it was mission accomplished for Michele Thomson on her debut in the event as she joined Matthew in being among the top 65 and ties to make the cut in the $4.5 million event on eight-over. “Two more rounds on an amazing golf course on my major debut, I couldn’t ask for much more,” said the 33-year-old Aberdonian after digging deep for a 77. “It was definitely a grind out there, but I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

That cut eventually fell at nine-over – the highest total since Matthew’s title triumph at Lytham – meaning early exits for Carly Booth (11-over), Kylie Henry (12-over) and Gemma Dryburgh (14-over).

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