Scots Lynn Kenny and Carly Booth in with the class of the field

LYNN Kenny and Carly Booth, the two top home players at the end of the first round, have a countess for company on the leaderboard at the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open.

On a day when overcast morning conditions gave way to glorious afternoon sunshine on the East Lothian coast, the group on 70, three shots behind leader Anna-Lise Caudal, also includes Italian Diana Luna.

The 29-year-old is a countess through her marriage to Italian aristocrat Orlandini del Becutto, a golf professional himself, but has kept her maiden name and prefers to blend in when she’s trying to do her day job.

“I don’t really like to talk about it – it’s a bit gossipy,” said Luna after outscoring playing partner Catriona Matthew, the defending champion, by four shots with her opening two-under-par effort on the Fidra Links.

She warmed to the topic, though, when it was suggested what the equivalent of her family’s baronial home in Italy would be in Scotland. “If you are giving me a castle, I’ll take that,” she added with a smile.

Luna, five times a winner on the Ladies European Tour, played alongside Matthew on the Solheim Cup team in 2009 before giving birth to a daughter, Elena, the following year. Amazingly, she was back playing again within two months.

“I had to work hard on my body to come back and also find the motivation to play well,” reflected Luna, who described Matthew’s feat of winning the 2009 Women’s British Open just 11 weeks after she gave birth for a second time as “pretty impressive”.

Luna almost lit up the opening round with a hole-in-one at the eighth.

“I hit a little punch with an 8-iron and, although I couldn’t see it from the tee, we had a few people watching and I could tell from their reaction that it was close to going in,” she said.

While Caudal, a 27-year-old Frenchwoman, earned pole position with her 67, which included five birdies on the front nine, Kenny and Booth also had cause to feel pleased with their opening two-under salvos that earned a share of fourth spot.

Kenny, who is attached to Archerfield Links, holed a wedge from 76 yards for an eagle 3 at the second. “That got me off to a good start, which is always the aim,” she said. The 31-year-old always seems to raise a smile, but she revealed that the fun had been drained from her game before she lost her tour card by a mere £350 at the end of last year.

“I felt as though I was running on a treadmill and not going anywhere – it had become a constant struggle,” she said. “But, due to the fact I’ve not got a full card and have to rely on invites, I felt more relaxed as anything is a bonus.”

On her round, Kenny, whose best finish on the Ladies European Tour was fifth in this event five years ago at The Carrick, added: “I left a few out there, but, overall, I hit it nicely.”

Booth, who signed for five birdies, reckoned she hadn’t driven as well as she has of late, yet still managed to hit ten fairways. “My consistency has improved,” said the 19-year-old, who received a timely boost for this event by winning in France recently – her first success as a professional.

Among those watching the Comrie player yesterday was her coach, Ladybank club pro Sandy Smith. “My brother [Wallace] recommended him to me,” she said. “I was looking for someone to work with and, after seeing him a couple of times, we clicked.”

Matthew, a ten-shot winner last year, has her work cut out to repeat that feat after struggling with her putting en route to a 72, which included a double-bogey 6 at the ninth, where the North Berwick woman found water off the tee.

“I kept coming up short with my putts,” said Matthew, who was galvanised, nevertheless, by a birdie at the last and won’t be giving up her title without a fight over the next two days.

Caudal, winner of the Portugal Ladies Open four years ago, leads by two shots from American Hannah Jun, last year’s runner-up, and Australian Sarah Kemp. Eight-time Solheim Cup player Helen Alfredsson is on 70 with Luna, Booth and Kenny.

Gleneagles trainee Heather MacRae, earning a rare start on the LET circuit, is also in the top 20 after a level-par 72, but it was a far from happy return on home soil for US-based compatriot Janice Moodie, who frittered away five shots in six holes from the second en route to a 79.