The first of four rounds of stroke play got underway on Wedensday at Messilä Golf in Finland.
Despite a light shower to start the day, Round 1 of the 2024 European Ladies' Amateur Championship was contested in sunny conditions with a relatively light breeze.
20 players broke par on the opening day, with Andrea Revuelta going the lowest into red numbers early in the day.
The Spaniard, who's the 3rd highest ranked player in the field, was the only woman to go bogey-free on Wednesday. Revuelta returned a rare scorecard consisting solely of 3s and 4s, with birdies on all five of Messilä's par-5s. An additional birdie on the par-4 7th totalled a round of 66 (-6), and the early outright lead.
"I played really good, I barely made any mistakes today" said Reveulta after the round. "This course has a lot of par-5s and par-3s in the beginning so you have to really take advantage of that and put yourself in a good position in the first holes."
"It feels great but there are three days left and this is golf so anything can happen".
Scotland's Lorna McClymont and Madie Eline Madsen from Denmark are Revuelta's closest competitors, sitting in a tie for second position on four-under-par.
The former of the two currently leads the AIG Women's Open Amateur Series, which offers a spot in the major championship for the player with the most WAGR points across the St Rule Trophy, The Women's Amateur and this week's championship.
Meja Örtengren (SWE) and Carolina Melgrati (FIN) are one shot further back on -3 in a tie for 4th position.
Reigning champion, Julia Lopez Ramirez (ESP), got her title defence off to a steady start with an opening 70 (-2). Despite being disappointed with her score, partly due to two bogeys in the closing three holes, the Spaniard sits in a tie for 6th and just four shots back.
Lopez Ramirez did have some consolation at the end of the round however. After Helen Briem announced she was turning pro, this year's defending champion moved to the number-one spot in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking for the first time.
Six other players carded rounds of 70 (-2) and join Lopez Ramirez in a tie for 6th. Henni Mustonen (FIN), Olivia Grønborg (DEN), Darcey Harry (WAL), Anne-Sterre Den Dunnen (NED), Edit Hertzman (SWE), and Elina Saksa are all within four shots of the lead.
Three rounds of stroke play remain at Messilä Golf to decide the 2024 European champion, and who will earn an invite to the AIG Women's Open.
