Emily Pedersen finds two eagles, one shot back of lead

One of five players in a tie for third after the first round of the Amundi Evian Championship at 5-under, Emily Pedersen used two eagles to shoot 66 and sit just one shot back of the lead through 18 holes, writes lpga.com.

She closed each of her nines with an eagle, the first on the par-5 9th and the second a 25-foot bomb on the par-5 18th.

“It’s great to finish on a high note, and I’d say that was a high note,” said Pedersen, who hit 16 greens in regulation and 11 of 13 fairways on Thursday. “My game was really solid today, and I found something in the putting that I’ve been struggling with for a while. I’m really happy with the day.”

The four-time LET winner in 2020 pointed to a technique in her putting that truly made all the difference in round one. It’s something Pedersen has changed at various times throughout her career, but the Denmark native has found a way that is comfortable and most importantly, working.

“At the beginning of the year, I was doing left below right, then I changed to right below left. Then last week, I changed back to left below right. I’m thinking that’s the key,” said Pedersen, who used 31 putts around Evian Resort Golf Club. “Last year, I was putting left below, and at the beginning of this year I thought I was going to change it and putted right below, then it didn’t work out. Last week, I was like, let’s go back to what we know and obviously it worked out really well.”

At the 2019 Amundi Evian Championship, amateur Pauline Roussin-Bouchard opened with zero birdies and an 87. Today, the Frenchwoman began her second appearance in the major with four circles on the scorecard en route to a 3-under 68.

“I tried not to pay a lot of attention to the score but the birdie on No. 2, it was my 11th hole, was pretty funny since I played to the area I wanted to be on, ended up a little long and holed a very long putt,” said Roussin-Bouchard, who hit 14 greens in regulation on Thursday. “Playing in front of the French public is special, as well. It’s just something I like.”

It’s also something she doesn’t get to do very often. Roussin-Bouchard recently completed her sophomore year at the University of South Carolina, claiming four individual medalist honors along the way for the Gamecocks. She entered the week at Evian Resort Golf Club as the No. 6 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking.